Land for sale

CLOSING DATE - 24th OCTOBER 2024 @ 12:00 NOON

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

A rare opportunity to acquire a ring fenced block of land comprising rough grazing and upland hill located in the Cheviot Foothills within the Scottish Borders close to the English border. The property has serious scope for native woodland creation, natural capital and carbon sequestration subject to obtaining necessary consents.

• Three parcels of well-farmed rough grazing and hill land.

• Wonderful far-reaching views towards the Cheviot Hills.

• Good internal farm tracks and public road access.

• Excellent investment opportunity.

For Sale as a Whole – 180.99 hectares (447.23 acres)

Town Yetholm – 3.5 miles, Kelso – 12 miles, Edinburgh - 56 miles, Newcastle - 66 miles, (all distances approximate)

SITUATION

Currburn is located in the Scottish Borders, at the heart of the Cheviot Hills and marching the English border. This is an area renowned for its stunning scenery, quality farmland and fabulous sporting opportunities. The surrounding area comprises mixed livestock farms, large scale estates and productive forestry plantations. This remote location is situated only 3.5 miles from the twin villages of Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm and 12 miles from the popular town of Kelso. Town Yetholm and Kirk Yetholm lie on either side of the Bowmont Water and provide basic services including local shop, post office, fuel station and hotels.

Kelso is a traditional market town located on the River Tweed and is set around a cobbled square with historic Abbey. It is a very popular border town and a fantastic tourist destination. The town boasts an eclectic mix of boutique shops and high street brand traders, primary and secondary schooling, a modern health centre, supermarkets, quality hotels and a range of professional services.

While enjoying a private and completely unspoilt rural setting, Currburn has excellent transport links and is almost equidistant of Edinburgh (56 miles) and Newcastle (66 miles). There is a mainline train station at Berwick-upon-Tweed (26 miles) and the journey by rail from Berwick-upon-Tweed to London takes about 3 hours and 40 minutes. The Borders Railway at Tweedbank (30 miles) has direct trains to Edinburgh with a journey time of around one hour. Newcastle and Edinburgh International Airports are respectively 65 miles and 60 miles to the south and north providing good access from all over the UK and overseas.

DESCRIPTION

The sale of Currburn provides a rare opportunity to acquire a large area of hill located in a scenic yet easily accessible location. The current owners have opted to retain the farmhouse, steading and an area of in-bye ground providing a fantastic opportunity for an investor who does not require a farmstead. It is envisaged that the land at Currburn could be a strong candidate for native broadleaf plantation for carbon offset.

The water catchment area (hatched in blue on the plan) that provides the supply that serves the farmhouse and steading is included in the sale area but any potential planting will be restricted on this area equating to 5.35 ha (13.22 acres) which must be left as open ground to preserve the integrity of the farm water supply.

SUMMARY OF LAND

Currburn provides an extensive area of predominantly white and heather hill ground occupying land around the headwaters of the Curr Burn. The farm boundaries lie on the watershed of the burn; a catchment occupying a ring of hill summits and ridges enclosing the valley. The highest summit is the Curr at circa 560m above sea level with the lower summit of Kip Knowe at circa 290m above sea level. The hill slopes are smooth with some steep areas. Under the Land Capability for Agriculture classification, the majority of the land is classified as Grade 6.1 (Land capable of use as rough grazing with a high proportion of palatable plants) with the balance classed as Grade 5 (Land capable of use as grassland with few problems with pasture establishment and maintenance and potential high yields). Soils across the farm range from brown earths around most of the Curr Burn and the lower hill slopes; small tracts of non-calcareous gleys by the lower reaches of the Curr Burn; immature soils on the higher hill slopes of Latchly Hill and The Curr; with peat and peaty podzols found on some of the flatter high ground.

The land has been well farmed and benefits from stock proof fences, a good network of internal tracks and a natural water supply.

FARMING SYSTEM

Currburn has been occupied by the same family for several generations with most of the subject land utilised for cattle and sheep grazing.

WOODLAND

Most of the land at Currburn is classed as F6 land capability for forestry (limited flexibility) except for the highest ground on The Curr which is classed as F7 (unsuitable). The Scottish Borders Forestry & Woodland Strategy classifies the site into the following woodland creation categories:

* Lowland/Upland Fringe FWS: Potential.

* Native Riparian FWS: Preferred along the Curr Burn valley: Potential.

* Upland/Upland Fringe FWS: Sensitive.

An assessment of the potential for woodland creation has recently been carried out by a forestry specialist and copies of this report can be provided upon request from the Selling Agents. Early indications would suggest that the land is capable of reasonable growth of a wide range of species and reasonable growth rates.

CARBON & NATURAL CAPITAL OPPORTUNITIES

The land at Currburn may have carbon potential whether this be offset of future carbon emissions or actual carbon sequestrated on site used for immediate offset or inset into a UK business.

SPORT

Sporting rights are owned and in-hand.

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME

The land is registered for IACS purposes. The Basic Payment Scheme Entitlements are not included in the sale. The 2024 payment will be retained by the Vendors.

LESS FAVOURED AREA SUPPORT SCHEME (LFASS)

The land is designated as Severely Disadvantaged and has been claimed in previous years under the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme.

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNATIONS

The property lies within the Cheviot Foothills Special Landscape Area. The Northumberland National Park is located to the south and there are two routes of the Pennine Way to the east. It is noted that there are very few archaeological records for this property listed on the Historic Environment Records (primarily sheepfolds). Further details are available from the Selling Agents.

