The Crown Estate

The Crown Estate is an actively managed portfolio, valued at £7 billion, including substantial blocks of urban property, substantial marine assets and agricultural land in England, Scotland and Wales.

Under The Crown Estate Act (1961), The Crown Estate has a duty to maintain and enhance the capital value of the Estate and the income obtained from it. Its revenue surplus in 2006/07 amounted to over £200 million, which was paid directly to the Exchequer for the benefit of all UK taxpayers.

Our objectives and responsibilities are brought to life in our core corporate values of commercialism, integrity and stewardship; values that guide the way we do business. They underpin our ongoing approach to being a responsible corporate body, one that balances its commercial business concerns with good management of the environment and the many historic assets with which we are entrusted.

The Crown Estate’s rural estate is one of the largest in the UK. Valued at £714 million (10.9 per cent of the total property value of The Crown Estate) the estate comprises a broad range of interests including approximately 110,000 hectares (270,000 acres) of agricultural land, 10,000 ha (34,5000 acres) of forestry, 34 active quarries/mineral lettings and around 700 residential lettings.

The marine estate includes more than 55 per cent of the UK’s foreshore, tidal river-beds and almost all the seabed to a 12 nautical mile limit. In this context, The Crown Estate is responsible for helping facilitate delivery of the UK’s offshore renewable electricity capacity.

The urban estate includes around 1,340 affordable housing units, a large office and retail portfolio, - including almost all of the property in London’s Regent Street - and parkland, such as London’s Regent’s Park.

Sustainable Development

We know that delivering sustainable development is about addressing economic, social and environmental issues in an integrated and holistic manner. We recognise that sustainable development can mitigate climate change and at the same time support the growth of strong and healthy communities. Across the country, we establish constructive partnerships with customers, tenants, agents and local political authorities, to improve our estates through investment in sustainable developments.

The Village at Butterfield

‘The Village’ at Butterfield is the first phase of an office complex which will create a sustainable, environmentally sound development that blends with its natural environment. The Crown Estate worked in close partnership with Butterfield Land and Luton District Council on the project.

New habitats and promotion of biodiversity were planned into the development.  Mature hedgerows and boundary woodlands are complimented by newly planted wildflower meadows and grassed areas, intertwined by footpaths and cycle ways. An efficient, integrated drainage system provides natural wildlife habitats that will stimulate bio-diversity.

The office buildings are among the first in the UK to incorporate a passive ‘earth duct’ ventilation system: air is drawn through a network of buried pipes spreading up to 80 metres around the park. This reduces energy use by up to 75 per cent and improves air quality by reducing carbon emissions.
The village’s buildings are orientated to optimise natural light, whilst reducing overheating with solar shading. An energy efficient lighting system provides only for working illumination.

Burnhill Green

Part of Patshull Estate, near Wolverhampton, Burnhill Green is a village where The Crown Estate has recently received planning permission for ten new homes.

The development will be of a very high quality, designed to conform to the village’s established Dartmouth style, using local brick, clay tiles, traditional window casements and oak framed porches.

The area in front of the properties will put the village ‘green’ back into Burnhill Green. The development will also conform to level three of the Code for Sustainable Homes and as part of this will incorporate exceptional insulation and renewable energy.

Acknowledging the importance of this development to the village, detailed consultation was undertaken with both the planning authority and the local community. As a consequence, four affordable houses will be provided to support the community.

Many of the homes developed at Burnhill Green will conform to the government’s Lifetime Home Standards. A Lifetime Home is one that is carefully designed to be flexible enough to accommodate people’s changing circumstances – for example, so that they can be easily modified as people get older or in case of a disability.

Working in Partnership

We recognise the importance of developing strong working partnerships with community and political stakeholders for pursuing successful development projects. In bringing forward proposals for large-scale developments of any kind, we always engage in robust consultation with local communities and authorities at all stages of the planning process.

The Bingham Community Chest

The Crown Estate has a long history in the Bingham area and some of its land in the area has been developed for residential purposes.

As part of its commitment to the local community The Crown Estate established the Bingham Community Chest, an innovative approach to helping provide community facilities. Appropriate new developments make financial contributions to a central fund – the Bingham Community Chest, which is managed by the borough and town councils who decide how the funds are spent.

Funds are used to the benefit of the community. They may be directed to community centre facilities for youth groups and the elderly, to pay for environmental enhancements and safety schemes such as landscaping and CCTV, and for recreation facilities including sports pitches and play areas.
Total contributions to the Bingham Community Chest have totalled over £1.25 million since the scheme’s inception in 2003.

