Diversification from a small dairy farm to fully fledged equine facilities with stables, sand school and livery service at Park Farm with Rural Surrey Liaison Entre Actions de Développement de l'Économie Rurale (LEADER) grant funding.
Park Farm was previously a small-scale dairy farm, but due to the significant changes in the dairy industry over the last 30 years, smaller dairy units have struggled to compete with the much larger businesses. This made this small dairy farm unviable.
The tenants considered all options and following extensive research, were awarded Rural Surrey LEADER funding to convert a significant part of the farm holding into equine use. As a brand-new business, they now offer a part-livery service for around 30 horses. The former dairy buildings required substantial alteration to make them suitable for equine use and the project has included the installation of 20 stables, both an indoor and an outdoor sand school and facilities for livery customers (tack room, horse solarium, toilets) as well as a new website to promote the business.
Project costs, grant awarded, and job created
New equestrian facilities for farm business
Total project cost £117,554
Grant awarded: £47,021
Jobs created: 3 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) over 3 years
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