New Forest: Foxlease site being marketed with £4m price tag

Foxlease, one of five centres across the UK that are being sold off by Girlguiding UK, is being marketed by Savills estate agents.

The tree-lined site at Clay Hill, Lyndhurst, can be bought as a whole or in two lots.

Lot one has a guide price of £2.5m and includes the Grade II-listed Princess Mary House, which has 23 bedrooms and is the main building on the 65-acre estate. Also included is a three-bedroom bungalow, camping facilities, and an outdoor activity area. Lot two, up for £1.5m, comprises three cottages.

The main building on the Foxlease site is a Georgian mansion (Image: Savills)

A charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) called Foxie’s Future has been set up in a bid to buy the main part of the centre and save it from closure.

The CIO is an independent body entirely separate from Girlguiding UK.

In a statement, it said: "Through Crowdfunding and other fundraising, Foxie's Future has raised approximately £78,200, with further pledges totalling £20,000.

"In addition, the charity has access to a further £150,000 of interest-free community lending.

"We have a number of grant applications pending consideration which, if approved, would equate to at least a further £2m of capital funding.

"We have a business plan for the first three years' of operations and this is being further developed all the time. It includes staffing plans and a robust and conservative growth plan to develop the site's offerings into a community space."

The training and activities centre is ome of five sites being sold by Girlguiding UK (Image: Savills)

Foxie's Future has issued a rallying cry to people who want Foxlease to stay open.

It said: "We need you to donate, to fundraise, to join the Foxie's Family, and to keep spreading the word. Your support could, quite genuinely, make all the difference to our success.

"We'll keep going for this goal and for the next generation of Foxlease and we hope you'll join us."

The Savills brochure describes the planned sale as "an extraordinarily rare" opportunity to acquire a Georgian estate in the New Forest. It says the raft of accommodation "offers a range of potential alternative uses, subject to planning permission".

Buildings on the 65-acre Foxlease site include Princess Margaret Lodge (Image: Savills)

The brochure adds: “Princess Mary House is located at the centre of the estate.

“The Grade II listed house was built in 1792 and offers attractive and well-proportioned principal rooms with floor to ceiling height windows.

“Further accommodation and self-catering facilities are provided within Princess Margaret Lodge, The Barn and The Coach House."