Mixed-bag market with land and farms from Cornwall to Carlisle
Maer Hills © Goldcrest Land and Forestry One of the largest blocks of mixed English woodland to come to the market for some time is for sale in North Staffordshire.
Maer Hills, which is close to Cannock Chase, is almost 478 acres and a rare offering of privately owned woodland.
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It is managed commercially and includes predominantly native broad-leaves, ranging from mature oak and sweet chestnut to young, naturally seeded birch on about 20% of the area.
The remainder is a mix of pine, Douglas fir and Norway spruce of mixed ages and could provide timber income over several felling phases, according to selling agent Goldcrest Land and Forestry.
“The majority of woodlands of this size in the Midlands are under public ownership,” said Olly Thompson of Goldcrest.
“It is rare for a forest of this size, quality, composition and character to be offered to the private market.”
Interest is expected from both commercial and amenity buyers for the block, which is being marketed for offers above £3.25m.
There are established forest tracks, an old timber yard, loading areas and easy motorway access. It also has natural capital and biodiversity potential.
For some of those buyers, the fact that the sporting rights are unlet and included in the sale will be a bonus.
Lake District National Park farm
Lowthwaite Farm © H&H
Lowthwaite Farm, near Wigton in Cumbria, is a ring-fenced traditional hill farm with good livestock buildings and diversification potential.
It has 211 acres of grazing and mowing land in 18 fields with good boundaries.
There is a Grade II listed four-bedroom farmhouse, traditional outbuildings, modern buildings including stock housing, a general purpose shed, slurry tower and silage pit.
The farm also has grazing rights on Uldale Common and is on the market with H&H Land & Estates with an overall guide price of £1.95m.
Its hefted flock of 200 pedigree Swaledale sheep is to be taken on by separate negotiation.
Cornwall arable land
A productive block of Grade 2 and 3 arable land has just come on the market at Herodsfoot near Liskeard.
The 247-acres of level and gently sloping land is currently in cereal and fodder crops and comes to the market with Savills for £2.3m.
It is in good-sized, easily workable fields with good road access and is currently split into two farm business tenancies of 137 and 110 acres, which end in September and October 2025, respectively.
Northumberland – 2,500-acre let estate to come to market
The 2,500-acre Dissington Estate near Newcastle upon Tyne is expected to come back on the market later this year, following the appointment of joint receivers Andrew Foster and Chris Walker, of Watling Real Estate.
Dissington includes three Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies and several farm business tenancies, a let fishing pond and let residential properties.
The land is predominantly arable (1,884 acres), there is 469 acres of pasture and 151 acres of in-hand woodland.
The estate has a complicated recent history, with its owner, the Lugano Dissington Estate, being put into administration in 2019 as the result of the failure of residential development plans on part of the estate.
Savills has been managing the estate in the interim and no selling agent has been appointed yet.
Mr Foster said: “We will be undertaking a detailed fact-finding operation, assessing all disposal options to realise best value.
“This could be an outright sale of the whole property, or we may well end up splitting the estate into various lots to maximise its value.”