« Back

90.53 acres, Cuckmere Valley, East Sussex, BN26 5TN
Under Offer - Guide Price £3,500,000

• Find a mortgage for this property
• View a brochure
• View map
• Contact agent
• Add to my property portfolio
• E-mail a friend
• Printer friendly page

** FOR SALE BY INFORMAL TENDER * The deadline for receipt of Tenders is 12 noon on Friday 31st March 2023 * Viewing days are Monday 13th March, Saturday 18th March, and Wednesday 22nd March between 10 am & 2 pm. **

Lot 1

Residential Complex | Indoor Tennis Court
Lower Stable Yard | Manège | About 16 acres of Land
In all about 18.88 acres

Residential
The original house, dating back to the 1950s has been significantly extended over the years. Predominantly of brick and tile construction with an attractive facade, it now comprises a split-level residential complex providing a range of one, two and three bedroom accommodation, all enjoying superb views over the farm and surrounding countryside. The floor plans give an excellent overview of the accommodation but briefly they comprise of the following units.

Set over two floors and the largest of the dwellings providing 1,511sq ft of living space Main House has a predominantly southerly aspect enjoying lovely open views. On the ground floor are two good size reception rooms, kitchen, cloakroom, shower room and on the first floor, 3 double bedrooms (2 en suite) plus a shower room. Outside, the property enjoys a south facing patio terrace leading onto lawned gardens with associated herbaceous borders all looking down over the lower stable yard and manège with views beyond to the rolling South Downs. Steps lead down from the terrace to a parking area and driveway. A major extension to the east elevation of the original house was built in 2011 and has since been further enhanced and subdivided so as to provide two interlinked yet self-contained flats: Lower Annexe has a large living kitchen/breakfast room with patio doors opening out onto lawned gardens to the south, a bedroom, shower room, utility and store rooms. An internal stairway leads up to the first floor and Upper Annexe which is also accessible via an external private entrance door. The accommodation comprises bedroom, dressing room, shower room, living room, kitchen/breakfast room, and enjoys a private garden with sitting out terrace adjoining the property on the northern elevation.

Mill View forms the north west corner of the building and is a good size accommodation of 933sq ft with a sitting/dining room, kitchen, utility room, cloakroom and large en suite double bedroom on the ground floor plus a master bedroom suite set out over the first floor.

On the lower ground floor of the building are Lullington View, a single bedroom accommodation with kitchen/living room, utility area and bathroom and The Studio - a studio apartment with open plan living pace and separate shower room and dressing area. Separately, Squirrel Cottage is a lean-to construction adjoining the southern side of the tennis barn providing a single storey accommodation of 1,066sq ft with 3 bedrooms, large living area, kitchen, bathroom and outside, a veranda, private garden and parking area.

Cuckmere Barn was built in 2004 and is a two storey detached barn of traditional brick, timber and tile construction set off the main farm track below the principal residential complex. There is accommodation over the first floor made up of 2 en suite bedrooms, kitchen/breakfast room and living room with balcony off. On the ground floor, accessible from the main farm drive, there are 2 double garages and a further workshop/garage with WC.

Outside
Access is via a shared track leading from the Alfriston Road off which is a gated entrance into the stable yard and further along the track, a private driveway forks off up to the house through landscaped grounds bordered by woodland. An area of lawn in front the house slopes down to the manège and stables. The drive opens into a large concrete parking area at the southern side of the house. Parking areas are also located off the access track below the house including to the front of Cuckmere Barn with steps leading up to the indoor tennis court and residences.

Behind the house are areas of mainly sloping lawn and a large area of communal kitchen garden borders the grass track leading up to the pasture fields.

Indoor tennis court
Behind the house is a fully enclosed 60ft x 120ft steel framed barn housing the indoor tennis court, built in 1976 and the first indoor tennis facility in the South East of England. It has long served as a community facility for tennis, and various other sporting uses including badminton and cricket training.

Adjoining the barn are various add-on service buildings providing a changing area, wc, kitchen and storage areas, all in need up of updating.

There is a lapsed planning consent to replace the existing service buildings with a new two storey structure incorporating changing rooms, office and club room with balcony.

Equestrian
Situated at the entrance of Pleasant Rise Farm, on the north of the access track, is the lower stable yard - a small stable complex of brick and timber construction comprising 7 loose boxes, a tack room and general store rooms as well as a borehole plant room. There is also a welfare area providing, rest room, kitchenette and shower room. Opposite the stable yard is a 60’ x 120’ partly lit outdoor manège enclosed by post and rail fencing and a partially covered lean-too for the storage of hay.

Land
The land attached to this lot extends in total to some 16 acres with a ribbon of deciduous woodland running along much of the northern boundary providing an attractive feature and excellent screening for the stables and residences.

Behind the house a grass track runs up into steep scarp that later levels out to fence-enclosed pasture fields used for grazing; from here there are magnificent views in all directions, including south to the coast. There is also access from the fields out onto the South Downs Way that passes the property to the north.

