Rural Ambitions
Rural Ambitions provide entrepreneurial consultancy advice to family businesses in the rural community, to help traditional estates and farms develop into resilient and diverse businesses. Drawing on MBA and urban place making talent, we strive to create customer facing, innovative places in the rural landscape that anticipate changing trends in order that they remain relevant and engaging.
Rural Placemaking is our unique proposition to the market. It is the understanding that we can be editors of the places we own. We can invite the businesses that inspire us and that share our values to become our trading partners. Placemaking is the reinterpretation of footpaths and cycle routes through woods and along river banks to create a natural, energetic footfall from one estate business to the next. In a world where what the market values is changing more rapidly than any of us can remember, placemaking is being alive to the opportunities and threats that this brings, and helping our clients adapt their businesses to thrive in these turbulent times.
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The role of placemaking in estate and farm diversification
Harrods in Knightsbridge is an unlikely source of business inspiration for farm and estate owners when considering rural diversification projects Yet there are valuable lessons that can be learned from this famous, high-end retailer in terms of how placemaking can be used within a business and the benefits it can bring. Placemaking is relatively new in the […]
Placemaking in the Rural Powerhouse
Rural economies have a vast amount to gain from embracing modern and flexible concepts of workplace. As in urban spaces, workspace is one of the key elements of rural placemaking and mixed-use environments, providing a rhythm of consumer which no other use creates – a predominantly captive daytime user who is loyal, regular and predictable. […]
Developing an electric car infrastructure in the countryside
The electric car market has expanded rapidly in recent years and while electric vehicles currently account for a relatively small proportion of the cars on the road, this picture is expected to change. There were fewer than 10,000 electric cars on the ground at the start of 2010, but that figure is now closer to 250,000, […]
Pumpkin enterprise taps into consumer demand for Halloween experiences
Halloween has become big business in the UK. In terms of consumer spending, this seasonal event has become one of the biggest dates in the calendar, only eclipsed by Christmas and Easter. There is nothing more synonymous with Halloween than a pumpkin and there are now an estimated 15m pumpkins grown in the UK each […]
Could woodland creation benefit your farm business?
Woodland creation is an increasingly attractive option to farmers and landowners considering ways to improve their business resilience and diversify income streams. In Scotland in particular there are several grants available to help, while the recent simplification in accessing expert advice for potential tree planting schemes will be an additional boost. The Farm Advisory Service […]
At-a-glance guide to new legislation affecting farms and estates
With the legislation affecting landowners changing more rapidly than it has in decades, Strutt & Parker pinpoints the key policy changes currently in the pipeline affecting all aspects of estate management. FARMING ENGLAND The Agriculture Bill outlines how direct payments (Basic Payments) will be phased out between 2021 and 2028. In 2021, farmers face a […]
Renewable energy update: Where next for landowners?
Ten years after the introduction of the government’s flagship Feed-in Tariff, renewable energy subsidies may have almost disappeared, but the sector is entering a new era promising opportunities for farmers and landowners. Green energy technology has advanced greatly over the past decade, costs in many areas have fallen considerably, and political pressure to decarbonise our […]
How the market for carbon credits will increase UK tree planting
Trees were a hot topic during the last General Election campaign, with all political parties making pledges to ratchet up levels of planting. In the March Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed a £640m funding package in England and Wales with a promise to plant 30,000 hectares annually between 2020 and 2025 – more than double […]
Q&A with Henry Dimbleby, lead of the National Food Strategy
What is the National Food Strategy? It’s the first major review of the nation’s food system in 75 years and will shape a government White Paper, setting the ‘field-to-fork’ agenda for the coming decades. How much of an issue is the disconnect between our largely urban society and those who produce food? The differences between urban and […]
Strutt & Parker support for new National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise
Strutt & Parker is delighted to announce that it will be one of the founding business service partners of the new National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE). The Centre plans to undertake research and knowledge exchange to support resilience and innovation among rural firms, unlocking the untapped potential of rural economies across the UK. […]
Six consumer trends which offer rural estates diversification opportunities
Understanding shifting demographics and consumer behaviour has never been more important, as rural estates look to diversification opportunities to generate new income and reduce risk. Strutt & Parker experts identify six themes and the opportunities they could bring. The experience matters Consumers are seeking ‘experiences’, so estate owners and retailers are understanding they need to […]
Why the English wine industry is full of confidence
The English wine industry is in its ascendancy. The sector is proving to be one of the fastest growing in the agricultural sector. Production is up, sales are up and ambitions are high. 2018 was a knockout year for both the quality and quantity of wine produced. As might be expected, the long, hot, summer […]
Rural broadband solutions for farms and estates
Farms and estates are seizing the initiative when it comes to tackling the challenge of poor mainstream broadband connections by investing in their own private high-speed networks. With digital technology now playing a central role in people’s lives, landowners are increasingly finding that it is necessary to be proactive in addressing the problem of slow […]
The Rise of the British Vineyard
When one thinks of summer and vineyards, it is usually the French, Italian and Spanish countryside that comes to mind – perhaps even Napa County. But there are a growing number of noteworthy British vineyards. In fact, our mix of rain and sun make for some of the wine world’s most interesting and well-regarded grapes. […]
Land Business – Spring / Summer 2020
Rhodri Thomas
