Fly fisherman on a rural river in the South East countryside

Sporting Rights

Sporting rights are a valuable and often underleveraged asset on rural estates.
We work with landowners, tenants and estate managers across Kent, Sussex and Surrey on all aspects of sporting rights management, from game shooting and deer management to pest control and fishing, making sure the right agreements are in place and the asset is working as hard as it can.

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Making the most of your sporting assets

Sporting rights, whether shooting, fishing or deer management, offer a genuine income opportunity for many rural estates. But this only works if you structure, document and manage them properly. An informal arrangement or an outdated agreement can leave you exposed, both legally and financially.

Our Chartered Surveyors work with landowners to put the right leases and licences in place. We also review existing sporting agreements and advise on next steps where arrangements have drifted or lapsed. When deer management comes into it, we draw on a network of experienced deer managers. Together, we create and implement deer management plans and impact assessments. The South of England has one of the highest deer densities in the UK, so this matters more each year. Unmanaged deer populations can damage both woodland and agricultural land.

The subsidy landscape keeps changing, and new environmental schemes keep arriving. Your sporting objectives need to work alongside your environmental ones, not against them. We advise on Countryside Stewardship agreements and help you integrate sporting activities with your environmental scheme commitments. That way, one supports the other rather than competing with it.

KEY CONTACTS

Charlotte Pearson-Wood
MRICS FAAV
Tunbridge Wells

01892 509285
Email Charlotte

Toby Trotman
MRICS
Tunbridge Wells

01892 577438
Email Toby

Common questions about sporting rights

The legal rights to hunt, shoot or fish on a piece of land. Sporting rights can be retained by a landowner, leased to a third party, or form part of a wider estate management arrangement. Where land is sold or let, it’s important to be clear about whether sporting rights are included or reserved separately.

Yes. Whether you’re granting shooting or fishing rights to a third party or managing them yourself, having the correct lease or licence in place protects both parties and prevents disputes. An informal arrangement may appear to work until something goes wrong, at which point the absence of a proper agreement can be costly.

A sporting lease grants exclusive rights to use the land for sporting purposes for a fixed term, giving the holder stronger legal protection. A sporting licence is a more limited permission to carry out specific activities, which can be revoked more easily. Which is appropriate depends on the nature and duration of the arrangement.

A deer management plan sets out how you’ll monitor and control deer populations on your land to minimise damage to woodland and agricultural land. The South of England has one of the highest deer densities in the UK, so environmental schemes and planning authorities increasingly expect a formal plan.

Sporting activities need to be compatible with the requirements of any Countryside Stewardship agreement in place on the land. We advise on how to structure both, so sporting objectives and environmental scheme commitments work alongside each other rather than in conflict.

Yes. We carry out reviews of existing sporting leases and licences and advise landowners on their options, whether that’s renegotiating terms, bringing an agreement to an end, or putting a new arrangement in place.

Many landowners are surprised to find their sporting assets are underused, undervalued or tied up in agreements that no longer reflect the market or their objectives. A review of your current arrangements is often the best starting point, and we can advise on what’s realistic for your land and location.