Lot 2

Outdoor Tennis Courts | Certified Location Caravan Site Campsite with shower/wc blocks | Timber Yard Upper Stable Yard | Pasture/Scarp Land
In all about 71.62 acres

Outdoor tennis courts
Three asphalt tennis courts constructed in the 1980s to operate in conjunction with the indoor centre are located on the southern side of the farm track sitting below the barn. They benefit from floodlighting and are enclosed by chain link fencing though the surfaces are presently in a poor state of repair.

Cetified location caravan site
A Certified Location touring caravan site with electric hook up points and water standpipes, is located beyond the outdoor tennis courts, situated within an attractive pasture field interspersed with trees, enclosed by a combination of woodland, hedging and post and rail fencing with a set of metal field gates securing the entrance.

Campsite
Beyond the touring caravan site and set within the adjoining pasture field running along the valley bottom is the campsite, presently operating under the 28 day rule as well as benefiting from some other permitted development rights. The site has a number of electric hook up points and water standpipes and is served by shower/toilet blocks and also a rubbish and recycling station. The field has been used for camping for over 20 years and as an established tourist asset to the area, there is good potential to extend the camping season (subject to all necessary consents).

Timber yeard
Situated opposite the camping field set above the farm track is the timber yard, which also provides a service area for the campsite, there are a number of outbuildings set within the yard including a timber framed three bay log store and machinery store.

Upper stable yard
Located at the far end of the farm access track there is a general purpose steel framed building that has been converted into stabling, providing 12 loose boxes with mezzanine tack room and store. The building has a concrete floor as well as the benefit of mains water from a private supply. There are various adjoining/associated outbuildings used for hay/feed and general storage.

Land
The land extends beyond the stable yard with undulating fence enclosed pasture fields cradled within the valley floor, known as Frances Bottom and steeper slopes rising up to the ridge on the north interspersed with pockets of woodland and scrub. The land has been managed by way of the grazing of livestock and horses and in total extends to about 64 acres.

General property information

Access
There is a single entrance/access to the farm off the Alfriston Road/Whiteways from where an unregistered track that carries a public footpath travels through the valley bottom providing access to the lots. The first stretch of the track is shared with a number of other residential properties.

Services
Mains electricity. Mains water plus a private borehole located within the grounds of the residential/stable complex. Private drainage; a Klargester sewage treatment plant serves the eight residences. A ground source heat pump serves the main house and some associated units with others having oil fired central heating.

Fixtures and fittings
All fixtures, fittings and chattels whether referred to or not should be presumed excluded from the sale.

Local authority
Wealden District Council.
South Downs National Park.
East Sussex County Council.

Outgoings
Council Tax Bands:
Pleasant Rise Farm – ‘E’
Annexe - ‘A’
Mill View – ‘A’
Lullington View – ‘A’
The Studio – ‘A’
Squirrel Cottage – ‘A’
Cuckmere Barn – ‘C’

Certain elements of the property are subject to Business Rates

Commanding outstanding rural views, Pleasant Rise Farm is magnificently located in the extremely popular village of Alfriston, nestled in the Cuckmere Valley within the South Downs National Park. Alfriston is a most attractive quintessential downland village with a rich history and thriving community. It boasts a famous medieval Market Square, an attractive high street with a pair of historic inns, a unique 14th century village church, clergy house and village green as well as benefiting from a village store/delicatessen, a great range of independent shops, galleries, tea rooms, restaurants, country hotels and public houses. The village also has a pre-school and primary school. Seaford, around 4 miles away has a good range of shops and services including a post office, banking facilities and a supermarket, with train station offering regular services to Lewes and Brighton. Seaford also has a beautiful seafront with pebble beaches and promenade.

The county town of Lewes is about 10 miles and provides a comprehensive range of shops and amenities, together with a mainline train station with services to London (Victoria).

Many miles of walks and rides through stunning countryside are accessible from the farm, notably the long-distance South Downs Way trail which passes the north of the property, along with numerous other walking, cycle and bridle paths.

Cuckmere Haven, the sea, beach and Seven Sisters Cliffs are approximately five miles distance.

There are excellent road and rail communications; Berwick mainline rail station is located just 3 miles away with direct services to London Victoria and London Bridge. The Alfriston Road which travels through the centre of the village provides access to the A27 in the north (1.5 miles), linking to Lewes and Eastbourne and also provides fast access to the coast, the A23/M23, Gatwick Airport and the national motorway network. Regular public bus services also serve the village connecting to Seaford, Lewes and Eastbourne.

There is a very good selection of both state and private schools in the area; in addition to the village schools, schooling for all ages is available at Seaford and Lewes. Private schools include Bede’s at Upper Dicker, Lewes Old Grammar, Bede’s Prep, St Andrew’s Prep and Eastbourne College at Eastbourne and Brighton College.

Please click 'View a brochure' for further details