“A potentially high-returning investment dressed in agricultural clothing” – that’s how auctioneer Stephen Barry described this 87-acre non-residential farm at Gardenrath, Kells, Co Meath. And it’s hard to argue otherwise.

Situated on the southern outskirts of Kells, this land adjoins a residential area, but under the 2021 Kells Development Plan, the farm is not zoned for housing. With no immediate uplift expected, it is likely this land will be farmed for a long period of time yet.

The purchasers may not directly benefit from it being used for housing but there could be a great payback for the next generation. Guided at €1.6m, it goes for sale at a combined in-person and online auction at 3pm on Wednesday 8 March.

The online sale is via the LSL auctions platform and the in-person auction will be held at the sales room in the offices of Raymond Potterton at 38 Watergate Street, Navan, Co Meath.

A superb farm, it is presently under top-quality permanent pasture. Divided into five even units by mature trees and hedgerows, this farm could easily lend itself to being further subdivided into more paddocks.

There are good cattle handling facilities on the farm.

Water supply is from a fast-flowing stream and via a piped water supply. Near the roadside entrance, there is an excellent cattle handling facility that has a concrete floor and steel railings. Towards the centre of the property there is also very useful cattle handling facilities.

There’s farming activity in the area right across the agricultural spectrum. A noted livestock area, there is a good share of marts and meat processing plants within a 50km radius of this farm.

Situated beside the M3 Motorway, this holding is served by a very good road network and is only 900 metres of a level easy walk to the centre of Kells town.

Commenting on this farm, auctioneer Stephen Barry said: “This is a magnificent farm with high-quality clay soil capable of having any agricultural operation. It’s a very productive farm, the lands around it are all excellent. It has very little land that would be classed as unproductive and is ground that would be easy for machinery to work on. This is on a good vein of land in the Kells area with market gardens, horticulture, potatoes livestock [and] a few grain intakes about too.”