A SCOTTISH farm has gone on the market for more than £8 million.
Penston Farm, near Macmerry in the heart of East Lothian, has been farmed by the Orr family for more than 70 years.
Now, the farm is up for sale, with three parcels of land, measuring a total of nearly 250 hectares, on offer for a total of £8.175m.
Duncan Barrie, partner at Galbraith handling the sale of Penston Farm, said: “This is an excellent and rare opportunity to acquire a first-class mixed farming unit which offers superb potential to continue as an existing agricultural holding or pursue further development opportunities, subject to obtaining the necessary consents.
“The farmhouse is an attractive stone-built house with three public rooms and eight bedrooms.
"There is also the potential to reinstate and modernise the cottages to generate additional revenue streams if desired and also land within the Local Development Plan may offer an excellent opportunity for longer-term development.
“The location of the farm is also highly desirable, close to Haddington and just one mile from the A1 to Edinburgh.
"The farmhouse and steading are located centrally within the holding and surrounded by open countryside known as ‘Scotland’s Breadbasket’ due to its temperate climate and rich soils, which support the production of a wide variety of farming operations.
"We expect to receive a great deal of interest.”
The first plot, including an eight-bedroom farmhouse, farm buildings and land extending to more than 217 hectares, is on offer for offers over £6.5 million.
According to Galbraith: “The current sellers have farmed Penston for 70 years following a move from central Scotland to East Lothian in 1954 and have over the years significantly improved and invested in the farmland and infrastructure on the holding.
“The farming system has historically been centred on a mixed arable operation, with cereals, potatoes and temporary grass all grown as part of the rotation and with some of the grain and all of straw used for home consumption to supply the existing livestock finishing and sheep enterprise.
“The land has benefitted from regular applications of farmyard manure generated from the livestock enterprise which has focussed on the purchasing and finishing of around 500 store cattle, and 1,000 store lambs per year which regularly top the livestock marts, in addition to a flock of around 800 sheep which are lambed in February/March.”
The sale also includes a pair of semi-detached single-storey cottages, alongside a further building described as being “in a state of disrepair”.
Among the farm buildings is a grain store, grain dryer shed and former aerodrome buildings dating back to the Second World War.
Plot two, which measures more than 13 hectares, is located to the east of the village’s industrial estate.
On the market for offers over £1,025,000, it is zoned for employment use.
Galbraith said: “All of the land within Lot 2 is currently farmed as part of the arable rotation at Penston Farm but presents a unique development opportunity within East Lothian for development as industrial use, subject to obtaining necessary planning consents.
“The land is currently allocated for employment use under the current East Lothian Local Development Plan, which was adopted on September 27, 2018.
“The Local Plan has earmarked the site as part of a new business park close to the Gladsmuir Junction of the A1 trunk road and the site would be suitable for business uses, including general industrial uses, subject to confirmation of ground conditions, access and suitable landscape treatment.”
Finally, the third parcel of land, to the west of the industrial estate, measures about 17.6 hectares.
The land “may present future opportunities in relation to the longer-term development of the settlement boundary of Macmerry to the east”.
The plot is for sale at offers over £650,000.
