Watermill, grassland and coastal farmland sale opportunities

An arable and livestock farm that produces its own feed from a working watermill is coming to the market in Dorset in a sales opportunity described as “genuinely rare’’.

Peggs Farm, near Shaftesbury, a 211-acre holding farmed by the Hooper Family since 1908, is being launched with a guide price of £4.795m by selling agent Symonds & Sampson.

The firm says the sale offers prospective buyers the chance to acquire a “completely unique and substantial farm’’ with high-yielding Grade 1 and 2 agricultural land, a working watermill, traditional and modern farm buildings covering 4,340sq m, and three dwellings.

See also: Retirement sales bring Welsh and Scottish farms to market

The land, mostly in arable production but with some grassland and woodland, has sandy silt loam soil over a sandy clay, with part of the farm sitting in a nitrate vulnerable zone.

A Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier agreement is in place until December 2025.

Originally constructed to grind flour, the mill has been adapted to process cereals as feed for the farm’s livestock.

It also generates hydroelectricity to power the farmhouse and farm buildings, with additional income from a 21-year index-linked Feed-in Tariff agreement, in place until 2033.

The Grade II listed farmhouse has five bedrooms, and there are two three-bedroom cottages let on Assured Shorthold Tenancies.

The farm also has sporting appeal. Until last season it operated a shoot with three family days each season.

Symonds & Sampson is marketing Peggs Farm as a whole or in four lots.

West Milton Farm © Carter Jonas

Coastal opportunities

For buyers in the market for a smaller undertaking, Carter Jonas is bringing two farms to the market, one in Cornwall and one in Wales. Both are close to the coast.

West Milton Farm at Woodford, near Bude, is a 49-acre livestock unit that includes seven acres of woodland, agricultural buildings and two dwellings.

The buildings are a five-bay steel portal-frame shed and one used for storing hay and straw and housing livestock.

The thatched farmhouse has five/six bedrooms, while the second dwelling has four bedrooms and could be let subject to any required consents.

Carter Jonas reckons it would be a good fit for buyers seeking a multi-generational move, or who want to create an income-generating venture.

The farm is being offered for sale as a whole or in three lots with a guide price of £1.495m.

Bryn Bras © Carter Jonas

At 27 acres, Bryn Bras at Lon Tan Y Bryn, Morfa Nefyn, Gwynedd, is smaller and comes to the market for the first time in more than a century.

The farmland is down to pasture suitable for grazing, cropping or growing silage and is divided into eight fields, some of which sit on the clifftop overlooking Morfa Nefyn Beach.

Carter Jonas, which has set a guide price of £895,000, sees its potential as an investment for an alternative use, such as equestrian, or for amenity interest.

Northumberland grass and woods

Land at Old Town Farm © youngsRPS

There is alternative use potential for a 176-acre block of grassland and woodland at Old Town Farm, near Otterburn, that selling agent youngsRPS reckons will appeal to investors, farmers or environmental buyers.

“It’s more than just productive farmland,” says associate Helen Johnston.

“Whether it’s through biodiversity net gain units, carbon offsetting, or sustainable land management, this is a site with strategic natural capital potential.’’

The bulk of the land, which has a guide price of £490,000, is permanent grassland with nine acres of woodland, separated into two parcels.