Renting Land for Cut Flower Production

[AbbyL]

Hi everyone

I'm looking for some advice on how to approach renting between 0.5-1 acre of land for small-scale cut flower production.

I run a small business growing and selling fresh and dried cut flowers, which has been working on a small scale up until this point. I currently grow in my small garden and my allotment, but I've reached the point where I need more land to grow the business.

So my questions are:

- As a landowner, what would you want to see from a business owner approaching you to enquire about renting land from you for this purpose? What assurances would you need from me?
- What would be a fair rent to pay for using the land for this purpose? (I'm based in North Yorkshire, not far from Ingleton, if location is a factor).
- For the security of my business, I would need to rent the land long-term (a minimum of a five-year lease, ideally). Is this feasible?

 

[Danllan]

Hi everyone

I'm looking for some advice on how to approach renting between 0.5-1 acre of land for small-scale cut flower production.

I run a small business growing and selling fresh and dried cut flowers, which has been working on a small scale up until this point. I currently grow in my small garden and my allotment, but I've reached the point where I need more land to grow the business.

So my questions are:

- As a landowner, what would you want to see from a business owner approaching you to enquire about renting land from you for this purpose? What assurances would you need from me?
- What would be a fair rent to pay for using the land for this purpose? (I'm based in North Yorkshire, not far from Ingleton, if location is a factor).
- For the security of my business, I would need to rent the land long-term (a minimum of a five-year lease, ideally). Is this feasible?

Can't write for Yorks, but around here you'd probably be looking at paying between £150 and £250 per acre per year in rent. However that would be on the basis of renting quite a few acres, so expect to pay more by unit area.

You'll need to think about access, water and maybe power too, plus insurance. And... maintenance of hedges will mean that the land right next to them must be kept clear. If the farm is organic it may restrict what you can use on the land.

Finding a patch that small or that people will be prepared to fence off for you will probably be the hard bit. If you find someone willing to separate that sort of area, they will probably be happy to rent it for the period you need. In agricultural terms, five years is not that long a tenancy.

The good news is that you won't need any planning change for horticultural use.

 

[delilah]

https://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/

 

[Kidds]

From a landowner point of view my first concern would be plastic contamination. I'm thinking plant pots, cell trays, fleece , polythene etc.
If you could convince me I would never see any of that about the place it would be a good start.
Second would be the question of structures. Do you intend building poly tunnels, cloches etc. Again, convince me I wouldn't be left with a shanty town looking area of broken pallets and shredded polythene hanging off the hedges.
Nefarious weeds would also be a concern, being left with an overgrown patch of nettles and brambles would put me off.
Show me your garden and allotment are not as described above and you'd be on the right footing as a start.

 

[WD2022]

I would want at least £450ac. Happily give you a long lease.

 

[AbbyL]

Thank you everyone for your input - that's all really helpful information!