Countryside management consultants
Country Park Tourist Accommodation Study
Visitor carrying capacity consultancy
Castle heritage specialist
Country Park Masterplan Hampshire
Sustainable destination development
Countryside Management Consultants

Countryside Management Consultants

Planning Solutions Consulting brings together strategic expertise and real operational experience to deliver countryside management projects that work in practice, not just on paper.

We work with a diverse range of clients, from local authorities and national parks to heritage trusts and private landowners – across recreation, heritage, and rural tourism. Our services include operational reviews, market assessments, business planning, feasibility studies, and visitor management strategies, all designed to help organisations make confident decisions and build sustainable futures.

Countryside management projects

  • Hampshire County Council: Prepared development plans for five country parks managed by the Council with a focus on enhancing the visitor experience and financial resilience of the parks. Please see the client reference here
  • Broadland District Council: Prepared a development masterplan and supporting business plan to develop Broadland Country Park
  • National Trust for Scotland: Carried out a benchmarking market exercise of a number of historic properties and wider estates to identify key lessons to help inform future decision-making around admissions and pay barrier options
  • Northumberland National Park Authority: Options appraisal and business planning to support the development of Walltown Country Park
  • National Trust: A study on managing visitor pressures at Freshwater West Beach in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
  • Elan Valley Trust: Carried out a feasibility study to assess sustainable future visitor accommodation uses of Cwm Clyd Farmstead, which currently offers a bunkhouse style of accommodation
  • Forest Holidays: Carried out site and market assessments and supporting feasibility studies to develop their  cabin product across the UK
  • Historic Environment Scotland: Working closely with HES we prepared a Monument and Community Support Strategy for Urquhart Castle, to enhance the visitor experience, develop a more resilient site and build strong links with the local community (we also worked on a similar project at Caerlaverock Castle)
  • Rempstone Estate: Feasibility study and business plan to introduce 22 luxury self-catering lodges alongside an existing campsite business
  • Swansea Council: Carried out a feasibility study to create a community woodland
  • Monaghan County Council: Prepared a development plan to support the growth of outdoor recreation and eco-tourism at Sliabh Beagh
  • National Trust for Scotland: Commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland to develop a visitor carrying capacity model for visitor sites which are facing increasing visitor numbers
  • Cumbria Connect: Commissioned to conduct a feasibility study, looking at access improvements and interventions as part of the development phase of a DEFRA funded Landscape Recovery Scheme
  • Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council:  Carried out a market assessment and options appraisal along with preparing the supporting business case to regenerate Margam Castle (Grade I listed) and integrate this within Margam Country Park.  The work helped to secure just under £1m in NLHF funding
  • Nevis Landscape Partnership: Carried out a programme of research to develop a fresh and innovative approach to sustainable tourism in Glen Nevis – the gateway to Ben Nevis
  • Brecon Beacons National Park Authority: Commissioned to prepare a feasibility study for the expansion of the Fforest Fawr UNESCO Global Geopark. One of the main drivers for the potential expansion into Neath Port Talbot was the opportunity to include new heritage sites and to assist with visitor management planning across the wider area

Added value – operational experience

We are not just strategic consultants – in our consultancy team, we have current delivery and operational connections to popular visitor experiences, and we will bring that data-led knowledge of systems and structures to the table. What truly sets us apart is that we don’t just consult – PSL manages visitor attraction, tourism and other businesses in the UK. Through Planning Solution Consulting’s sister company, Planning Solutions Limited, we directly operate:

  • CONKERS Discovery Centre, an environmental and forest activity and learning experience in Leicestershire
  • Kent Life, a heritage farm park in Kent
  • Cotswold Country Park and Beach, a popular activity destination in the Cotswolds
  • National Brewery Centre, formerly the Bass Museum (managed between 2010 and October 2022)
  • The Royal Esplanade Hotel, a 70-bed hotel in Ryde on the Isle of Wight
  • The Burton Bridge Brewery and Burton Bridge Inn, a brewery and pub in Burton Upon Trent

At these sites, PSL manages the catering, retail, events, education, weddings, corporate use, membership schemes, admissions, exhibits, collections (Kent Life and formerly the NBC) and all other activities. We know what it takes to build sustainable, resilient businesses – not from the outside looking in, but from direct, day-to-day involvement. Our operational experience translates directly into better consultancy advice. We bring:

  • Live trading intelligence: Real-time insight from actively managed visitor sites, not just desk research
  • Commercial realism: We understand what works in practice in a setting, not just in theory
  • Operational empathy: We know the pressures and challenges organisations and operators face day to day in running visitor and heritage-focused sites

The result for our clients is consultancy grounded in realism – practical, honest, and shaped by experience. We are drawing on genuine operational experience to help develop sustainable and viable projects.

Please get in touch

Have a question about a countryside management project? Richard Linington is happy to help. Call 07866 742628 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk