john k

The sort of lease I am talking about would need to cost substantially less than the sale value to make any sense. There is no reason why a leaseholder shouldn't be the one making the decisions either - it would depend on the lease.

I was wondering whether leasing might be an option to explore. Not a FC style 999 year lease, but maybe 50 or 60 years? At the right price I would happily take a lease. I don't have any great urge to own the land, but I would like somwehere that I know I can manage and bring on over a few decades. I can see that it wouldn't work for everyone (you would be unlikely to be able to borrow against it for instance), but it might open up new areas. For instance there may be estates that don't want to sell off any land but would be happy to take a lump sum for a lease on some unproductive acres. Any thoughts?

I've thought about a joint purchase too - it does seem like an obvious solution and I'd be happy to talk. richy_B what were the problems with dividing it up? I can't see any reason why it should be either difficult or expensive. I have a friendly conveyancing solicitor who I can have a chat with.

I've had a look and there's some good stuff there, but I'm a bit suspicious as it's effectively owned by "Woodlands for sale". I suspect it's more useful for existing woodland owners than for someone looking to buy.

Thanks for the encouraging words! It's certainly going to be interesting to see what happens with the FC land. There was a largish area for sale near here (200 acres or so IIRC) which was withdrawn from sale - I wouldn't be surprised to see it reappear in smaller parcels to maximise revenue. Clegg have some more FC woodland listed where it looks like the sale is going through. I get the feeling that the Clegg guide prices are low by more than a few percent. Once the FC sales go through we should be able to find out what the final price was.

Thanks. That's pretty much what I was guessing. Have you been actively looking, or just keeping an eye on what companies like Clegg & Co have been listing?

Hi, I've been lurking here for a while and found lots of interesting reading. I'm not an arb, but am interested in conservation and woodland management. I have no practical experience, but am learning fast and looking at ways to get my hands dirty. Like lots of people I've been dreaming about buying some woodland for years. I've looked at quite a few, but never found the right deal at the right time. I've missed out on a couple of good ones though! It looks like I may be in a better position to buy something soon, and have started looking a bit more seriously. The woodland needs to be in the south east, so I know that my money won't go as far as it might. It's not going to be a hard nosed "Dragons Den" type of investment, but I do want to make sure that it will support some sort of productive use - I'm not planning on making a living from it, but I'd like it to be a worthwhile part time job. The plan, such as it is, would be to do a mixture of things depending on what suits. Probably some coppice products, maybe firewood, possibly some charcoal, and maybe an acre or two of Christmas trees. What is the minimum size that would be worth considering? I was reckoning that less than ten acres probably wouldn't really be worthwhile, and that twenty would be better, with anything more an unlikely bonus. Does that sound about right? The other hurdle is obviously finding somewhere to buy. I could probably afford a small woodland from "Woodlands for sale", but from what I have seen it would be too small, with relatively poor access, have restrictive covenants, and all at a premium price. So I probably need to be more creative. With the potential sale of Forestry Commission property somewhere on the horizon maybe it's best to see what happens. There could be an opportunity to buy direct, or if not then there might be more woodland on the market. Does anyone have any idea how this might pan out?