Ideas for land?

surfbored

Hi all,

I'm looking for a productive use for around 16 to 30 acres of reasonable land in the north-west.

I used to do some farming once upon a time, but the returns for small-scale were extremely low. (Hence I've posted this in the 'biz' section instead of 'farming';))

I'm open to any ideas, especially something a bit different.

I am currently unemployed and would love to find something useful to do with the land other than rent it to a farmer for peanuts!

bigneacy

subject to getting the relevant permissions in place you could rent it out as somewhere for the carnival to set up, the circus's, some small festivals, some village shows or vintage car shows... I'm not sure what permissions you need to get from the local authorities but i'm sure it would generate a nice income for you if you put the time in...

fergalfrog

Whereabouts is the field - this will make a difference in terms of who can get there etc. Is it far from a town?

Is there parking near the field or can that be arranged? For any events open to the public you will need to make sure people can get there and away ok.

I have thought about this idea before. The return on renting the land for tillage etc is very low but without a fair bit of capital investment there isn't much you can do. Things like golf courses, stock car racing and the like aren't cheap to set up. Again it all comes down to where the site is and how much people it can attract.

surfbored

Thanks for the comments,

the land is a bit spread out, the biggest field is around 12 acres and none of it is near towns or main roads.

As I grew up on a farm my ability to see new or different uses for land is limited, so I really appreciate your input

fergalfrog

Is it level and is it good land?

Lando Griffin

Would it be any good for allotments or quad biking and outdoor adventures?

Snowdrop

I watched an episode of country house rescue recently where they allowed event organisers use the land in return for a share of the profits. They had a guy who ran car boot sales and another person who put on outdoor theatre shows. The owner just got a share of the profits and had no involvement in the activities.

Axwell

You should consider renting it out to an Airsoft business, there was guy on here a while back looking to set one up and finding land was an issue.
It could probably even be combinded with a quad bike/dirt track like someone said above if you found a business looking to make use of it.

macl

Allotments are the way to go. I know of a similar setup in Galway where a farmer was charging 40 euro per approx 200 sq ft.

surfbored

Allotments seem to be getting popular around the country. Are they usually located near towns or will people mind driving to them?

Most of the land would be very suitable for allotments, some of it is a bit hilly but most has good quality soil. Around half of the land is in south Sligo and the other half in north Sligo.

macl

The one I know of is approx 25 mins drive from Galway city.

fergalfrog

Axwell wrote: »

You should consider renting it out to an Airsoft business, there was guy on here a while back looking to set one up and finding land was an issue.

Would he/she need insurance for that?

amen

farming based but quality beef/pork products

Axwell

fergalfrog wrote: »

Would he/she need insurance for that?

Couldnt be 100% sure to be honest. I dont play it nor am I involved in the area, I just know theres always a demand for land to play it on as it needs a lot of open space and there was already someone on here looking into it a few months back. It also leads to additional revenue because someone would look to run a small shop on site and theres opportunities for advertising around the site etc. Worth possibly looking into if nothing else.

thesteve

Use some for a driving range. Once built its an easy return and most people wanting to take up golf just wanna hit some balls first and not hold up other people on a course.

antoinolachtnai

You would need to check on the planning and zoning issues before you made any investment in a new venture.

micka

Hi there,

Give Teagasc a call and see if there's any more grants for planting Willow and Miscahthus.

MISCANTHUS AND WILLOW (BIOENERGY SCHEME)
The objective of the Scheme is to provide establishment grants to farmers to grow willow and miscanthus to produce biomass suitable for use as a renewable source of energy.

Closing date was 31st of March but that might be negotiable...
Have a look here - http://www.teagasc.ie/forestry/financial_info/fin_suppt/bioenergyscheme_2010.asp

Cheers,

Micka

StupidLikeAFox

Ive always thought there was scope for a driving track, a place where learner drivers could start out driving without being on the main roads.

Other than that you could get into something like paintball or go karting

surfbored

Love these ideas.

Give Teagasc a call and see if there's any more grants for planting Willow and Miscahthus.

