Severn Trent selling estate for £11m

West Midlands water company Severn Trent is selling its 23,000 acre Lake Vyrnwy estate in Wales in the UK's biggest land deal in living memory.

The sale is being handled by property agents Knight Frank, which has slapped a price of £11 million on the estate, although the water rights are being sold seperately.

Clive Hopkins, head of farm and estate sales, said: "Never before has a property of this size come to the open market in one block under a single ownership, not in my lifetime anyway."

Although the lake and estate are owned by Severn Trent Water, which supplies eight million customers in the Midlands, the water from Vrynwy goes to Liverpool.

It was built to supply the fast-growing city in Victorian times.

At 13 billion gallons the man-made lake was the largest reservoir with the biggest masonry dam in the world when it was completed in 1892.

Construction involved the flooding of the village of Llanwddyn. Villagers were moved further down the valley and a chapel, on the edge of the lake, is the only visible sign of their lost home.

Severn Trent, which has the site on a 125-year lease, has decided owning the site is not part of its main business. Chief executive Tony Wray said: "Severn Trent runs all its estates sustainably and responsibly, but our core expertise is in providing excellent water and wastewater services for our customers, rather than managing upland estates.

"Other organisations exist that can concentrate more intensively on running the land at Vyrnwy. A responsible transfer process will bring benefits for all those living, working on and visiting the estate.

"We are committed to continuing our operational role at Vyrnwy and will retain a site presence to ensure this valuable asset is managed effectively and sustainably."

The 23,315-acre estate, in the Cambrian Mountains, is being split into four lots.