Land News

Woodland Ownership

Lawson Fairbank 8th August, 2005

Woodland ownership is on the increase, but why buy woodland when many of us are within driving distance of a public woodland?

A few acres of woodland can be had for under £20,000 with a range of benefits - from preserving the countryside to acting as an extended garden for outdoor activities such as paintballing or beekeeping.

You should certainly be under no illusion that woodland is building land on the cheap. The chances of gaining planning permission on woodland are very slim indeed. Owning a woodland provides the opportunity to planting trees or build ponds. You can camp and make camp fires - mobile caravans can be left for up to 28 days (not necessarily consecutive) in any one year.

Woodland is better thought of as an investment. The Forest Market Report for spring 2005 reported that woodland prices have risen 14% in the past year alone. As with bricks and mortar, there is no stamp duty as long as the purchase price is below £120,000 and no coucil tax to worry about either!