Early-season farmland launches in Essex, Cumbria and Cornwall

A mixed-use farming estate in Essex with 652 acres of mostly Grade 2 land is for sale for the first time in almost 300 years.

The Wormingford Hall Estate near Colchester, once part of the Waldegrave family’s Wormingford Manor, has not been on the market since 1742.

With 390 acres of arable, 207 acres of grassland, 36 acres of woodland, Wormingford Mere, farm buildings and multiple dwellings, it offers an equipped commercial farm with good sporting potential.

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The arable acreage has been farmed in-hand and on seasonal cropping licences in a rotation of winter wheat, sugar beet, onions, potatoes, rye and maize, while the grassland is grazed by cattle on seasonal licences.

The residential element of the estate is extensive, with an eight-bedroom Grade II listed house and five further properties with either two or three bedrooms.

Some of the farm buildings have potential for conversion, says selling agent Brown & Co.

A Mid Tier Countryside Stewardship agreement ends on 31 December 2026.

The sale is subject to a 35-year overage clause that covers three parcels of land and entitles the vendors to 40% of any uplift in value on the grant of planning consent or if there is a change to a use that is anything other than agriculture or equine.

The Wormingford Hall Estate is on the market at a guide price of £8.5m.

Cumbrian former dairy with solar income

Roanhead Farm © GSC Grays

Also new to the market is a former dairy farm in Cumbria that generates diversified income from a large solar development.

Roanhead Farm is on the Furness Peninsula, near Barrow-in-Furness, and has a guide price of £3.5m.

It has 268 acres of Grade 3 grassland in a ring-fence, and soils described as “slowly permeable, seasonally wet, slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey”.

The land is informally let for summer grazing.

A 39-acre solar farm – a 7.8MW scheme operated under a 30-year lease – generates an index-linked income of £64,400/year.

There is an agreement to expand this by 10MW, with heads of terms having been agreed for an option to lease a further 44 acres.

GSC Grays, joint selling agent with Corrie and Co, says a grid connection has been secured to the nearby primary substation.

And, although the current connection date is 2038, it could potentially be brought forward.

A recent planning application for 233 lodges was refused on environmental grounds.

The buildings at Roanhead Farm are a mix of modern and traditional and there is a five-bedroom farmhouse.

Again, there is an overage attached to the sale.

This time, a 25% clawback for up to 30 years for any uplift in value on the grant of planning consent for residential, commercial, or tourism-related development.

Diverse income in Cornwall

Tregoninny Farm © Savills

At a similar price point and acquired by the current owners as an investment and diversification opportunity, Tregoninny Farm, at Tresillian, near Truro, has productive farmland, woodland, and generates non-farming income from holiday accommodation and established vineyards.

The 192-acre farm is being sold at a guide price of £3.35m to enable the owners to reinvest in other areas of their expanding family-owned business.

Selling agent Savills says Tregoninny Farm has many possibilities for buyers seeking to make the most of a traditional rural holding.

The land is made up of 70 acres of productive arable and pasture ground with freely draining loam soil and 90 acres of broad-leaf and coniferous woodland, including commercial stands of timber.

A 14-acre vineyard planted in 2018 grows pinot noir, seyval blanc and chardonnay grape varieties.

The farmland is supported by two modern buildings – a clear-span shed and cattle housing.

Tregoninny Farm also has a significant residential element – the seven-bedroom farmhouse has adjoining two-bedroom guest accommodation.

There is separate bed-and-breakfast and self-catering accommodation with six bedrooms converted from a traditional stone farm building.

The holding has been launched at a guide price of £3.35m.