BM Rural Outlook - Flipbook - Page 14
12 | Rural Outlook Issue 21
Estate Management | 13
The fourth property was subject to an agricultural
occupancy restriction, and after careful checks,
Batcheller Monkhouse was able to let at market rent
to a tenant working in forestry.
All change at
Whelan Farms
A radical rethink of farming practices led by
Batcheller Monkhouse’s estate management team has
boosted the efficiency and profitability of a 1,700-acre
holding between Bromley and Biggin Hill.
The team has brought in a young sheep
farmer to graze a 500-acre block of
pasture land, renegotiated rental terms
on commercial buildings, improved the
contract farming agreement on part of
the land, uprated and re-let residential
properties and begun work to improve
the soil and move towards more
environmentally aware use of the land.
Until 2020 the Skid Hill estate, a large arable
and grassland farm with commercial and
residential properties, owned by the Whelan
family for around 50 years, was managed
in-hand with the assistance of Sentry.
As the main contractor, Sentry had
successfully managed the farm for over
20 years, handling its migration from
mixed farm with a dairy unit to a mainly
arable rotation with sheep.
Batcheller Monkhouse had for some time
been advising on a number of aspects
of the operation at Skid Hill, but in 2020
the team was asked to take on the overall
management of the estate to increase
profitability, revitalise the operation and
prepare it to take advantage of future
initiatives such as the Environmental
Land Management scheme (ELMS).
To help with the transition, Batcheller
Monkhouse negotiated a new contract
with Sentry with a focus on the arable
operations, which can be particularly
challenging because the farm sits at
more than 1,000 feet above sea level and
is prone both to drying out in summer
and waterlogging in winter.
Sentry was asked to continue working
the roughly 700 acres of arable land on
the estate, although it now does so under
a more tailored agreement that works
better for both parties. There is a further
500 acres of grassland and 300 acres of
woodland, with woodland management
currently under review.
After two decades without revision, the
introduction of a more modern framework,
coupled with a new team at the sharp
end, has resulted in a more effective
partnership and greater productivity.
“Having Sentry on board works extremely
well,” said Toby Trotman, Chartered
Surveyor at Batcheller Monkhouse.
“Being able to tap into their extensive
knowledge and the experience they
have gained on this particular site
works effectively for the family.”
With the 500 acres of pasture land underused by the family’s own flock, Batcheller
Monkhouse suggested letting it under a
grazing licence and brought in a young
sheep farmer, Petra New. Her flock of
420 Mules and Suffolk crosses is now
making effective use of the land and
creating an additional income stream for
the family, which has now sold its own
flock, using part of the capital released
to improve fencing and water supplies.
Despite being just 27, Petra is proving
that an innovative approach to farming,
allied to hard work and a commitment
to succeed, easily makes up for what
might be seen as a lack of experience.
On the arable side, the team is looking at introducing
a more regenerative system with the aim of preparing
for the introduction of ELMS, increasing diversity and
integration of livestock and improving soil health.
She has already shown that she has
the skills she needs, while the licence
has allowed the family to keep ultimate
control of the land and continue to make
decisions regarding opportunities such
as Countryside Stewardship Schemes.
The commercial units at Skid Hill are on
two sites and were no longer delivering
an effective return to the family when
Batcheller Monkhouse was asked to take
on the management of the estate.
Seven units on one site were being let on
outdated agreements and had not been
subject to a rent review for some time.
Batcheller Monkhouse has since agreed
new, longer agreements with staged
increases based on discussions with the
existing, valued, tenants, all of who now
enjoy improved security.
The estate is also home to a large and
well-equipped equestrian set up that had
not been let for some years but which
Batcheller Monkhouse is now looking to
bring back into profitable use.
The other commercial area at Skid Hill
boasts two large, vacant units, one
of which was used by a construction
company and another which Batcheller
Monkhouse plans to let for storage and
office use once it has obtained planning
permission for the change of use. Close
to the M25, it is expected to generate
considerable interest.
Four residential properties on the estate
have been renovated and brought up
to modern standards that comply with
current legislation. The work has allowed
rent reviews to be carried out on two
occupied properties, while a third has
since been re-let, attracting strong
demand in a buoyant rental market.
With rye grass an issue on part of the farm and oilseed
rape ruled out by the predominance of the cabbage
stem flea beetle and an increasingly limited pesticide
armoury, Batcheller Monkhouse is working with Sentry
to adapt the rotation to meet these challenges. This is
likely to include using less productive land for grazing
and stewardship schemes – en route to ELMS – and
introducing stubble turnips to help Petra’s sheep
enterprise and support over-wintering of stock.
Asked to take on the overall
management of the estate to increase
profitability, revitalise the operation
and prepare it to take advantage
of future initiatives such as the
Environmental Land Management
scheme (ELMS).
The focus is now moving to the extensive woodland
area of over 300 acres of mainly deciduous trees.
Ash dieback is a major concern but this area does
offer good potential both in terms of revenue and
environmental enhancement.
What is certain is that the expertise of the Batcheller
Monkhouse team, supported by the experienced Sentry
workforce and in partnership with the landowners, will
continue to work towards productive and environmentally
aware use of this stunning part of the Kent countryside.
Toby Trotman
t.trotman@batchellermonkhouse.com
Whelan Farms boasts 500 acres of grassland
Petra with her dogs
Putting the love back
Young sheep farmer Petra New just wants to “put the love
back” into the 500 acres she leases for her 420-strong
flock of Mules and Suffolk cross sheep at Whelan Farms.
Petra, 27, now farms with her father William as W and
P New, but inherited her love of sheep from her mother
Camilla, who kept 1,200 ewes, when Petra was growing up
as part of a farming family on the Titsey Estate in Surrey.
After studying for her National Diploma in Agriculture at
Plumpton College, Petra joined the family’s mixed farming
business, which also has arable and beef operations, but
her main interest has always been sheep.
“We have farmed next door to this land for the past three
years and I have always looked at it and thought it would
be great to put sheep here, but we didn’t think it would
ever come on the market,” says Petra. “When Batcheller
Monkhouse decided to offer a grazing licence for the
land we put in a tender and were delighted to be given
the opportunity to make good use of the land.”
As Batcheller Monkhouse’s Toby Trotman explains, the land
is still under a Countryside Stewardship agreement which
limits the amount of ‘love’ that can currently be lavished
on it. “We are planning to enter in to a new agreement
next year that will better suit Petra’s more modern and
progressive ideas and allow her to improve the land both
for agricultural and environmental purposes,” he says.
“We are very impressed with what she is doing here.”
In time, Petra would like to see cattle on the land as well
as sheep, in a return to a more traditional use of the land
and to help improve the soil structure. For now, though, the
enterprising young farmer is helping to breathe new life
into the pasture land – and recovering from a busy lambing
season that saw around 1,700 lambs born to the 1,000
breeding ewes the father and daughter team runs in total.