BUYING woodland has long been popular for a variety of reasons. It has been viewed as a relatively cheap way of getting to own a little piece of England.

So what should you be looking out for when considering purchasing a woodland?

The most important consideration is to ensure you will be able to manage the woodland in a way that will meet your objectives.

Woodland can be subject to landscape scale designations, which can affect what you can do with it. Such designations include national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Then there are woodland specific designations, such as Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland, Ancient Woodland Site and tree preservation orders. All these designations can impact future management.

Is the woodland freehold or leasehold? Much of the land sold to the Forestry Commission for planting was on a 99 or, more usually, 999-year lease. A long lease may not impact the value, but the lease may well contain restrictive covenants or reserve some rights, which may not be compatible with what you wish to do.

Even freehold woodland may be subject to rights held by third parties or other restrictions. The usual such rights will be mineral and sporting.

If you were to buy a woodland for its environmental value, could you tolerate somebody else filling it with pheasants?

Then access must be considered. If access is over third party land, are the rights robust and how restrictive are they? Is access suitable for your needs, both physically and legally?

Are there public rights of way within the woodland or other third party rights within or through the woodland? Your planned additional drive may not be a great success if the woodland has become the favourite dog walking area for the village.

Woodland boundaries can be an area of contention, particularly where they abut grazing land. What condition are they in and who is responsible for their upkeep? Sheep can be expensive grazers if they get into newly-planted woodland.

The woodland may be covered by a felling or management plan as approved by the Forestry Commission. This may contain some legal obligations, such as the need to replant felled areas with particular species, so it is good to know of such schemes early in the process. Failure to do the correct due diligence can be an expensive surprise!

Having acted for numerous vendors and purchasers of woodland, I am now listed on the woodlands.co.uk website as a specialist and recommended solicitor for woodland transactions, so do please give me a call if I can be of any assistance to you.