Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, was delighted to join local farmers and landowners at a roundtable to discuss rural issues impacting farms and businesses across the constituency.
The event, which took place on Friday 3rd July at a farm near Lye Green, was organised by The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), and brought together farmers, landowners and business owners from areas including Eridge, Rotherfield, Crowborough, Withyham and Hartfield, to discuss a range of rural issues such as animal welfare, inheritance tax changes, farming policy, flooding and water supply during heatwaves, support from utility companies during emergencies, and what more can be done by local authorities to support farms to diversify and thrive as businesses.
Also in attendance were representatives from Sussex Police, including the Rural Crime Team Inspector, to address ongoing concerns around tackling organised rural crime and to discuss further support from Sussex Police on marking farming equipment and coordination of forces to tackle cross-county crime.
The CLA is a membership organisation representing owners of land, property and businesses across rural England and Wales, with approximately 140 members in Sussex Weald. To find out more about their work, visit www.cla.org.uk.\
Nusrat Ghani said: “Farmers and rural businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy. I will always champion them and the fantastic work they do for our communities. Following from the success of my 2025 Farmers’ Forum, and in addition to my regular meetings with the NFU, I was pleased to join the CLA roundtable to discuss some of the top concerns amongst our farming community such as support during weather emergencies, diversification of farms, inheritance tax and food security. I’d like to extend my thanks especially to Sussex Police Rural Crime Team for joining us on the day to address concerns around tackling, reporting and preventing rural crime, and I look forward to organising and hosting another Farmers’ Forum soon.”
