Gapshield, Brampton, Northumberland, CA8 2JF

SUPERB RING FENCED UPLAND FARM WITH SIGNIFICANT NATURAL CAPITAL

Description

Summary
Gapshield sits in an elevated position with superb far reaching views over the attractive rolling countryside northeast of Brampton, below the southern tip of Northumberland National Park on the Cumbrian-Northumbrian border. The village of Gilsland is close by and the A69 provides superb wider connectivity. The sale is an opportunity to acquire a productive ring fenced livestock farm, with potential for further development in the direction of a purchasers’ choosing, be that agriculture, leisure or environment restoration and habitat creation (subject to consents).

Description
Gapshield is an well-equipped productive grassland farm in an accessible location, the farm includes an historic five bedroom farmhouse and an extensive range of traditional and modern buildings arranged around a concrete yard. The farmland lies south of the property, gently rising to Wain Rigg and is surrounded by upland countryside interspersed with woodlands.

Gapshield Farmhouse
The farmhouse dates from circa 1863 and sits adjacent to the main farm access with far-reaching views, the farm steading surrounds to the south and west. The property is of brick construction with rendered facades under a slate roof, benefitting from well-proportioned rooms and extends to 2,850 sq ft.

The ground floor accommodation includes entrance hall, sitting room with open fireplace, dining room, dining-kitchen leading to two large pantries and a second rear sitting room with excellent outlook. The staircase leads from the hallway to the first floor comprising, five double bedrooms of good proportions plus a family bathroom and separate shower room. The property has oil fired central heating and uPVC double glazing throughout.

Period features appear throughout the house including traditional fireplaces, exposed beams and timber work. A lawned garden lies north, east and west of the house bound by dry stone walls. The property requires some updating, but has the proportions and position to make for a wonderful family home.

Traditional Farm Buildings
To the west of the farmhouse is a range of traditional buildings arranged around a concrete yard. These are stone built under predominantly slate roofs and include a range of loose boxes, cattle handling pens, byres, feed shed and two barns. Three further traditional stone outbuildings sit south of the farmhouse adjoining the modern cattle shed and comprise workshop, stable and wash house.

The buildings are extensive, with part double height, and provide significant storage with obvious potential for development into additional residential accommodation, holiday cottages, storage or offices (subject to the necessary consents). The courtyard and farmstead can also benefit from a separate access.

Modern Farm Buildings
The farm includes an expansive range of modern farm buildings which surround the traditional buildings and comprise the following:

Cattle Shed (27.5m x 18.9m). Steel portal frame shed with fibre cement roof, rooflights and concrete panels walls, including central feed passage, two pens and four calving pens. The building includes CCTV calving cameras.

Sheep Shed (27.5m x 13.9m). Steel portal frame building with fibre cement roof, concrete panel walls with Yorkshire boarding and a concrete feed passage, pens and metal doors.

Cubicle Shed (17.5 x 7.5m). 3 bay steel portal frame with fibre cement roof block walls, feed barrier, 29 cubicles, metal doors to both gable elevations.

Cubicle Shed 2 (24.4m x 23.6m) 4 bay steel portal frame building with fibre cement roof and steel cladding above block walls housing 26 cubicles and 3 loose pens facing onto a central feed passage.

Concrete slurry store, hardcore storage / bale pads sit on the fringe of the yard with cumulative capacity for 650 bales. This area also includes further cattle and sheep handling pens, dip and collecting yard.

Land
Excluding the farmstead, the land extends to approximately 451.58 acres, gently undulating between 200m and 290m above sea level. The land use is divided by high quality mowing and grazing land (approx. 51 acres and 145 acres respectively), with 253 acres of rough fell/moorland and a small woodland coppice of c. 2 acres.

The land benefits from an expansive internal track system and is stockproof, bound by dry stone walls and post and wire fences. The land is classified as predominantly Grade 5 under the Agricultural Land Classification with the northly corner falling into Grade 4.

The soils are from the Brickfield 3 series, being slowly permeable fine loamy over clayey soils. Wilcocks 1 a slowly permeable fine loamy over clayey upland soil with a peaty surface horizon and the Longmoss series, a typical peatland soil.

The farmland offers the opportunity to focus on commercial production, alternatively there is potential for natural capital and habitat conservation to take prominence.

Peatland
The vendors have commissioned a peatland survey from Bowland Ecology, which is available on request. The survey provides an assessment of the potential viability for peatland restoration or similar conservation-based projects in the future over the upland areas forming part of Lot 2.

Areas of deep peat (greater than 30 cm) were identified on site, with 65% of survey points exceeding 30 cm in depth. Numerous manmade drainage grips and gullies were observed, as were features indicative of peatland erosion, including peat haggs and peat pans. All drainage and erosion features were largely coincident with areas of deep peat. The
presence of these features in combination with areas of deep peat suggests that the site has peatland restoration potential.

Wind Energy
The vendors and neighbouring landowners have historically been approached by potential wind farm developers, looking to site a commercial wind farm on the land to the south of the farmstead. No option or exclusivity agreement has been signed but discussions are ongoing. This could provide a significant income for a future owner of the farm.

Overage
The property will be sold subject to a large scale energy scheme overage (50Kw + schemes) set at 20% of the landowner income derived as the result of the planning consent and implemented scheme, for a period of 50 years from the date of completion of the sale.

Lotting
The farm is offered for sale as a whole or in two lots, as outlined below:

Lot 1 (blue on plan) – Lot 1 comprises the farmstead, grazing and mowing land with excellent road frontage and internal access tracks, in all approximately 198.29 acres.

Lot 2 (red on plan) – Lot 2 forms the southwestern portion of the land and extends to approximately 255.04 acres of predominantly rough grazing land and fell with Peat Soils. If this is sold in isolation, a right of access would be granted to the purchaser over the eastern access to Lot 1.

Acreage: 453.33 Acres