Kent sale brings arable and grassland to market
Arable and livestock farmers in Kent may have the opportunity to expand with the sell-off and break-up of the 350-acre Linton Estate.
About four miles from Maidstone, the estate sits in one block on the escarpment of the Greensand Ridge and is available as a whole, or in up to 15 lots.
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The main farming assets are available in three lots. The first is about 140 acres of grassland with some woodland, currently making up Linton Park and available at a guide price of £1.1m.
Another lot, comprising 66 acres of grassland (26 acres of which is woodland), is available at a guide price of £400,000. Both blocks are currently let out to a local farmer for sheep and cattle grazing.
Growers may be interested in the 89 acres of Grade 2 and 3 arable land, at a guide price of £850,000. Currently this land is contract farmed, with a rotation of wheat and rape.
The higher, grassland, areas are free-draining over chalk, with the land becoming heavier the nearer to the arable land. Access is said to be good and straight off public roads.
The farm buildings are situated at the centre of the farmland and include both traditional and modern developments. There is a former tractor and tool shed, a lean-to pole barn and a long stable block.
An opportunity to develop a Victorian red-brick farmyard exists, as there is planning consent to convert the courtyard buildings into dwellings.
The estate has a large number of houses, including a main four-bedroom house and six cottages.
Mark McAndrew, head of estates and farms at Strutt & Parker, which is launching the estate, said: “There are so many opportunities for a wide range of buyers – we are opening a door to house hunters, developers, farmers, estate buyers and more. It will be exciting to see who walks through.
“A combination of lots could offer a mixed arable and grassland farm with modern buildings, leaving out the elements not required. There will be many other combinations of lots, which attract buyers with varying requirements.”
A combined ELS and HLS scheme exists across all the farmland and runs until April 2020. A break-clause, however, exists for April 2015. About 109 BPS entitlements are available by separate negotiation.
The estate is for sale at a guide price of £7.3m for the whole or in lots. (Strutt & Parker 02076 297 282)