The rise of the environmental land buyer explained

Over the past two years land agents have seen an increase in the amount of farmland being sold for rewilding, tree planting, and carbon offsetting.

There are more buyers active in the marketplace, which include larger corporations looking to offset their carbon footprint and investors looking for a new venture.

The farmland in demand varies, both in terms of size and current use. There has been interest in both small plots of land and larger farms covering several hundred acres.

In terms of land type, good arable land, hill land and even flood plains have been attracting interest.

See also: What’s the market like for farms with natural capital?

Hill farms and bare land have been sold for tree planting in Wales and Scotland for several years now, and demand from commercial forestry investors has continued to grow.

By comparison, this is a relatively new type of buyer for England, and the growing interest in carbon offsetting is likely to increase interest in all land types, including better-quality farmland.

Carter Jonas has had several recent instances of traditional farmland being sold for environmental schemes.

Sam Johnson, associate partner, says he has seen increased interest from investment funds, organisations, and private buyers, particularly for marginal land across the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks for planting trees.

“The larger blocks of commercial upland farming units have risen in value from around £1,000/acre to £1,500/acre now. That increase in price is underpinned by the biodiversity offset market,” says Mr Johnson.

Pastureland at Green Hammerton, near York, is currently under offer with Carter Jonas. The block of established grassland totalling 66 acres runs alongside the River Nidd and is prone to flooding.

A number of parties have been interested in the site, with several potential bidders wanting to rewild the land and create nature habitats to offset their own carbon footprints.

Nethergill Farm, Oughtershaw, in the Yorkshire Dales was sold by Carter Jonas last year for just under its guide price of £1.3m. The 377-acre farm was purchased to create an eco-tourism destination.

The current owners have been developing the land into high nature-value farmland with increased tree planting, meadow restoration and nest boxes.

Nethergill Farm © Carter Jonas

Clowance Barton Farm, Camborne, in Cornwall was sold to a buyer who plans to rewild it over time. The holding has 265 acres, which included predominantly high-quality arable land with some amenity woodland.

Andrew Chandler, partner at Carter Jonas, says the post-Covid-19 world has driven quite a large number of buyers into south-east England that are carbon offset-led.

Purchasers are building a development, and then they are looking to acquire land in the same planning district to plant trees on and offset their carbon use.

Mr Chandler says: “We are seeing people wanting to buy land for alternative purposes and tree planting generally.

“Land is also being bought for other amenity purposes such as dog-walking fields, camping, tree planting, leisure, and forest schools – with all sorts of different buyers.

“Carbon offsetters are generally looking for more marginal land. Prime land suitable for food production will interest these buyers to a level, but farmers buyers are currently out-competing them for price.”

Features such as rivers, woodland, coppices, and bogs can make land more attractive to environmental buyers.

It doesn’t really matter if the ground is wet, rough, or uncared for, as these buyers are looking for anything that creates a habitat and makes it more interesting.

They want to purchase something that has got some appeal and character, according to Mr Chandler.

Benhams Field, Shortheath Lane, in Sulhamstead was recently sold by Carter Jonas for £350,000 for 34 acres of pasture land, which was well above its guide price of £300,000.

The price was pushed up by strong interest from developers looking at natural capital and carbon offsetting.

Benhams Field © Carter Jonas

Objections to tree planting

In mid-Wales, local communities have voiced concerns that local culture and heritage could be lost due to vast areas of land being taken up for afforestation.

So far 12 farms in the region have reportedly been purchased by large investment companies looking to offset carbon emissions.

Another argument that has been raised is that land is being taken out of food production.

The UK is already down to about 60% self-sufficiency for food, and if a large proportion of land is taken out of food production, this could lead to an increased reliance on imported goods.