Description

Peel Forest is situated in the Scottish Borders and runs adjacent to the Scotland- England border. The property forms part of Wauchope Forest, which adjoins Kielder Forest, the largest man-made commercial forest in the UK where over 500,000m3 of timber is harvested annually.

The area is renowned for the production of commercial coniferous timber, with various timber processors located in South Scotland and North England, all competing for a share of the timber market.

Peel Forest lies 21 miles south east of the well known market town of Hawick and 11 miles north of Newcastleton with Lockerbie, Alnwick and Carlisle all within 50 miles. Please refer to the location and sale plans to locate the property and use the what3words reference unloading.gracing.reprints to locate the forest entrance.

Access

A well-established forest road has been in use for many years for the purpose of extracting timber from within the forest. Access is taken via a servitude right of access between A1 and A2 as per the sale plan. This leads directly off the adjoining minor public road, which is an Approved Timber Haulage Route. This road links into the B6357 to the west and the B6320 to the east at Bellingham. The south east section of the forest, running adjacent to the Scotland-England border, benefits from a separate well developed access point directly off the public road. This is shown as A3 as per the sale. The extensive high-quality internal forest road network provides access to virtually all parts of the forest for conventional harvesting purposes. There is also the benefit of an excellent supply of stone from within the forest from various borrow pits.

Description

Peel forest was originally planted in the 1960s and 70s with a commercial timber crop of mainly Sitka and Norway spruce. Following felling of the first rotation, the property was replanted with a substantial area of high yield class conifers, predominantly Sitka spruce, which now cover approximately 81% of the stocked area.

The Sitka is accompanied by areas of Norway spruce, Scots pine, Serbian spruce, larch and mixed broadleaves, which have been used to enhance the biodiversity and add structural diversity to the landscape.

The second rotation crops are growing well across the site with impressive yield classes, providing an excellent core of maturing timber, with a good proportion of sawlogs developing. Income from thinning could be expected within the next five years and there remains approximately 40 hectares of the first rotation crop to harvest, including areas of windblow, providing a purchaser with immediate tax-free income.

The forest lies is a valley setting surrounded by an extensive complex of coniferous plantation and rises from 217m above sea level at the southern access point, up to 528m at the peak of the unplanted ‘Craigy Knowe’ hill.

The western side of this hill may lend itself for the establishment of new native woodland, increasing the area of broadleaf species within the forest. This may provide a purchaser with the opportunity to generate tradeable carbon units to help offset their carbon footprint.

The commercial element of the property is complemented by the attractive and tranquil Peel Farmhouse and steading that lies to the north west of the forest.

This property benefits from a separate access road that leads off the main forest road network and is enclosed by a selection of attractive mature broadleaf species. The house been unoccupied for a number of years however, subject to necessary consents, provides a purchaser with long term development potential.

The combination of an attractive age profile, high yield class conifer crops and excellent location, close to a selection of timber markets, makes Peel forest a wellbalanced and very desirable investment opportunity.

The table below summarises the current crop composition by area. Compartment schedules and maps are available on request from the selling agent.