Two large farm launches to test south-east market
Two large farms with a combined area of more than 2,300 acres will be a good test of the market in the south of England.
Birchen Knoll Farm, a well-equipped expansive arable and grass farm at Fairlight, near Hastings, East Sussex, and the Whelan Estate, a productive diversified holding at Biggin Hill, Kent, are being launched by Batcheller Monkhouse next week.
The Whelan Estate comes to the market with 1,356 acres of arable and grassland, currently farmed on a contract farming agreement which ends in September 2025.
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Whelan Estate © Batcheller Monkhouse
The farm sits less than 18 miles south of the City of London and was regularly featured in Farmers Weekly’s Management Matters series from late 1995 to 1998.
It has three farmyards and let residential and commercial properties.
Selling agent Toby Trotman says the land has been farmed under a regenerative system over recent years, introducing grass leys and cover crops to integrate livestock in the arable rotation.
“In 2023, 10,000m of new fencing was erected and an additional 10,000m will be completed in 2024, providing graziers with the ability to rotate grazing across the estate with well-sized fields, all with mains water connection,” he says.
The arable land extends to 700 acres and is predominantly Grade 3 with shallow, lime rich loams and slightly acidic loams, well suited to combinable crop rotations.
The 480 acres of grassland is also predominantly Grade 3 and is let to a local grazier on annual licences.
The majority of the grassland is subject to Mid Tier and Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship agreements generating annual payments of about £56,000.
Several blocks of mixed woodland provide significant sporting and amenity value, supporting a well-established shoot.
Natural capital potential
The estate has significant natural capital opportunities, says Toby, with a current baseline report indicating the potential to create approximately 2,500 biodiversity net gain units.
Proposals are also well advanced for a solar energy scheme over part of the farm, he adds.
“Terms have been agreed with a suitable operator who has secured provisional approval of connection rights with UK Power Networks,” says Toby.
“Likewise, they have secured good feedback from the local planning authority and local councillors.”
There is an extensive range of buildings across the three farmyards, including general purpose farm buildings, two grain stores and let commercial units.
The main farmhouse is a four-bedroom detached dwelling, subject to an agricultural occupancy condition (AOC).
Accommodation also includes a pair of three-bedroom, semi-detached cottages and two detached three-bedroom bungalows, one with an AOC in place.
A large, detached Georgian Grade II-listed former farmhouse is currently used as offices.
The Whelan Estate is being marketed by Batcheller Monkhouse at a guide price of £18.9m for the whole, or is available in four lots.
South coast farm
Birchen Knoll © Batcheller Monkhouse
Birchen Knoll Farm is a commercial mixed farm in the High Weald Natural Landscape and sits less than two miles from the south coast.
Off-lying farms are included in the sale, bringing the total acreage to 790 acres of Grade 2 and 3 arable land, 83 acres of grassland and 80 acres of woodland.
There is also a fishing lake let on a commercial agreement.
While the main farming unit has been the centre of operations for the holding, the off-lying farms are within a 2.8 mile radius and easily accessed from the central holding, says selling agent Charlotte Pearson-Wood.
“This provides a good-sized holding that will offer any purchaser looking to purchase the whole with a sustainable-sized farming unit with the potential to modernise the farming and diversify into alternative uses, making use of this popular area in East Sussex,” she says.
Farm buildings cover more than 3,700sq m and include a grain store, a former dairy, accommodation once used for housing pigs, cattle yard and workshop.
The three-bedroom farmhouse has an adjoining two-bedroom annexe and there are two mobile homes in the main farmyard.
Birchen Knoll Farm is being offered for sale as a whole at a guide price of £10.34m, or is available in five lots.