Catalogue description War Office and Ministry of Defence: Lands Branch and Directorate of Lands: Property Record: Estate Management Plans

The Estate Management Plans in this series form part of the integrated Ministry of Defence (MoD) 'Defence Estate Property Recording System'. This system, introduced in 1967, includes information related to MoD ownership of land and property and how it is held ('The Terrier') and use of MoD land and property by non-MoD partners, MoD hirings from local land owners, and existence of MoD rights relating to non-MoD land.

The recording system consists of various written records (indexes, lists, registers, transaction statements, summaries and copies of legal documents) which relate to detail shown on sets of maps.

Terrier Plans were intended as a permanent record of property holdings, recording all transactions found in the Deed Index together with subsequent endorsements, but limited to freehold and those agreements with terms of 3 years and more.

Estate Management Plans were intended as a management tool to indicate and monitor how the land is being used; essentially an illustration of local agreements.

The Estate Management Plans detail all MoD land not being used for military purposes, in the short or long term, but being used by non-MoD partners for other purposes. This includes all hirings, including those for terms of 3 years and under (also called 'local hirings'), and all lettings, as recorded in the Hirings and Lettings Registers. But it excludes residential lettings and minor rights not easy to record on these maps.

The intention was to match each Terrier Plan with an Estate Management Plan but not all Terrier Plans are so linked.

Ministry of Defence, 1947-

War Office, 1857-1964

From 2018 Ministry of Defence