ACCESS

There is a servitude right of access from Currburn Farm to the B4601, which is an agreed route for timber haulage, joining just south of Town Yetholm. The farm obtains access to the public road network via a 3km long stretch of track. The road crosses the Bowmont Water and on a stone bridge which has recently been rebuilt and strengthened. Internally, an unsurfaced track runs the length of the unit, largely following the route of the Curr Burn. All rights of access via the principal farm driveway (shaded pink in the sales plan attached) will be granted to an incoming purchaser subject to an obligation to share in the cost of future maintenance and repair. A right of access to maintain broadband relay station adjacent to the Neuk in parcel 3 will be retained by the Seller.

MINERAL RIGHTS AND TIMBER

The mineral rights are included in the sale in so far as belonging to the seller. All standing and fallen timber is included in the sale.

THIRD PARTY RIGHTS & SERVITUDES

The subjects are sold together with and subject to all existing rights of way, servitudes, wayleaves and others whether contained in the Title Deeds or otherwise, and purchasers will be deemed as having satisfied themselves in respect thereof.

EMPLOYMENT/TUPE

There are no employees.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Scottish Borders Council

Council Headquarters

Newtown St Boswells

Melrose

TD6 0SA

Tel:

SGRPID

Cotgreen Road

Tweedbank

Galashiels

TD1 3SG

Tel:

VIEWING

Strictly by appointment with FBR Seed Ltd. Given the potential hazards of a working farm, we request you take care when viewing the property.

DIRECTIONS

The property is shown on the sale and location plans within these particulars. The postcode is TD5 8PT and for directions please use what3words///pleaser.recruiter.darkens (farmhouse).

TENURE

Freehold.

METHOD OF SALE

The property is offered for sale as a whole with Vacant Possession by Private Treaty. A closing date for offers may be fixed and all interested parties are advised to register their interest with the Selling Agents.

ENTRY AND POSSESSION

Entry will be by mutual agreement.

LOTTING

It is intended to offer the property for sale as a whole but the seller reserves the right to divide the property into lots, or to withdraw the property, or to exclude any property shown within the particulars.

OFFERS

Offers in Scottish Legal Form are to be submitted to the selling agents FBR Seed Ltd. A closing date for offers may be fixed and prospective purchasers are advised to register their interest with the selling agents following inspection.

DEVELOPMENT

The land will be sold subject to a restrictive covenant preventing future development of wind turbines.

OVERSEAS PURCHASERS

Any offer by a purchaser who is resident with out the United Kingdom must be accompanied by a guarantee from a banker who is acceptable to the sellers.

APPORTIONMENTS

All outgoings shall be apportioned between the seller and the purchaser as at the date of entry.

DISPUTES

Should any discrepancy arise as to the boundaries or any points arise on the Remarks, Stipulations or Plan or the interpretation of any of them, the question shall be referred to the arbitration of the selling agents whose decision acting as experts shall be final.

PLANS, AREAS AND SCHEDULES

These are based on the Ordnance Survey and are for reference only. They have been carefully checked and computed by the selling agents and the purchaser shall be deemed to have satisfied himself as to the description of the property and any error or mis-statement shall not annul the sale or entitle either party to compensation in respect thereof.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING (AML REGULATIONS)

Please note that under the 2017 AML Regulations we are legally required to carry out money laundering checks against purchasers. To enable us to complete these checks, purchasers will need to provide along with their offer either:

a) originals of primary (eg a passport) and secondary (eg current council tax or utility bill) ID; or b) copies of such primary and secondary ID certified and dated by the purchaser's solicitors as true copies along with written confirmation from the purchaser's solicitors that they accept that we will be relying on this copy ID for AML purposes. Failure to provide this information may result in an offer not being considered.

AMC PLC FINANCE

FBR Seed Ltd are approved Agents for the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC) and we can assist you in securing finance loans for a variety of farming purposes including the purchase of land. For further details and to discuss any proposals in confidence please contact our Kelso office.

BOUNDARY WALLS & FENCES

Insofar as is known, all boundary maintenance liabilities are shared equally with the adjoining owners.

STATUTORY DESIGNATIONS

There are no known statutory designations over the Farm. Although it should be noted that the Curr Burn is a tributary of the Tweed, which is designated as an SSSI and SAC. There is also one recorded RCAHMS site at Harlaw Sike immediately to the south of the retained land.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

a) Deposit - On conclusion of missives, a non-refundable deposit of 10% will be paid by the purchaser to the seller's Solicitors with the balance of the purchase price being paid on completion.

b) Ingoing - There will be no ingoing valuation.

GUIDE TO INTERESTED PARTIES

Whilst we use our best endeavours to make our sales details accurate and reliable, please contact us if there is any point which you wish to clarify. We will be pleased to check this information for you, particularly if you are contemplating travelling some distance to view the property. These particulars were prepared in May 2024.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

FBR Seed Ltd, their clients and any joint agents give notice that:

1. They are not authorised to make or give any representations or warranties in relation to the property either in writing or by word of mouth. Any information given is entirely without responsibility on the part of the agents or the sellers. These particulars do not form part of any offer or contract and must not be relied upon as statements or representations of fact.

2. Any areas, measurements or distances are approximate. The text, photographs and plans are for guidance only and are not necessarily comprehensive and it should not be assumed that the property remains as photographed. Any error, omission or misstatement shall not annul the sale, or entitle any party to compensation or recourse to action at law. It should not be assumed that the property has all necessary planning, building regulation or other consents, including for its current use. FBR Seed Ltd have not tested any services, equipment, or facilities. Purchasers must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise and ought to seek their own professional advice.

3. All descriptions or references to condition are given in good faith only. Whilst every endeavour is made to ensure accuracy, please check with us on any points of especial importance to you, especially if intending to travel some distance. No responsibility can be accepted for expenses incurred in inspecting properties which have been sold or withdrawn.

4. Anti-Money Laundering Regulation. The purchaser will be required to provide proof of ID to comply with anti-money laundering.