About this property
Introduction
The Wood Hall Estate is an exceptional equestrian and sporting estate located within the M25, just 14 miles north of Marble Arch / Park Lane. Estates of this scale and calibre, so accessible to Central London, are incredibly rare.
The Estate includes seven houses and cottages, a grooms’ hostel and a range of equestrian, farm and general estate buildings. There are about 92 acres of woodland, which support a renowned driven partridge and pheasant shoot, along with a further 286 acres of paddocks and productive farmland. Given its strategic location within the M25, the Estate also provides significant opportunities for residential development.
Combined, the Estate offers the highly desirable combination of privacy, accessibility, outstanding sport and numerous diversification and development opportunities.
Equestrian Facilities
Following the acquisition of the Estate in 1998, the current owner furthered his passion for both flat and National Hunt horse racing by transforming Wood Hall into a first class equestrian stud by converting previously farmed land into fenced paddocks, adapting buildings into equestrian facilities, installing both grass and all weather gallops and developing surplus buildings into houses for staff. At its peak, The Wood Hall Estate was home to over 50 mares and horses in and out of training.
The paddocks are efficiently laid out with access from tracks and are fenced with post and rail fencing. All have automatic water troughs and are bounded by mature hedgerows and trees. Some paddocks benefit from field shelters and all grow excellent crops of grass having benefitted from a low stocking density under the current ownership.
Farming
The farmed land at the Estate comprises a mixture of fenced paddocks, temporary pasture and arable/environmental stewardship. The land is classified as grade 3 with the soils being described as being of the Windsor Series being a clay based soil. Access to the land is via a series of excellent internal estate roads and tracks. The permanent pasture has previously been used for grazing as part of the stud business. The temporary grassland could be ploughed and brought back into arable production.
Woodland and Sport
The undulating landscape, strategically placed game covers and woodland forms the basis of one of the finest private shoots to be found within the M25. Historically, both pheasant and partridge have been reared and driven from any of the 8 principal drives on the Estate. In addition, there are a number of stream fed ponds and lakes which attract good numbers of duck.
The Estate has hosted 12 formal days per season, with bags ranging from 250 to 569.
Development Opportunities
Wood Hall lies in the Hertsmere Borough within Hertfordshire in the Hertsmere Local Plan. Under the proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, local authorities across Hertfordshire will have to identify suitable land for the delivery of an additional 1,989 dwellings. This is a 122% increase across the county, including a 459% increase in the Hertsmere Borough, for additional completions required each year.
The Estate represents a strategic development opportunity within a well-established residential market where the demand for such opportunities considerably exceeds supply. Its central location and strong transport links to the M1 and M25 are key and may provide a purchaser the opportunity to promote the site to deliver new developments around Radlett and Shenley. There is significant potential to generate an uplift in value in the event that planning permission is granted in the future.
The owners wish to retain a share of any uplift in value should planning be granted for development on part of the Estate. Please see page 22 for further details.
Residential Portfolio
The current owners have invested in and sympathetically renovated the useful collection of seven cottages on the Estate which are located close to the equestrian facilities. Some of the cottages are currently occupied on short term lets but can also be used for ancillary guest or staff accommodation, or diversified revenue streams.
Local information
- The Wood Hall Estate is nestled in the southern tip of the highly sought after county of Hertfordshire, an area renowned for its proximity to London and its geographical features and historical landmarks including the rolling landscapes of the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; the upper valleys of the rivers Lea and Colne; and the Warner Bros. Studios. One of the charms of Wood Hall is the privacy and peace afforded by its position, yet its highly unusual location of being within the M25 makes it extremely accessible to both Central London and the many attractions of the surrounding countryside.
- The idyllic town of Radlett is situated 1.5 miles to the west of Wood Hall and offers a wide variety of local shops, restaurants and a post office. Shenley lies 1 mile to the east with the nearby popular towns of Harpenden and St Albans offering further amenities.
- Elstree Aerodrome for helicopters and smaller fixed wing planes is 4 miles from the Estate, Luton Airport (18 miles to the north) caters for international flights and private aircraft and London Heathrow Airport is 20 miles to the south west, whilst the M25 (junction 22) is within 4 miles of Wood Hall.
- There is an excellent range of both private and state schools in Radlett and the surrounding area including Aldenham, Edge Grove and Radlett Preparatory Schools Haberdashers, North London Collegiate and Merchant Taylors, as well as St Albans School and Beaumont School in St Albans; and Sir John Lawes, St Hilda’s and The King’s Schools in Harpenden.
- There is horse racing at the renowned Ascot and Kempton Park Racecourses whilst Porters Park, The Centurion Club, Aldenham, Verulam and The Grove golf and country clubs are all within 7.5 miles of Wood Hall.
Additional information
- Directions: Postcode: WD7 9AA What3Words (Drive): ///rocks.start.margin What3Words (Wood Hall Farm Office): ///brass.labs.latter
- EPC Rating: E
