Nearly 220ac of land at Eldon Moor Farm in County Durham has come to the market through rural land and property agency GSC Grays.
The parcel of Grade 3, mainly arable land is divided into two lots and has a guide price of £1,910,000. Lot 1 (106.12ac) is priced at £950,000 and Lot 2 (113ac) is priced at £960,000.
Eldon Moor Farm is situated to the north of the village of Middridge, between Newton Aycliffe and Shildon in County Durham, approximately eight miles south of Durham.
The estate agency said the land offers an opportunity to be used for nitrate offsetting as it falls within the Tees Valley catchment.
Head of farm sales at GSC Grays, John Coleman, said the agency has valued the land for agricultural use, but also expects “serious interest” in the 1,800 nitrate credits which could be gained from the land.
“This is an emerging market, and it will be interesting to see what value the market puts on this opportunity especially in light of the limited number of credits recently auctioned by Natural England at £1,825 per credit and for which I understand there was significant demand.
“Nitrate offsetting could be delivered by land use or management changes that reduce the nutrients entering a watercourse by wetland creation, woodland planting or arable reversion.”
The land is currently sown to Winter OSR, with each field having a 6m grass margin. It features four ponds of varying sizes, which are “naturally stocked with trout and perch”, GSC Grays said.
