NICHOLAS JOHNSTON, the enthusiastic owner of the Bantham Estate, has opened his heart about his plans, hopes and dreams for the future of this South Devon gem, which has had a special place in his heart from his childhood days.

Mr Johnston bought the 728 acre Bantham estate in 2014 for ‘about £11.5 million’.

The estate had previously been owned by the Evans family since 1922, and when the estate came up for sale, there were fears in the village that it might be sold to a Russian oligarch, or worse, broken up and sold off in parts.

But, when asked what attracted him to put in an offer for Bantham, Mr Johnston made it plain.

‘I had known the South Hams from my child- hood, going on holiday to Noss Mayo and Newton Ferrers with my mum and dad.

‘When Bantham first came up for sale, I saw it on the front page of the Sunday Times and it just caught my imagination. For anybody who has been down at Bantham at almost any time of the year, it is a very easy place to fall in love with.

‘It caught my imagination from an emotional perspective, but also because I thought that in the long term it represented an interesting business opportunity too.’

In a wide-ranging interview, in which he insisted that no questions would be ruled ‘off limits’, Mr Johnston spoke of his plans for future commercial development of the estate.

‘Today we start the summer season with four lovely vintage trucks on the beach and this marks the small evolution of what we want to do, so far as the car park and the trading environment on the beach is concerned.

‘This also marks the moment where the original black Bantham Gastrobus goes across to the small look-out beach car park at Thurlestone. In the future I am sure there will be other modest changes around the estate.

‘It’s inevitable that some of these will include a bit of development but, in view of the limited amount that we have done so far, I don’t believe this will be in a form which a majority of locals cannot see some benefit.’

Mr Johnston insists that, in owning a large estate, he is far more than just a business owner, he is also the guardian of a small community.

‘I think any rural community that is closely interlinked with a traditional estate ends up having overlap and collaborative importance to all parties. But I would also say that buying an estate is not some sort of public relations stunt aimed at appeasing the person who shouts loudest.

‘Rural communities need to evolve and make sure that they are providing for all sections of society – young and old, rich and poor.

‘I think that we have every opportunity at Bantham to ensure that we are an estate relevant to all people rather than being run for the benefit of a few.’

Mr Johnston continued: ‘I think what we have demonstrated so far is that we have, over the last 18 months, added several full-time employees and part-time employees, but being down here on the beach today, you can see that we have added more economic opportunity for local businesses.

‘So my view of a stronger local community is not just led by looking after the existing community, but it is adding more dimensions and more opportunity to that community which I think creates a healthy, long-term, sustainability.’

Mr Johnston is keen to develop the commercial aspects of Bantham.

His other project is the Great Tew estate in Oxfordshire, where his family have been praised for the diversification of the estate, including a farming operation, ironstone quarry, large property rental portfolio, and even a music festival.

‘When I bought Bantham, there was just Ryan Hooper as estate manager and one retained employee who retired just before I purchased the estate.

‘Since then we have probably added six or seven permanent employees and several part-time positions. They are doing a wide variety of mixed responsibility from repair and maintenance of the property portfolio to work in and around the beach, to developing the estate shoot and providing additional administration capability .’

When asked if he has plans to turn Bantham into a shooting estate, he replied: ‘Bantham has had a small shoot going back over 20 years and we have made the conscious decision to organise this a little better. But in my view that does not necessarily turn Bantham into a specific shooting estate.’

Mr Johnston believes there will probably be further employment opportunities in the future, but he is unsure of what these roles and responsibilities may be.

One particular concern of people who live and visit the South Hams, was that access to the coast- line at Bantham would be restricted – particularly when a planning application was submitted earlier this year to install an automatic car barrier at the car park.

The application received dozens of objections, before being withdrawn by Bantham Estates.

When asked if he has further plans to change access, or increase parking charges further, Mr Johnston said: ‘We have previously put forward a proposal for a better, more consistent approach to the administration of the car park.

‘I am sure that it is something that we will have to consider in the future – but at the moment there are no specific plans so far as changing the current charging structure.’

Previous owners of the estate, the Evans family, charged low rents, and tenants on the estate were as a result, more accepting of living with proper- ties in need of maintenance.

Mr Johnston was quick to put up rents ‘in line with inflation’, but slower to talk about much- needed maintenance to some of the properties.

‘We had one increase on rent, which was approximately 18 months ago, at which point rents went up by around 10 per cent.

‘As with the car park, this remains in line with inflation and it is appropriate for any estate to have fair and reasonable rents between landlord

and tenant.’ When asked about maintenance and repairs to the properties, Mr Johnston said: ‘Ongoing repairs and maintenance are an essential part of all sensible day-to-day administration of any property portfolio and we will make sure that as time goes by we will pay the same amount of attention to the portfolio of properties that the estate owns at Bantham.’

Mr Johnston fought off competition from the National Trust to buy the Bantham Estate, but has assured people that the coastline will be protected under his stewardship.

He said: ‘Clearly there are some statutory rules and regulations so far as ownership and maintenance of coastline and the estuary is concerned.

‘Most of them, quite rightly, are rooted in the principle of ecology and conservation and this is what we will be led by in our administration of the entirety of the Bantham Estate.

‘In that regard it is our intention to put more of the land down to organic use and this will also have a knock-on benefit for the immediate ecology of the estuary and the beach area.’ When asked what he has learnt at Great Tew that is applicable to Bantham, he said: ‘Running any estate usually becomes an exercise in patience and realising that you can please some of the people some of the time rather than all of the people all of the time.’

‘This will be the gradual process that we will look to maintain at Bantham and my experience at Great Tew is that gradual, sensitive and considered change is better and more rewarding than quick fire, rash decision-making.’

Mr Johnston believes that managing an entire estate as one is beneficial to all concerned. Indeed, many people who live in Bantham feared that the estate would be broken up and sold off separately.

‘I think ownership and administration of a larger area of land – and particularly one where there is a diversity of asset type – allows for more holistic administration with a proper team in place focussed on looking after all of the land rather than just a few more obvious bits.

‘By including the land in various agri-environ- mental schemes it ensures that the farmland and the woodland gets as much thought and care as the beach and the estuary which are more obvious to the general public.’

Mr Johnston is now looking forward to spend- ing more time in the South Hams.

He said: ‘I have recently acquired a house with- in the estate which was originally one of the houses owned by one of the three daughters of Commander Evans, and so in a small way this is piecing the estate back to its original form.

‘I am looking forward to the opportunity of spending more time down here and being more of a resident and slightly less of a tourist.’

But above all, Mr Johnston is keen that as many local people as possible should visit Bantham.

‘I think everyone in the South Hams should take the opportunity of the glorious sunny sun- shine weather and come and visit Bantham and see what the lovely new beach environment now looks like.’