Any tips on how to write a proposal?

Hooby Farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
roe valley
Not getting engaged phew!! I have been asked to write a proposal for a 150 acre site by a guy from the environment agency and i am way over my head.

It is a hill site that has been run by the EA for the last 10 years but due to a change in their farming policy it will be going to public tender. I rang about my diversification/tourism idea to see if they would let me put a few glamping pods/yurts/small campsite up there and this is when i found out what they were planning to do regarding the tender. I was put through to a manager who really liked the idea of the pods, eco friendly tourism, conservation stuff like that. He then asked would i write a proposal for the site and that he would pass it further up the line. The problem is i was given no specific outline just what i would i plan to do. So far i have a list of things that would plan to do up there, working with conservation groups, duke of ed, outdoor activity groups, hikers, mountain bikers. I would not plan to lead any of these groups just purely be a facilitator for them.

The site is on an area of outstanding natural beauty, been ear marked for mountain bike development, has been used several times for Game of Thrones filming and has bags of potential. The man i was speaking to really embraced the idea that its too good a site for purely farming and that it has potential for so much more. I would still also plan to farm the ground as well but my dad can help me there as we used to own 400 acres on the other side of the hill so hopefully have a grasp on that end of things

So far the local council have been useless and i am fed up chasing them to find out they have not done anything, likewise so has the the two enterprise centres i have been in contact with.

Any help or advice is most welcome, i am based in the North West of Northern Ireland. Attached a few pictures as well

Dan
 

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Old Tip

Member
Location
Cumbria
Hi @Hooby Farmer, its an interesting conundrum as i know outdoor tourism is only just getting going in NI and because of the access issues its a bit of a slow burner, been over a few times to speak at conferences and had folk over here but it does sound a struggle. From my experience over here the main thing is to keep it simple and spread your net wide, i.e. cater for lots of different stuff and not specialise to much. My most profitable and busiest attraction is a very basic, tap and compost loo campsite in a woodland glade near a lake, i can let it every weekend and most weeks from march to december, only cost is getting rid of the rubbish which is ten times more that you would ever expect and supplying camp fire wood. I also have a very nice camping barn which costs a little more to run and a lot more investment but it does ok and brings in a nice bit of money, just they use a lot of dry seasoned wood even in the middle of summer, and this is the biggest cost. Pods and yurts etc are ok and can extend the season a bit but people want a lot more for their money and you need to keep them plush and preferably secluded so each pod or yurt has its own bit of ground round it, not stacked together like tents. As to outdoor groups etc we get less and less of them as they just don't want to pay a reasonable rate and are always wanting discounts etc, our main customers are extended families, lads or girls activity weekends, walking groups etc.

Any questions give me a shout
 

renewablejohn

Member
Location
lancs
Keep it simple. Dont commit to doing lots of stuff, better to do a few things well then expand when the basics are running themselves. Dont commit to a lot of Capital expenditure any new venture is difficult to finance. Do commit to a long term stratergy giving broad achievable development over say 3yr 5yr and 10yr timescales. Dont waste to long writing your plan it really needs to be spontaneous and no matter how long you spend doing it you will always wish that you had done more.
 

Hooby Farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
roe valley
i want to keep it really simple nothing complicated, already have a list of stuff that i would intend to do and costings already written out but they are in bullet form making it more 'proper' is what am struggling with. Small campsite no caravans, compost toilets, gravity fed showers, 3 pods tops and i am designing and building the whole thing myself starting this week. Any opinions on getting the likes of conservation groups or the likes in, i wonder if it would give the edge over any competition. Thanks to @Old Tip for giving me a few tips and contacts.
 

farmgrant

Member
Hi

It's what I do for people at this time of year. Feel free to contact me. For a modest fee, I will get you what you need out of the proposal, or you don't pay me!!
 

AJR75

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Not wishing to sound negative in any way (in fact I think it's a great idea) but going back to your phone call to this manager, are you absolutely sure that he would "pass it up the line" and was he definitely the person to be speaking to before you go working really hard on a proposal? If it's going out to public tender then I would imagine there are "procedures" that they have to follow and maybe chances are the chap that you spoke to will have nothing to do with any of it... Personally I would do a bit more digging and perhaps get something a bit more concrete than just a phone call before you start working really hard on your proposal- just my thoughts being the cynic that I am when it comes to larger organisations and their layers of managers, please don't think it's intended to be negative about your idea for the site though. All the very best with it.
 

Hooby Farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
roe valley
Got an email a few days ago saying it has sparked some interest and has been forwarded to the Regional Operations Senior Management Team for their consideration but it is currently one of the sites they plan to put for open tender. Which means i will have to compete against the two dozen other farmers willing to pay over the odds for it.
 
Got an email a few days ago saying it has sparked some interest and has been forwarded to the Regional Operations Senior Management Team for their consideration but it is currently one of the sites they plan to put for open tender. Which means i will have to compete against the two dozen other farmers willing to pay over the odds for it.

How much do you want it, and how helpful is your contact willing to be? You should at least bid for it (them) if only for the experience so you will be better prepared next time around if you don't win.
 

equinestud

New Member
Sounds like they want a business plan to show your idea and sustainability of the idea to....
Have a look at business link and it has a template that you can type into and print out or email... It also has a how to guide right through it to guide you to make it easier.
Hope this helps you
 

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