Late summer land launches add to choice across UK

The late summer market is seeing a flurry of new launches, including a Welsh dairy farm with five milking robots.

Church Farm at St Brides Wentlooge, near Newport, Gwent, which has 397 acres and cubicle housing for about 280 cows, is being marketed by Savills at a guide price of £5.25m.

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The firm’s head of rural sales in south and west Wales, Daniel Rees, anticipates interest from farmers and investors.

“Its proximity to the cities of Newport and Cardiff and the English border means it is a well-connected farm,’’ he says.

In 2018, the owners invested significantly in upgrading the dairy infrastructure, installing five Lely Astronaut robots and a 16,000-litre Milkplan bulk tank, with buildings to accommodate these.

There is also new cattle housing for the 280-cow herd.

The main land block is about 191 acres, but the farm has been scaled up in recent years, with extra parcels bought for grazing and forage production.

As well as an extensive range of modern buildings for housing cattle, feed and machinery, there are stone barns with potential for conversion.

The main residential accommodation is a modern four-bedroom house, subject to an agricultural occupancy condition.

There are also a further four-bedroom and a three-bedroom property.

The farm is offered as a whole but is also available in nine lots, with an overage in place on two of these.

NI commercial dairy 

Savills has also launched Island Dairies, in the heart of County Down.

Described as one of the best commercial dairy farms to come to the market in Northern Ireland in recent years, it has 185 acres of productive ring-fenced land, 165 acres of which is ploughable.

The extensive dairy complex has a 32:32 DeLaval rapid-exit parlour and cubicle accommodation for more than 600 head, seven silage clamps and slurry storage for almost 18.2m litres.

There is also a farmhouse and a partially restored mansion.

The land has good access, internal tracks, fencing, and a reliable water supply. The farm is for sale as whole with a guide price of £6.5m.

Surrey grassland holding

In Surrey, Batcheller Monkhouse is selling Sturtwood Farm, near Newdigate, a 100-acre grassland farm.

This has a range of buildings including a six-bay, concrete-framed cattle yard, a five-bay, steel-framed building and a three-bay, open-fronted timber-framed barn.

It also has a pole barn and two former poultry buildings, now let as light industrial units. 

The detached Grade II listed house has six bedrooms.

Edward Sargeant, an associate at Batcheller Monkhouse, says this has considerable scope for modernisation.

“The income potential across the farm is a huge selling point,’’ he says.

Close to the farmhouse is a range of brick and tile period outbuildings, which may be suitable for development subject to planning permission.

A detached three-bedroom cottage provides extra accommodation.  A further detached three-bedroom cottage, with 1.31 acres, is available by separate negotiation.

Sturtwood Farm is being offered with a guide price of £4m for the whole. 

Seasonal income

For farmers seeking a commercial farm with diversification incomes, Hollygate Farm at Stragglethorpe, Nottinghamshire, is being launched on 6 September.

This 157-acre holding has been farmed by the current owners for three generations and comes to the market as a farming retirement sale.

As well as productive Grade 3 arable land, there is a seasonal shop selling locally grown Christmas trees, decorations and gifts.

The farmyard has modern and traditional buildings with redevelopment potential. There is also an eight-bedroom period farmhouse.

Hollygate Farm is being marketed by Strutt & Parker at a guide price of £3.5m.

Across the border in Scotland, Galbraith is bringing a residential and amenity farm on the Cowal Peninsula, Argyll and Bute, to the market.

Glenshellish Farm has 164 acres of productive pasture and grazing land, and several useful modern farm buildings.

There is a five-bedroom farmhouse with adjoining traditional outbuildings set in a horseshoe formation. The land – mainly classified Grade 4.2 and 5.3 by the James Hutton Institute – is a mix of permanent pasture and grazing land, with a small area of woodland.

Offers of more than £875,000 are sought for Glenshellish Farm, which is also available in four lots.

Grade 1 in Norfolk

Almost 76 acres is about to come to the market near Stalham, Norfolk.

Described as highly productive Grade 1 arable land, it has been farmed in a rotation of combinable crops, pulses and roots. There is good access from public roads.

The land is for sale in two lots through Ceres Property, which is seeking offers in the region of £580,000 for 55.5 acres in two fields, and £220,000 for a field of almost 21 acres.