Country park masterplans

PSC has worked on a number of exciting and challenging country park masterplanning and business planning projects for a range of clients from Hampshire County Council through to the Northumberland National Park Authority, Broadland District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council.   Some of the country park masterplanning projects are for new proposed country parks and others for existing country parks, where there is a need to reinvest in the ‘visitor experience’ to maintain the country park’s competitive position, increase visitor numbers and income generated.

What are some of the key steps involved in producing a masterplan for country parks?

1. Site assessment (identifying specific site constraints and opportunities)
2. Operational review (to understand the current operation – what works well, what doesn’t work so well)
3. Review of the strategic and planning context (helping to built the case for investment and understanding the planning context)
4. Market review (including the demographic profile and wider trends impacting on the country park sector)
5. Identifying the competitive landscape (to ensure future proposals are distinct in the marketplace) 
6. Consultation (with staff, stakeholders, visitors and missed audiences)
7. Benchmarking – case studies (helping to identify what works well in the market place and the challenges which other country parks have had to overcome)
8. Developing and evaluating the concept (options appraisal including identifying capital costs and funding opportunities and supporting concept sketches)
9. Staffing and governance models (staffing resource implications are identified and it is also important to consider who will manage the country park managed e.g. a Council, Trust, or CIC or specialist third party commercial operator)
10. Financial assessment (developing a trading profile)
11. Risk assessment (to identify key risks and approaches to mitigation)

Have a look at some of the country park projects we have worked on.

Operational experience – managing visitor sites
Alongside our consultancy work, our sister company, Planning Solutions Limited operates a number of visitor sites, including:

CONKERS – a 120 acre forest experience
Kent Life – a heritage farm park
Cotswold Country Park and Beach – an activity destination

We understand the financial drivers, and costs, that affect the ability to deliver long term sustainable solutions for complex visitor sites. We have also found that this practical operational experience helps to create a significant positive impact when working on projects and brings a strong commercial realism to our work.

How can we help?
If have any questions about developing a visitor gateway or welcome hub, please don’t hesitate to call Richard Linington on 07866 742628 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk