Crumps Farm in St Nicholas-at-Wade put on sale market with Savills

Crumps Farm in St Nicholas-at-Wade has been put on the sale market with agent Savills.

The land, owned by St John’s College Cambridge, was formerly a livery yard, but at present is an unoccupied farm site. The site is adjacent to the Grade I Listed Church of St Nicholas.

Crumps Farm consists of a Listed Threshing Barn, an unlisted, smaller Threshing Barn, single storey store buildings and a later Dutch Barn and semidetached Cottage. The 18th century unlisted Threshing Barn is considered to be curtilage listed.

The site also contains several modern buildings and outbuildings alongside the historic buildings.

Last September two applications for change of use and development at the farm were granted by Thanet council. The applications were for conversion of the existing dilapidated Grade II Listed and unlisted Threshing Barns, Dutch Barn, Cottages and store buildings to the south. The scheme also included two new dwellings on the sites of modern farm buildings earmarked for removal.

The Savills sale brochure says the farm is approximately 2.5 acres / 1.0 ha and the sale is for the freehold with vacant possession.

The site is being marketed by way of informal tender, price on application, with a deadline of noon on 3 June.

Shortlisted parties will be invited to interview before a preferred party is selected.

St John’s College Cambridge

The land is one of the plots in Thanet owned by St John’s College Cambridge which since 1511 has specialised in theology and the arts. Over the last 4 centuries it has grown its base of investment to support its educational endeavours. The college is likely to have owned the Crump Farm site since the 16th Century.

Land owned by St John’s includes Nash Court in Margate which is to be developed with up to 1,461 residential units and associated facilities as part of the Humber’s Mill project which also includes a two-form entry primary school, shops, cafes and health care services in a mixed use community hub and 22 hectares of green space at Nash Road.

St John’s College Cambridge also owns:

• Cleve Court Farm in Monkton, 310 Hectares.
• Docker Hill Farm, Monkton, 137 Hectares.
• Further land at Nash Court Farm, 4.86 Hectares
• Garden rear of Acol Cottage 0.14 Hectares
• Shuart Farm, St Nicholas-at-Wade 192 hectares
• Land adjacent to Shuart Farm 15 Hectares

St John’s previously owned Gore End Farm  in Birchington which gained approval for seven homes in a mix of conversion and extension of a threshing barn, converted cow shed and new builds. However, the site was then purchased by the owners of Grade II listed Gore End Farmhouse who had previously put forward an alternative plan for the land which included creating a working farmstead with wild meadow areas,  bee hives, bat and bird/owl boxes, a fruit tree orchard, vegetable and fruit allotments, herb gardens, trees, and two small pasture areas for livestock. There were also aims to restore the two Grade II listed barns to be used for community project for groups such as primary schools, Ageless Thanet, retirement homes, adults with moderate learning disabilities, SEMH and ASD

The new owners are now starting those plans, which do not involve building houses.

In 2016 St John’s College was reported as owning approximately 18,000 acres of agricultural land around England as well as a large and diverse property portfolio encompassing shops, offices, leisure facilities, industrial units, residential properties and ground rents. It is reported as having  £780.1m consolidated assets.

Farmland in Thanet

Thanet is around  40 square miles or 10330 hectares. Of that around 6,000 hectares is farmland. An estimated 1500 hectares is in areas at risk of flooding leaving some 4,500 best and most versatile land. An estimated 600-750 hectares of this will be lost when current developments are built out, including those waiting for approval.

Land at Westgate and Garlinge, earmarked for 2000 homes, is the site of award winning malting barley and high yields of premium crops.

Sites at Shottendane under Thanet council ownership, part of which is let to tenant farmer Jonathan Tapp, are earmarked for Kent County Council’s inner circuit road, a Traveller site as well as an allocation for housing. Birchington would also lose Grade 1 agricultural land in proposals for 1,600 homes.

Fields at Manston Road/Haine Road/New Haine Road are now being developed for housing as is land in Minster along Tothill Street. Numerous developments have taken place at Westwood with more in the pipeline.

There are also National Grid proposals for the Sea Link project which would mean 9 hectares of land taken up by an onshore converter station and sub-station at Minster marshes in the Stour Valley.

The housing need for Thanet calculated up to 2031 was for 17,140 new isle homes but using the Government “standard method” the number to 2040 is 21,700 dwellings.