Rural Solutions has played a major role in recognising how landowners need to position themselves to be perceived as rural entities that have the ability to provide employment, opportunities for skills growth and education, as well as tourism and leisure pursuits. Historically, estates have been the centrepiece of the British countryside, providing subsidised housing for their workers which have bonded together many rural settlements and communities. Challenges in the rural world have seen this historic role and interest in preserving the surrounding countryside eroded as farming incomes have faltered and extensive assets bases have become growing liabilities. In some cases ‘private’ versus ‘public’ has become entrenched and landed interests can inadvertently miss out on opportunities to benefit. Never before has the case for exploring diversification in its fullest extent been stronger, to drive out new initiatives and institute change and fresh decision making.
Rural Solutions, by identifying the strengths and commonalities of aspiration between the public and private sector, promotes and engenders a strategy that will help the landowner correctly value their assets and target the right end uses for any land and buildings. Achieving planning is becoming increasingly complex in administration and statutory requirement and more than ever, it is critical to achieve the right planning consent from the outset. This will enable a clear route for delivery, marketing and the consideration of public sources of grant funding where available. It cannot make sense for landowners to allow valuable, and in some cases dwindling, historic assets to simply crumble away to an irretrievable condition. The preservation of buildings is a considerable ongoing maintenance burden and continuing periodic investment to simply prevent their decline, which cannot be off set against a financial return, is ill conceived and is likely to allow indecision to prevail.
Rural Solutions can help landowners recognise the value of their assets and we have been successful in adding considerable value to sites through lateral thinking, strategic planning and in-depth research at over 350 sites across the UK. It is often what landowners own collectively that will really create a long-term and sustainable rural business and our Development Reviews will provide a considered and clear approach to extracting value, providing the catalyst for decision making and helping to ensure that opportunities are not overlooked or constrained in the future.
Estates - Hexgreave Park Estate, Nottinghamshire
Rural Solutions were commissioned to assess the built and land assets belonging to this historic parkland and agricultural estate. The assets included an 18th century grade II listed hall and its outbuildings, estate farm buildings and village land nearby. Rural Solutions made an assessment of the potential value of these assets and set out the strategy by which the hall and its surroundings could be best regenerated.
The estate now offers a flourishing rural business centre providing office accommodation in the Hall and Coach House which are heated by the on site bio-mass boiler and estate grown coppice willow. Later phases of development include the introduction of three live / work dwellings which provide further use diversity and income from a site which was once an untapped estate resource and a significant ongoing maintenance liability for the owner. Rural Solutions also advised on marketing and management strategy.
