ESTATE ACTIVITIES
CASE STUDY ONE: JAMIE WILLIAMSON, ALVIE ESTATE
Jamie Williamson, from the Alvie & Dalraddy Estate near Aviemore, was in a “catch 22” situation. Along with other landowners, he was being blamed for not helping to develop the local economy, but any development he wanted to pursue was rejected by the council’s planning department or made conditional on expensive and onerous conditions. One of the problems was that nearly half of his estate was in the Cairngorms National Park and subject to strict planning restrictions. “I was practically tearing my hair out in frustration,” said Jamie, who decided to confront the problem head-on by inviting a group of councillors and politicians to tour the estate and to explain his plans for the future and how this would help the local economy. “It was a real eye-opener for them. They were amazed to see how diversified we were, what other businesses we had on the estate and how these supported the local community,” said Jamie. In addition to agriculture, the estate has forestry, horticulture, quarrying, fishing, a fish hatchery, a saw mill and wood fuel business, a hydro-electric plant, rented properties, holiday chalets, cottages and flats and a holiday park.
While Jamie hosts shooting parties, weddings and conferences at the
family’s traditional shooting lodge home, Alvie House, his tenants also run leisure-related businesses on the estate, providing everything from horse riding to quad biking.
As a result, he was eventually able to obtain planning permission for the expansion of his holiday park. Jamie has continued this proactive dialogue with the local community through open days and estate tours, as well as individual invitations to the estate.
This investment in developing relations with local community officials has paid dividends for Jamie as the “powers that be” are much more understanding of the needs of his business on the estate and how it benefits the local community.
Just as well, as he has more plans for the future that include expanding facilities at his holiday park, refurbishing his hydro-scheme and building a wind farm to increase renewable energy production.
www.alvie-estate.co.uk or
www.enjoyestates.org
strong emotional attachment to the countryside. The messages that generated the most positive responses among the public relate to “sharing” (access to) well- cared-for natural resources and to the provision of tourism and leisure facilities. The only negative aspects identified by the research were the issues of restrictions to access and reaction to negative publicity stirred up by the media to absentee landlords, foreign buyers or celebrity landlords. However, this reaction was interesting as it uncovered a protective attitude to the countryside. The report said respondents “place a real value on their access to it and are accepting and encouraging of responsible behaviour from all land users and owners”. Once the interviewees had found out
more about what landowners and estates contribute to the countryside, their immediate reaction was: “Why don’t they tell us about it then?”
Andrew Howard, Board Director of the SRPBA, said: “Many rural estates in Scotland contribute a great deal in terms of tourism, leisure and business. Clearly, we need to communicate this more widely so when people enjoy what estates have to offer, they make a connection with the estate rather than simply being in the countryside. It is valuable research for us
“ LANDBUSINESS ISSUE 36 JUNE-JULY 2010
Above: on Alvie Estates, the public can enjoy a wide range of activities, from quad biking to horse riding
Much more proactive engagement is needed by landowners and estates to show how their activities nurture the great outdoors
”
and encouraging that there was a lack of automatic hostility towards estates.” In conclusion, the authors of the study believe the most positive messages to build and enhance the public’s perceptions of estates and landowners relate to sharing and caring for Scotland’s natural resources. Jo Fawcett from George Street Research, who carried out the research, said: “These very real benefits are already understood and appreciated by a large majority on a subconscious level. “Positive and proactive marketing and communication, on both a generic and an individual level, should be used to gently challenge the ‘take-it-for-granted’ attitude and raise top-of-mind awareness of the very real contribution of estates.” To tap into this latent interest in the work of estates and landowners, the SRPBA got together with SEBG to launch the 2
43
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56