A 180-ACRE County Durham farm with outbuildings and a quaint farmhouse has been snapped up by a woodland consultancy company who now plan on turning the land into an afforestation project.
Edder Acres Farm, which is located near Shotton Colliery, was on the open market for £850,000 – having boasted a three-bedroom farmhouse with pantry and utility, 180 acres of land and 12 outbuildings.
However, after first appearing on the market earlier this year with Youngs RPS in Darlington, it was announced that Herefordshire based forestry enterprise and woodland consultancy, Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, had purchased the huge package of land.
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Despite the eye-watering price tag, the company now hope to plant a forest, and start the process of making this part of County Durham greener, with Edder Acres being classed as green belt land.
Now that the land has been purchased, tree planting will begin next year and will include fifteen different species, roughly 60 per cent of which will be broad leaf trees and 40 per cent conifers.
Almost all the land will go to forestry except for 10 per cent, which are the areas underneath and adjacent to existing powerlines and where paths and tracks are to be constructed.
The Pryor & Rickett specialist team of chartered foresters and woodland consultants currently manages over 35,000ha of forestry land.
Graham Taylor MBE, Managing Director of Pryor & Rickett, has spent his entire career in forestry.
Speaking of the company’s recent purchase, Mr Taylor said: “We want to apply our skills to create a forest with a variety of habitats and carbon benefits as well as creating an asset.
“We all know how essential it is to plant more trees in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
“We will use this project to showcase just what can be done as foresters to help the environment and create a profitable business.
He added: “This is an exciting project both from a business and environmental point of view.
“Tree planting will not start until next year and clearly it will take time for them to mature.
“However, nature is quick to reclaim the landscape and it won’t be long before the diversity and richness of the habitat improves, and an exciting new era begins for Pryor& Rickett and Edder Acres Farm.”
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