Bare land blocks for the March market

March will bring a number of sales of large blocks of bare land, with the first two is on the market in Kent and Devon.

About 624 acres around Burham, a village north of Maidstone on the edge of the North Downs. This is expected to generate interest not only due to its farmland and woodland but also because it has more than 96 acres of old chalk quarries that remain unfilled.

The varying but mostly Grade 3 arable land also has 1,000t of grain storage and several livestock buildings, making the property a challenging one to value. Selling agent Smiths Gore thinks the dynamics of the property will create good competition.

“It is rare that such a substantial block comes to market in Kent,” said Giles Wordsworth, head of the firm’s national farms and estates team. The land market was hungry for this type of property, which could generate agricultural, commercial and amenity interest.

The closing date for best offers for the 17 lots, reflecting its diversity, will be 26 April. The arable land has been valued between £6,250 and £7,500/acre according to productivity. The overall guide price will be between £3.1 and £3.2m. (Smiths Gore 01732 879 050)

In the West Country, almost 415 acres of land at Coombe Park Farm, Lynton, on the north-west side of Exmoor National Park, offer productive grassland with modern farm buildings and the potential to create a new farm holding.

As a whole, its 414.83 acres have a guide price of £1.375m – an average of less than £3,400/acre. Lots range from almost 19 acres to more than 280 acres. (Savills 01392 455 722)

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