New Yard from scratch

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Witchy

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Just wondered if anybody had set up a new yard before and whether they'd done it on somebody else's land (with permission obviously....)

I have a FAB opportunity that I am going to take but want to make sure I do it right. Everything is there, foundations and blockwork for stables, space for a 20x40 school and grazing etc but.....wow, what now?

Any business advice would be very much appreciated at this very early stage :)

Excited (just a tad!) :D
 
We've put in stables, manege, fencing, etc in two properties and are in the process of doing the third one. Things to consider:

- planning permission first and foremost. I assume this has been granted in this case as work has started, but you may want to check on the conditions, e.g. arena surface specified, use for private or commercial, access, etc.

- a good layout will save you a lot of hassle later on. You need good access for trucks both to build the arena and for deliveries and horseboxes in the future. Think of the positioning of the stables so you don't have to walk miles to your fields, but also within sight of the arena as this keeps many horses calmer.

- practicalities: parking depending on who will visit on a regular basis, siting of the muck heap both for environmental reasons and removal, toilets and facilities depending on type of business. Storage can be an issue, especially if you have many liveries each doing their own thing. Also think about electricity and water, trenches and pipes should be laid for this during the groundworks.

- safety: both in terms of theft, so think access, security, lighting, etc. but also for risk assessment puproses, e.g. siting of fire fighting equipment, evacuation proceedure, etc. Again depends on the type of yard, for a business you may need to consider all this in a more formal manner, but even for personal use it's a good thing to think of potential problems.

Finally who is paying for all this? I mention this as you say this is someone else's land which presumably you will be leasing so you may want to consider the option of the lease being terminated - how much of your investment would you get back in such a case?
 
Cheers Boo really good stuff there thank you.

The land is an old nursery used for growing stuff and is 8 acres and I propose 6 horses max.

The stables are already there and we have found evidence of horses previously - muck forks, rakes, rotten bales of straw etc. The stables are on a concrete pad and there are five of them already built in blockwork @ 14ftx14ft so they are perfect - we just need to get a roof on them and line them out etc.

You see the site and everything lends itself to where everything should be, its quite bizzar.

I want to put in a temporary (cheap!) school and get the stables roofed to start with so I (+1) can move in and get it started.

The owner of the land has basically given me free rein to do it and run it and said I can be there rent free to put what I would have been paying into getting the land ready - I need to do some sort of agreement that locks me there for five years rent free while I do this.

In five years I'd like it to be making money for both him and me really.... I just need a kick start in the thought process of how to make it start lol! Out of my depth really but I WANT to do this, it's too good an opportunity to miss!!
 
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Sounds like a great opportunity! I think you are right to want things written down, the owner may sound lovely now, but you never know why people change and it's worth protecting yourself.

It may be worth talking to your local council to find out what is needed regarding PP for use and business rates if you plan on turning it into a livery yard. If it was a commercial nursery, it may be leisure land so you might not need PP for a livery business but it's complicated and I am not entirely sure, so may be talking rubbish!

What state is the land in? If it needs re-seeding September is a good time to do it, but it may take up to a year before it is ready for grazing.

It might also be worth chatting to your local bank who can help with setting up a business plan for the future.
 
I know someone who had a great opportunity with a 'friend' to use spare land to set up a livery a few years back. She put thousands into the place - school, stables, fencing, parking, ragwort spraying you name it. Got the business up and running and then the land owner friend got rid of her over a disagreement and she lost the lot.

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm... but be careful about your investments - financial and your time - into this.

Good luck : )
 
The majority of the land is rough ploughed and overgrown with grasses waist height with some ragwort. Also there are 8 timber framed greenhouses that need removing along with all the glass, each of them alone is some 10m x 20m in size. These are then all overgrown with blackberry bushes.

It's not a task for the faint-hearted, certainly going to have my work cut out but I know a man with a tractor and a plough etc etc... :)

I was thinking DIY to be honest and then maybe part Livery as I can give up working full time...

Anybody got a land tenancy agreement I can use as a basis lol....
 
Destiny, yeah this is my worry and why I want to set up an agreement. The owner is a businessman and likes to make money out of anything - Ideally he will pay for the lot... if I can talk him into it.

Need to do some cashflow projections with lots of ££ signs to keep him interested lol
 
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