A FREE advice service for farmers and agricultural businesses that was pioneered in the North is inspiring people at the other end of the country.

The North Yorkshire scheme is being used as a model of good practice by Kent County Council to give its farmers help with diversification and development issues.

Yorkshire Planning Aid's agricultural planning support service has been a success since it was set up by the Royal Town Planning Institute.

In order to find out more about the Yorkshire set-up, officers from Kent will head north next week on a fact-finding visit.

Their itinerary will include a trip to Thirsk Auction Mart to see a planning surgery in action and farm visits to look at the types of sites and schemes that the service is helping.

Project co-ordinator Mike Dando said: "In a month when we passed the landmark achievement of 200 clients, it is a bonus to be getting some even wider recognition of the work we are doing up here in North Yorkshire.

"The Kent service will be very closely modelled on our own, and we look forward to giving them tips and pointers when they come up to see us next week.

"Since celebrating our 200th client, use of the service has shot up and we are now well on the way to 250. I sincerely hope that the Kent service achieves the same level of success."

The service helps agricultural businesses in their dealings with the planning system by giving free, independent, professional help.

It is funded by Yorkshire Forward.