The Blenheim Estate in Oxfordshire is inviting farmers to apply for three 10-year tenancy agreements on 1,100 acres of arable farmland.
Successful farmers will be offered lengthy agreements to implement the estate's new land strategy using a sustainable farming approach.
The 1,100 acres on offer is split into three lots – two with bare Grade 3 farmland and one including buildings and a grain store.
The lots comprise varying field sizes and are located in and around the villages of Woodstock and Stonesfield.
Applications are open today (30 April) through property agency Carter Jonas, with occupation from September 2021.
The Oxfordshire UNESCO World Heritage Site set out plans to change the way it managed and farmed its 12,000 acres in 2019 as part of a wider land strategy.
The strategy seeks to place value on its natural capital, while recognising the role land has to play in becoming the first carbon negative estate in the country.
Blenheim Estate director Roy Cox said: “Finding the right partners for this land and enabling them to thrive, continues our clear direction set out two years ago as part of our ambitious land strategy.
"Put simply we cannot meet the needs of our area today if our land and those who farm it are not helping.”
According to Oxford University, the estate stores half a million tonnes of carbon and could also slow down 12,000 tonnes of flood water.
With that in mind, Mr Cox said he would like to see farmers who can provide the 'very best' of land management by 'challenging the status quo' and identifying opportunities to improve the local environment.
“We’re committed to working in partnership with our farm tenants to unlock the potential of produce from the land, improving our natural capital, encouraging techniques that hold carbon and measure the health of our soils."
Ross Kent, partner at Carter Jonas, noted that rented farmland in Oxfordshire 'is always in high demand'.
"This is a unique opportunity to secure a 10-year Farm Business Tenancy with the Blenheim Estate which has an ambitious vision," he said.
“At a time of huge change this tenancy will provide the successful farmers with certainty, security and the chance to be at the forefront of the changes which are happening in agriculture and land management.
“We expect interest from local farmers to be high, but the size and nature of the opportunity will appeal to those from further away too.”
To request a tender pack email Ross.Kent@carterjonas.co.uk. The deadline for applications is 17 June 2021.
