Rural Estates

The County Council owns rural property across Hertfordshire that is managed separately from other property assets held by the authority. This is known as our Rural Estate. The Estate is mainly agricultural land, woodland, farms with dwellings and cottages, commercial property and some unusual assets such as village greens and important ecological sites.

The Estate is managed according to a range of financial and environmental objectives set by the County Council which delivers capital receipts, revenue income and environmental enhancement and acts as a guardian of stretches of otherwise vulnerable countryside. Most of the land is let to tenants.

There are 52 farms on the Estate with a wide range of traditional and modern buildings, including a number of listed buildings. There are about 10,000 acres of land that is mostly farmed countryside, but also areas open to the public, ancient semi-natural woodland and sites of special scientific interest.