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Crown Estate

Introduction

The Crown Estate is a landed estate including over 120,000 hectares of agricultural land in England, Scotland and Wales, substantial blocks of urban property and almost half the foreshore, together with the seabed out to the 12 mile territorial limit. Its origins date back to the reign of King Edward the Confessor.

The Crown Estate is part of the hereditary possessions of the Sovereign "in right of the Crown", managed under the provisions of the Crown Estate Act 1961 by the Crown Estate Commissioners who have a duty to maintain and enhance the capital value of the Estate and the income obtained from it, with due regard to the requirements of good management.

The following provides general summaries of the estates. More detailed information is available from the Crown Estate website http://www.crownestate.co.uk/

Rural Estate

The Crown Estate manages some 105,000 hectares (260,000 acres) of land, comprising approximately 73,000 hectares (182,000 acres) of farm land and 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of Forestry (excluding Windsor) in England and Wales, plus 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) of common land in Wales.

• Agriculture: The Estates cover a wide range of farming systems from beef and sheep production in the North, large scale cereal and vegetable cropping in the East to milk production in the West.
• Minerals: There are twenty-three active quarries within the Crown Estate producing limestone, (including Portland Stone), sand and gravel, clay, granite and slate. The Crown Estate also owns the prerogative right to all 'Mines Royal' (gold and silver), wherever they are found in the UK.
• Common Land: The Crown Estate owns a considerable amount of common land, primarily in Wales where the Crown Estate is effectively in the position of trustee of the Welsh commons, but also on the Island and Royal Manor of Portland.
• Forestry: The Crown Estate has direct management of 1,900 hectares (4,670 acres) of forestry in England and Wales with a further 4,100 hectares (15,000 acres) leased to the Forestry Commission. This does not include the forestry estate at Windsor.

More locational information can be found on the Crown Estate website http://www.crownestate.co.uk/

For information regarding access to a specific site on the Rural Estate, contact Danny Connolly at danny.connolly@crownestate.co.uk

Marine Estate

• Coastal: The Crown Estate owns around 55% of the foreshore (between mean high and mean low water) and approximately half of the beds of estuarial areas and tidal rivers in the United Kingdom. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Crown Estate owns about 2720 kilometres of foreshore out of a total of 5120 kilometres.
  Generally the Crown Estate does not sell the freehold of the foreshore, except in a few exceptional circumstances. Instead, the Crown Estate grants leases or licences, of which there are over 2,000 all around the coast. The largest leaseholders are local authorities, ports and harbours and conservation bodies such as English Nature, the National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
  Leases for control of conservation or amenity, which do not permit development of land, are granted normally to conservation bodies or local authorities. Through such Regulating Leases, these bodies may control day to day activity and use of undeveloped tidal land. Some 570 kilometres (21%) foreshore is leased specifically for conservation purposes and it is intended to extend this in consultation with English Nature. A great deal more of the coastline is under protective ownership by way of leases to local authorities.
• Offshore: The Crown Estate also owns the seabed out to the 12-mile territorial limit, including the rights to explore and exploit the natural resources of the UK Continental Shelf, excluding oil, gas and coal. Leases of easement for pipelines and cables and royalties from the extraction of minerals, principally marine aggregates, are the main sources of revenue from this part of the Estate.
  The Crown Estate does not own the water column, oil, gas and coal, or govern public rights such as navigation and fishery over tidal waters.

More locational information can be found on the Crown Estate website http://www.crownestate.co.uk/

For information regarding access to a specific site, contact Neil Jacobson at neil.jacobson@crownestate.co.uk

Urban Estate

Until a few years ago virtually all of the urban property was concentrated in central London - the West End, Kensington, St James's, Regent's Park, Millbank and the City.

Since the early 1980s the portfolio of commercial property outside London has been expanded substantially and historic ownership accounts for commercial property interests in other areas around London such as Richmond and Eltham and also at Ascot and Windsor.

