Priors Dean, Petersfield

Highly attractive arable farm with pasture and woodland in the South Downs National Park with modern farm buildings. Extending to approximately 104.18 ha (257.43 acres) in total, available as a whole.

Situation - Upper Blackdown Farm is located in the Parish of Priors Dean and Colemore and to the north of the village of High Cross, Froxfield. The farm is located to the north of the Petersfield Road, which links the A32 at Hedge Corner to Petersfield.
The farm, situated at approximately 220 metres above sea level, is set in glorious countryside with far reaching views and is arranged in good sized parcels bordered with mature hedges and trees.

Historically the land was all utilised for combinable crops, however, more recently one parcel was reverted to pasture and in another a new wood has been planted to complement the existing mature woodland.

Description - 104.18 hectares (257.43 acres) of arable, pasture and woodland

Upper Backdown Farm is made up of six arable fields, one of pasture and two blocks of woodland. The land is currently fallow and therefore, could be cropped immediately. The majority of the land has been managed under a Countryside Stewardship mid-tier scheme and as a result has an abundant diversity of flora and fauna on the farm.

Access to the fields is via an internal farm track or via numerous gateways onto the public highway.

BUILDINGS

Both buildings are located at the main entrance to the farm and comprise:

Grain Store - Steel portal frame and grain walling all under a corrugated fibre cement roof with a concrete floor. Two roller shutter doors and separate personnel door provide access to the front. Estimated capacity of circa 1,000 tonnes of on floor storage and extending to approximately 525 sq m.

General Purpose Building – Originally consented as a livestock building but currently used as a storage facility. Open fronted timber frame with timber cladding, chalk floor and a box profile sheeted roof with overhang to the front. Extending to approximately 139.08 sq m.

COUNTRYSIDE STEWARDSHIP

The majority of the land is currently entered into a Countryside Stewardship mid-tier agreement, which is due to end on 31 December 2025. An application to terminate this agreement early has been made to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

The agreement has provided for various options on the farm including nectar flower mix (AB1), two-year sown legume fallow (AB15), autumn sown bumblebird mix (AB16), flower rich margins and plots (AB8), winter bird mix (AB9), 4-6m buffer strips on cultivated land (SW1) and the management of hedgerows (BE3).

An application to enter the farm into the Sustainable Faming Initiative (SFI) was submitted to the RPA but subsequently withdrawn in order to provide a purchaser with the ability to design their own scheme.

WOODLAND

Part of the fields known as Barclays and Five Ash, totalling 8.90 hectares (21.99 acres), were entered into an England Woodland Creation Agreement in 2022. All capital works have been completed and the agreement will be transferred to the purchaser who will receive the benefit of the annual maintenance grant of £400 per
hectare per annum until 2038. Further details are available from BCM.