CLA says business rates hikes may hit farm wedding diversification

Rising business rates could threaten the future of countryside wedding venues, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has warned, as rural businesses brace for further cost pressures.

The organisation said farm-based venues could be hit particularly hard by changes expected through the next round of business rates revaluations, with fears that bills could rise sharply for diversified enterprises.

In recent years, many farmers and landowners have turned redundant barns and unused buildings into wedding venues, creating valuable additional income streams beyond food production.

Diversification has become increasingly important as agricultural businesses face volatile markets, rising input costs and uncertainty over future support payments.

However, the CLA warned that mounting tax burdens and operating costs are now putting the viability of rural wedding enterprises at risk, especially those that rely on seasonal trade and have invested heavily in conversions, infrastructure and visitor facilities.

The intervention comes after the government recently reversed plans on business rates for pubs, prompting calls for similar recognition of the pressures facing other rural hospitality and events businesses.

Wedding venues have become a growing part of the countryside economy, supporting local employment and drawing visitors who also spend money on accommodation, catering and other services in rural communities.

CLA president Gavin Lane said the sector has become a major rural success story but could be undermined if rates increase further.

“This tax could kill the dream of the countryside wedding,” he said.

He said entrepreneurs have spent years transforming empty farm buildings into thriving venues that create jobs and bring tourism into rural Britain.

Mr Lane warned that higher business rates would leave many venues with little choice but to pass costs directly onto couples.

“Now if business rates are hiked thousands of venues will have no choice but to pass those costs onto couples,” he said, adding that some may “scale back their weddings, postpone or simply go abroad”.

He said many couples save for years for their wedding day, and argued that further tax rises would reduce choice while threatening the future of rural venues.

“Piling on more taxes will only mean couples lose choice, venues lose their future and the countryside loses a vital success story,” he said.

The CLA is urging ministers to ensure business rates policy does not discourage investment in diversified rural enterprises, which it says are increasingly essential to sustaining farm incomes and supporting countryside communities.

The government has been approached for comment.