THE sale by auction of 93 acres of bare farmland at Knapton, York, intended to test the market, has exceeded expectations.

The land, owned by City of York Council, went under the hammer at a price averaging about £4,500 an acre.

The sale was handled at the Parsonage Hotel, Escrick, by national property consultants Carter Jonas. Auctioneer Andrew Fallows said: "The farmland market has been stagnant in the run-up to the long-awaited Common Agricultural Policy mid-term review announcement last month, and we expected interest to be high. This certainly proved to be the case, with about 80 in the room and heavy bidding."

The land was classed as "naked acres" because it carried no historical entitlement to subsidies, which will affect future subsidies under the mid-term review.

Lot one, 34 acres with outline planning consent strictly for a new farmhouse and a dairy unit, sold for £235,000 (or £6,900 per acre), while the remaining "bare land" lots of 31.5 acres and 27.8 acres sold for £142,000 (£4,500 per acre) and £128,000 (£4,600 per acre) respectively.

The £4,500 average was based on the sale price of the bare land because the planning permission in lot one represented extra value. A further 65.5 acres of receivership land at Brayton, near Selby, was also due to test the market, but was withdrawn before the auction.

Updated: 10:06 Thursday, March 25, 2004