I'd love to start producing biofuels myself, growing miscanthus would be a good start.

Ive always thought there was scope for a driving track, a place where learner drivers could start out driving without being on the main roads.

I learned to drive on a beach when I was 12, could handbrake-turn very soon after that! It's a great way to learn vehicle control. In the UK they have skid schools to teach drivers to control a car in a skid. I did a very low-tech version if that.

The way I learned probably isn't ideal, but I think new drivers should learn initial driving skills away from other road users.


Thanks again everyone

ronan0

Downhill mountainbiking is really taking off.

Dedicated bike parks are very successful in Wales, Scotland and the rest of the world.

Here's a couple of links.

http://mbwales.com/

http://www.coedllandegla.com/

4x is another option.

bonzos

What about seting up an all weather pitch?they are relavitely maintence free and a great earner. The astro truf pitch at the showgrounds is taking in easily €150/hr every evening not to mention what it makes from fixed events.....anybody have any ideas on the installation costs,flooding lighting,fencing etc..

fergalfrog

bonzos wrote: »

What about seting up an all weather pitch?they are relavitely maintence free and a great earner. The astro truf pitch at the showgrounds is taking in easily €150/hr every evening not to mention what it makes from fixed events.....anybody have any ideas on the installation costs,flooding lighting,fencing etc..

Because the land is not near a town or main roads I doubt if this would be a runner. Also my soccer club recently got an Astro turf pitch and you're talking in excess of €160,000 to set up (and that would be without change rooms, parking or any other facilities)

Mylesie

surfbored wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking for a productive use for around 16 to 30 acres of reasonable land in the north-west.

I used to do some farming once upon a time, but the returns for small-scale were extremely low. (Hence I've posted this in the 'biz' section instead of 'farming';))

I'm open to any ideas, especially something a bit different.

I am currently unemployed and would love to find something useful to do with the land other than rent it to a farmer for peanuts!

What area of North West please? not having much luck trying to PM. cheers

surfbored

Hi Mylesie,

There's 16 acres in South Sligo and 10/15 acres in North Sligo.

I'm currently checking out interest in allotments for North Sligo, good feedback so far. Would probably take a couple of years to fill even the first acre though!

I can try to PM you if you like?

Doom

build a jail private jail, so many scumbags need putting away in this country

Mylesie

surfbored wrote: »

Hi Mylesie,

There's 16 acres in South Sligo and 10/15 acres in North Sligo.

I'm currently checking out interest in allotments for North Sligo, good feedback so far. Would probably take a couple of years to fill even the first acre though!

I can try to PM you if you like?

Yes thanks a lot cheers

delllat

a while back i would have agreed with a quad bike adventure centre type place combined with a paintball army style course but im not sure how much disposable cash is out there at the moment

companies used to pay for these things when they were flush and use em for teambuilding activities but im not sure how many could budget for it thesedays

i would aim for something more commercial than recreational ,if the soil is good allotments might be worth considering for people who want to start selling produce in small farmers markets

Tabnabs

Depending on planning etc. you could also look at setting up a camping and caravan site. I was down in Wexford recently and the owners of a fairly average site were telling me how it's been their busiest year on record (on the go for many years). It seemed like a good little business that can improve with time.

John368

Surfbored

Planting trees might be a good idea. It is a very long term thing, but at least the trees will be growing and earning something, even if it is only your children and grandchildren that will see the full benifit. Also, it will show that the land is a bit special from that around it and maybe attract attention for other things like camping and adventure sports as others have mentioned.

John

surfbored

Thanks John,

I had considered planting Christmas trees in one area that's a bit boggy. They should mature in seven years, so I thought about dividing it into sevenths and setting a section every year. I'll do some more research on it.

Depending on planning etc. you could also look at setting up a camping and caravan site. I was down in Wexford recently and the owners of a fairly average site were telling me how it's been their busiest year on record (on the go for many years). It seemed like a good little business that can improve with time.

The locations aren't great for passing tourist trade, I think it would be difficult to bring people there for camping or caravanning. But thanks for the suggestion Dyflin.