by ncrawshaw » Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:49 pm
I was pleased to see the re-introduction of Woodland Grants and thought I'd apply for a grant to produce a Woodland Management Plan, can't sniff at £1,000. To apply for a grant you need an SBI (Single business Identifier), CRN (Customer Registration Number) and for the land to be registered on the Rural Land Register. I phoned the Rural Payments Agency to apply for an SBI. Currently they are changing from the "old" system to the "new" system and no new applications are being processed for "several" weeks until the change over is complete! So, I thought I'd get the ball rolling by at least applying for a CRN online. To do this you need to verify your existence with a Credit Reference Agency. I fell down here because I don't have any credit agreements and they couldn't "verify" me. Now, I thought maybe at least I could register the land; I phoned the appropriate department and they immediately asked me for my.........SBI! They can't do anything without it. I'm reasonably computer literate and competent at form filling - how on earth do small farmers who spend their life in the fields, and are possibly less able in the office, possibly cope with all the bureaucracy? Its really opened my eyes and I've barely started.
