Land Management Services

LAND MANAGEMENT ON THE DEFENCE TRAINING ESTATE

Over two thirds of the 190,000 hectares of land on the UK Defence Training Estate are for the primary purpose of military training, but are also well used by the farming community, and the public. As part of our land management, it’s our job to ensure the Estate caters to each of these users, as well as the diverse range of species that call the Estate home.

Land management on this scale and of this nature requires a huge scope for skill and efficiency. We develop solutions that enable significant infrastructure projects to go ahead on time and on budget, without compromising the integrity of the natural sites we maintain.

Many of our land management services are in sensitive mission-critical locations or under funding or timing constraints. Our engineering and project management teams have found long-term, sustainable solutions that meet these challenges, both in infrastructural and natural environments.

Our sophisticated land management systems and processes have been proven during our time maintaining rural estate infrastructure. The land we manage is in some of the UK’s most sensitive landscapes, and our skill in managing these assets and environments properly is of prime importance.

We have 1,300 staff work across 120 sites in England, covering an area of 190,000 hectares, of which more than 18,000 hectares are Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The management of land on this scale and of this nature, requires a far greater scope for skill and efficiency.

With many of our managed sites being designated for species, habitat and landscape significance at a global, European, national and local level, it is vitally important that we understand the processes necessary for each individual site.

AGRICULTURE

We manage 600 agricultural tenants, undertaking all landlord responsibilities including rent review, succession planning and support. Our support also provides years of experience in business development opportunities, improving the efficiencies of land use and suggestions for alternative revenue streams.

FORESTRY

We have a dedicated forestry team who undertake all aspects of woodland and tree management, from establishing new woodland through to sustainable harvesting and restocking. Our tree health and arboriculture specialists ensure tree health is maintained and proactive measures are taken to ensure disease outbreaks are controlled.

The support of our forestry operation improves the health and quality of our clients timber resources, which then becomes a vital source for income generation and reinvestment in their sites. The woodlands, forests and trees we manage are in some of the UK’s most sensitive landscapes, our skill in managing these assets and environments properly is of world-class calibre.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Our infrastructure services help to built and maintain many thousands of tracks and roads across the UK, from tarmac and paved roads that can cope with main battle tanks, to earth tracks that provide public access to historic monuments.

MAINTENANCE

Our sophisticated maintenance systems and processes have been successfully proven over the last two decades of maintaining rural estate infrastructure.

Thousands of kilometres of fences, roads, drains, have been inspected and maintained. Woodlands, grasslands, picnic sites, access facilities have been visited, documented and have had individual maintenance plans drawn up and implemented. This has given our customers total confidence that their risks have been identified, captured, catalogued and managed. This thorough approach to rural estate and land management enables prioritised investment and ultimately optimises the output and profitability of a site.