The Crown Farm Industrial Estate – Why Local Knowledge Matters

We recently had the privilege of acting for a client in the sale of a property on the Crown Farm Industrial Estate, in Mansfield.

While the transaction might have appeared straightforward on the surface, the legal title (that is the root of ownership and the restrictions that apply to it) was anything but.

We have experience of acting on several sales, purchases and lettings on the Crown Farm Industrial Estate which has an interesting history.

The land in this area is owned by Welbeck Estates, the property investment and holding company for the Duke of Portland Estate.

What is now the Crown Farm Industrial Estate was previously the site of the Mansfield Colliery, which was affectionately nicknamed “Crownie” after the “Crown Farm” Farmhouse which used to sit immediately to the south of the site.

After the pit was closed in 1988, plans for the regeneration of the site culminated in it being designated as an Enterprise Zone, offering (at the time) business rate discounts and simplified planning.

The site was granted on a long lease to Mansfield District Council in order to support its regeneration and redevelopment for industrial use. This was achieved in some cases by “selling” individual plots or areas on the estate on long sub-leases with “ground rents” (a lower annual rent typically paid a longer lease of 50-150 years to reflect the value of leasing the land only) for those leaseholders to develop these sites themselves.

The long lease previously let to Mansfield District Council was itself acquired by Welbeck Estates in 2018, so it now owns this and the underlying land. The plan to this lease reveals to a trained eye some of the old mine features and buildings, such as the location of the original shafts and pit head area.

You can perhaps see that this history and context brings with it a number of legal complexities – some obvious but others more hidden. Because of our local history and past experience acting for one of the UK’s mining unions, we’re aware of the unique challenges that can crop up with former colliery land.

In this recent case, we were able to navigate the complex legal title quickly and efficiently because we knew what to look for, what aspects of the history were no longer relevant and where issues typically arise. We had to co-ordinate with other property professionals and report clearly to the client to get the right outcome.

Many properties on the Crown Farm Industrial Estate are subject to layers of long leasehold titles, historic rights, restrictive covenants and complex ownership arrangements linked to the site’s mining past. These aren’t always immediately obvious on a first read of the title deeds – but they can have a real impact on future use, value and even the ability to sell or refinance.

We take a curious, thorough approach – not just reviewing the documents in front of us, but also asking questions about the wider context: What’s the property used for? What are your long-term plans? What’s the background of the title and what it means for you today?

We’re proud to be Mansfield-based solicitors and we know this estate better than most.

So if you’re buying, selling, leasing, renting or refinancing a property on the Crown Farm Industrial Estate – or thinking about doing so – we’re ready to help. Give our Commercial Property team a call today for friendly and expert advice from people who know the local area.