The Community Chest demonstrates The Crown Estate’s strong commitment to supporting local community in Bingham and ensures that as well as meeting high standards of design, developments on Crown Estate land bring additional benefits through new and enhanced social and community facilities.

The Tithe Barn

The ‘Tithe Barn’ in the Somerset village of Dunster dates back to the 16th Century. Owned by The Crown Estate, this landmark building stood derelict for many years despite being right in the heart of the village.

Following the formation of the ‘Dunster Tithe Barn Community Hall Trust’ much fundraising has been done to enable a £450,000 renovation project that has seen the building returned to community use. The Crown Estate was pleased to match-fund locally raised money so that the project could be completed to a high standard. We have also donated plants from The Savill Garden and a Windsor Oak in order to assist with the finishing touches for this spectacular community facility.

Neats Court

As part of a masterplan for regeneration on the Isle of Sheppey, The Crown Estate has been working in partnership with SEEDA on the regeneration of Queensborough and Rushenden, on its Neats Court Estate.

Supported by Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council, work undertaken includes the development of a new business park and infrastructure, including a new link road to the island.

All partners engaged in an extensive consultation which was rated as exemplary by the Thames Gateway Authority.

The Masterplan includes development of a large, mixed-use employment scheme, comprising warehouses, office space and a service station. This will create significant numbers of new jobs and the project will mark the most significant economic development in the Isle of Sheppey for nearly 40 years.

The Isle of Sheppey has previously suffered from a long period of underinvestment and the current projects have been welcomed by local communities.

The Environment

We know that the condition of our surroundings has a direct impact on quality of life and that the conservation and improvement of the natural and built environment brings social and economic benefits for local communities. As one of the country’s largest landowners we recognise the importance of our role as stewards of the environment; preserving its legacy for future generations.

Energy Efficiency Strategy

An Energy Efficiency Strategy has been developed for The Crown Estate’s 1,300 affordable homes in London. This gives The Crown Estate’s housing team a clear plan of action for improving the energy efficiency of its housing stock over the coming years.

The programme will integrate energy efficiency improvements into our broader repair and maintenance programmes and will explore new technologies. Not only will the implementation of the strategy help to reduce carbon emissions but it will help tenants to see a reduction in their energy bills. It is also a vehicle through which we can motivate and train our employees and ensure they can provide energy saving advice to our tenants.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Natural England sets targets for landowners to bring their holdings with Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), up to a ‘favourable condition’.

There has been clear progress made by The Crown Estate in meeting the Natural England target to bring 95 per cent of its directly managed SSSIs in England, up to favourable condition by 2010. There are a large number of directly managed SSSIs spanning the rural, Windsor and marine estates and of those on the rural and Windsor estates 92 per cent currently meet the target condition.

In each case The Crown Estate acts as a facilitator, working closely with tenants and English Partnerships to assess how sites can be improved to help meet the needs of the local environment.

A site is considered to be in a ‘favourable condition’ when all factors which could affect a habitat or species do not adversely affect the range and abundance of species or range and quality of habitats.

Building Quality

We see places, buildings and people as the foundations on which strong communities are formed and whether protecting the old or developing the new, our approach to building design is consistent; we demand quality. We value quality architecture and excellence in building design because we understand the impact they can have on the environment, on communities and on people’s quality of life.

The Savill Building

The Savill Building, opened in 2006, has been a tremendous success for The Crown Estate, not only for its outstanding design, but also award-winning sustainable construction. Its accolades include the Gold Award, awards in the ‘Commercial and Public Access’ and ‘Structural’ categories at the Wood Awards, and being one of only two UK finalists nominated for the RIBA Stirling Prize. The Wood Awards is the premier award ceremony for the use of wood in buildings and furniture (www.woodawards.com).

The building lies in Windsor Great Park and was designed by Glen Howells. The design provides a functional building and distinctive focal point for the surrounding Savill Garden, built to exceptional standards from natural materials that reflect its context: the unique gridshell design resembles the curve of a leaf.

The Savill Building has been a big success with the public. More than just an architectural icon, it hosts facilities including a shop, restaurant, lecture room and exhibition space. Since its opening in June 2006, 400,000 visitors have passed through its doors.

The Savill Building’s bespoke gridshell roof, the largest roof of its type in the UK, is constructed from larch and clad with green oak from Windsor Great Park’s sustainable managed woodland.