The Urban Estate is split into four Business Groups:

• Central London: The Central London Estates include some of the Crown Estate's most prestigious commercial properties in St James's, Pall Mall, Whitehall, Victoria Street, Trafalgar Square and The Strand. Amongst them are many landmark buildings such as South Africa House, Canada House, Lancaster House, all the Nash properties in Carlton House Terrace and others such as the Institute of Directors and the Athenaeum in Waterloo Place and many of the London clubs along Pall Mall. There is a large retail element in Jermyn Street, Haymarket and New Oxford Street.
• Regent Street: There are 125 buildings on the Regent Street Estate. Redevelopments regularly take place behind retained listed facades to provide attractive shopping facilities.
• Regional: The balance of the regional portfolio consists of the traditional urban properties which have in many cases been part of the Crown Estate for many years. It includes properties in Royal Parks, such as Upper Lodge in Bushy Park and Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park. At Richmond the estate has ownership of the historic Old Deer Park, a 360-acre stretch of land sandwiched between Richmond town centre, the River Thames and Kew Gardens. Some properties are the relics of the days when the Sovereign was responsible for the defence of the realm, including parts of Dover, Chester and Scarborough Castles. Some of these are now in the custody of English Heritage.
• Residential: The Crown Estate's residential properties include long leasehold houses in Regent's Park, Kensington, Millbank and Victoria Park, and four housing estates providing 1600 units mainly let on monthly regulated and assured tenancies.

More locational information can be found on the Crown Estate website http://www.crownestate.co.uk/

For information regarding access to a specific site, contact Anne Whitelaw Dykes at anne.whitelaw.dykes@crownestate.co.uk

Windsor Estate

The Windsor Estate covers approximately 6,300 hectares (15,600 acres) and includes 3,200 hectares (8,000 acres) of forest, Windsor Great Park and Home Park, The Savill and Valley Gardens, residential properties and commercial properties including Berkshire and Swinley Forest Golf Courses, Ascot Racecourse, Smith's Lawn and three let farms. Windsor Great Park is the only Royal Park managed by the Crown Estate.

There are 2865 ha (7080 acres) designated SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) on the Windsor Estate, including the Great Park,Windsor Forest and Swinley Forest. General information on habitats and species in the conservation areas is available on the Crown Estate website given below.

More locational information can be found on the Crown Estate website http://www.crownestate.co.uk/

For information regarding access to a specific site, contact Mr P.B.Everett, Deputy Ranger at philip.everett@crownestate.org.uk

Scottish Estate

The Scottish Estate, administered from 10 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, can broadly be divided into four sectors:

• Commercial Property: The urban investments of the Crown Estate in Scotland are focused on commercial properties in the centre of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• Agriculture and Forestry: The agricultural and forestry estates in Scotland have a varied history – but most have been purchased as valuable additions to the Crown Estate's property portfolio.
  In all, the estate comprises nearly 100,000 acres (38,000 hectares) of land, ranging from stock rearing and dairy farming in the Borders to traditional hill farming in the Highlands, and incorporating substantial commercial forests.
  The largest acreage is at Glenlivet, Banffshire. The estate, which contains the Crown Estate’s largest forest, was purchased in its original form in 1937, had been the sporting estate of the Dukes of Richmond and Gordon. Now totaling more than 23,000 hectares, Glenlivet is a carefully integrated mix of agriculture, forestry, sporting and tourism. An Education and Interpretative Centre has been developed at Tomintoul, providing a central facility for the many educational groups and tourists who visit the estate.
• Fish Farming: The Crown Estate's ownership of foreshore and seabed has placed it in the unique position of being able to grant leases for fish farming development.
  Fish farm leases are granted by the Crown Estate following consultation with a number of bodies which include the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage, the relevant local authority and local interest groups as well as the general public.
• Marine: As owners of approximately half of the foreshore and almost all of the seabed around the coastline of Scotland, it is the Crown Estate's role to issue consents for any activity which makes use of the resource. The Crown Estate is also involved in the management of the natural resources of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf, with the exception of oil, coal and gas.

(In addition to these four main areas of management, the Crown Estate in Scotland also comprises mineral interests, including rights to gold and salmon fishing rights.)

In addition to development usage, the coastline includes many areas of high amenity or conservation value. Arrangements have been made to provide added protection to areas of particular conservation value or which adjoin national reserves by leasing to conservation bodies for long-term management. The Crown Estate plays an active role in the Firths Initiative, which brings together public and private bodies and individuals with an interest in the sustainable management and use of our firths, and also participates in the Scottish Coastal Forum.

More locational information can be found on the Crown Estate website http://www.crownestate.co.uk/

For information regarding access to a specific site, contact Alan Rodger at alan.rodger@crownestate.co.uk