Strategic Development Consultants
We help museums, heritage properties, country parks, nature reserves, visitor attractions and tourism businesses work out where they’re heading, and how to get there. We believe strategic development sits before a masterplan or business plan: it’s where an organisation decides its priorities, tests them against real market and funding conditions, and agrees a clear route forward before committing budget to detailed design or a funding bid.
Why organisations come to us for this
The operating environment is complex – visitor numbers, funding streams and local competition rarely stand still. A site that was thriving five years ago can have become a little bit tired, its business model has changed, or a new attraction has opened in close proximity. Trustees, councils and management teams often know something needs to change but haven’t yet agreed what, or in what order. That’s where a strategic review is important; it identifies the options, evaluates them against commercial reality, and provides the board or council with a way forward.
Our strategic development services include
- Visioning: Working with your board, trustees or team to define a clear, shared direction for the future of a site or organisation, rather than starting a project with no agreed destination
- Market and competitor review: Understanding how visitor trends, funding conditions and nearby attractions are likely to affect a site’s future
- Options appraisal: Setting out realistic options and assessing each against commercial viability, fit with your organisation’s objectives and deliverability
- Development action plans: A structured, prioritised action plan that translates the agreed direction into practical next steps
Strategic development projects
- Cardiff Capital Region, we prepared a destination profile, baseline and strategic review to understand the potential of the visitor economy across the region
- Markerstudy Group, Bewl Water, market review and options appraisal for an 800-acre reservoir and recreation destination in Kent
- Caerphilly Castle, development planning for its long-term future
- Cumbria Tourism, advised on adventure tourism
- The Kent Mining Heritage Foundation, carried out a strategic review of their retail offer
- Forest Holidays provided strategic development advice
- Falkirk Council and Historic Environment Scotland, prepared a Strategic Tourism Infrastructure Development Plan for Blackness
Follow the link to find out more about our strategic development projects.
What makes us different
Most consultancies advise from the outside. We don’t just prepare strategies; through our sister company, Planning Solutions Limited (PSL), we’ve spent 30 years actually running and investing in visitor attractions, heritage sites and tourism businesses. That means we test a strategic option against what we know actually works when you’re the one managing the experience.
PSL manages:
- CONKERS, a discovery centre set within 120 acres, including a covered amphitheatre
- Kent Life Heritage Park celebrating rural life across Kent
- Cotswold Country Park and Beach, a seasonal country park and watersports destination
- The Royal Esplanade Hotel, a 70-bed hotel on the Isle of Wight
- Burton Bridge Brewery and Burton Bridge Inn
- National Brewery Centre, formerly the Bass Museum, managed by PSL from 2010 to 2022
Where a strategic review leads
Once a direction is agreed, the next step depends on what the review recommends; that might be a feasibility study or business plan for a specific project or a visitor experience masterplan if physical development is the priority. We’re happy to carry that work through, or simply hand over a clear strategy for your team to take forward.
How can we help?
Do you need help to develop a strategy, or would you like Planning Solutions Consulting to work with you on a long-term vision? If so, please don’t hesitate to phone or email Richard Linington on 07866 742628.