Monaughty and Toreduff - Lot 1, Forres, Moray, IV36

LOT 1 – MONAUGHTY AND TOREDUFF
Lot 1 extends to approximately 502.3 acres (203.28 ha) of good arable land, Monaughty Farmhouse, Toreduff Farmhouse, 10 residential dwellings and two farm steadings with various buildings suitable for modern agricultural practices.

Residential Dwellings
Monaughty Farmhouse
Located at the heart of the farm and adjacent to the main farmstead, Monaughty Farmhouse is an attractive detached two storey traditional house constructed of stone under a pitched slate roof. It is an exceptional family home with considerable potential. Spacious and well-appointed accommodation is provided over two storeys and includes:

Ground Floor:
Kitchen. Dining room. Living Room. Sitting Room. Office. Boot Room. WC.

First Floor:
6 Bedrooms. Bathroom. Shower Room. Linen Cupboard.

The house is heated using oil central heating (including an AGA in the kitchen) and is connected to mains water and electricity. Whilst it would benefit from a degree of modernisation, it has many of the features one would hope to find in a house of this age and character including tall corniced ceilings and open fireplaces. Surrounding the house is a generously sized garden with various useful outbuildings, a former tennis court and a recently re-instated walled garden located adjacent to the farm steading nearby.

Toreduff Farmhouse
Located adjacent to Toreduff farmstead off the minor public road, Toreduff Farmhouse is an attractive detached two storey traditional farmhouse constructed of stone under a slate roof. Well-appointed and spacious accommodation includes:

Ground Floor:
Entrance Hall. Living Room. Hallway. Office. Sitting Room. Bedroom 1. Kitchen. Larder. Bathroom.

First Floor:
Four Bedrooms. Landing. Bathroom. Additional Attic Rooms.

The house is heated using mains gas central heating and is connected to a private water supply and mains electricity. It is predominantly double glazed and is let on a modern ‘Private Residential Tenancy’ basis and has many fine features befitting a house of this period. Surrounding the house is a generously sized garden as well as a small paddock located on the eastern boundary of the garden.

Farm Cottages
In addition to Monaughty Farmhouse and Toreduff Farmhouse, there are 10 farm cottages included with Lot 1, nine of which are let whilst one (2 Church Cottages) is occupied by a permanent farm employee. The 9 let cottages are occupied on various longer term rental agreements with a mix of Short Assured Tenancies and Private Residential Tenancies which generate an annual gross income in the region of £50,880.

Agricultural Buildings
Monaughty
As the principal of the three separate units, the majority of the farm buildings are located at Monaughty where there is an excellent range of traditional and modern buildings. The buildings are served by mains water and 3-phase electricity and include:

1. General Purpose Shed & Former Dairy – About 20.9m x 48m – Steel portal frame on a concrete/hardcore floor with part concrete block walls and Yorkshire boarding, fibre cement cladding on gable end and a fibre cement sheet roof, 2 separate joined inside and outside holding pens/stabling. This building has been occupied in recent years through licence by a third party for straw and seed storage. The annual licence fee has been £1,500 per annum. Also includes former dairy premises.

2. Secure Grain Store – About 30m x 17m – Steel portal frame on a concrete floor with part concrete panel and box profile sheet cladding walls, roller door and a fibre cement sheet roof.

3. Grain Dryer – About 28m x 7.5m – Concrete block, steel and fibre cement sheet walls, fibre cement sheet roof and twelve drying bins.

4. Combine / Tractor / Implement Shed – About 7.8m x 12.7m – Concrete block and fibre cement sheet walls, metal truss and fibre cement sheet roof with transparent panels and a concrete floor.

5. Silage Pit and Store – About 14.6m x 36m – Steel portal frame, concrete block and corrugated clad walls, fibre cement sheet roof and concrete/stone floor.

6. Cattle Court – About 39m x 17m – Stone and concrete block walls, metal truss and part box profile sheet and part fibre cement sheet roof, central feed pass and a concrete floor.

7. Steading Complex – Unmeasured - Traditional stone and concrete block walls, mix of roof types and concrete floors. Includes various byres, workshop, washing facilities and old grain store stores and cattle court.

8. Traditional Shed – About 10.9m x 5.8m + 20.5m x 5.8m - Traditional stone walls, timber truss and slate roof and concrete floor. Originally included stabling and currently used as garage, tractor shed and general storage.

In addition there is a sizeable area of useful hardstanding between building no.5 and the public road.

Toreduff
A further range of buildings and cattle handling facilities are located at Toreduff. These are easily accessible directly off the public road and served by private water and mains electricity. These include:

1. Cattle Court – About 26m x 38m – Divided between 4 cattle courts. Steel portal frame, concrete block walls, fibre cement sheet roof, two feed passes and a concrete floor.

2. Pole Barn – About 9.6m x 24.8m Timber pole barn, corrugated metal sheet roof and earth floor.

3. Traditional Shed – About 33m x 4.6m - Traditional stone walls, timber truss and slate roof and concrete floor.

4. Silage Pit & Pole Barn – About 22m x 12m & 22m x 15m. Adjacent open silage pit.

Adjacent to Building 1 are the cattle handling facilities.

The Land
The land included within Lot 1 extends to approximately 502.3 acres (203.28 ha) in total where including roads, tracks etc. It is predominantly of arable quality and is principally classified as Grade 3.1 by the James Hutton Institute with pockets of Grades 3.2 and 4.1 respectively. It has a gentle northerly / flat aspect. The farmland is divided between 21 separate enclosures and has easy road access onto a single carriageway public road. Lot 1 also comprises some 24 ha / 59.3 acres of woodland which comprises mixed species woodland of varying ages and likely dating from the 1980s in part.

NATURAL CAPITAL
Although primarily a commercial unit, for those with an interest, the farm provides a blank canvas to increase the biodiversity on the holding. Notably, the Monaughty Burn, which runs west to east through the centre of the holding could potentially be enhanced as a wildlife corridor through the creation of water features and ponds combined with hedgerow and tree planting there and elsewhere on the farm.

TUPE – PERMANENT EMPLOYEE
There is one full time farm employee protected by ‘Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations 2006’.