Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency - Rural Planning Facilitation Service Case Studies

Peter Toaig has run a successful furniture-making business from a rented workshop base in Stirling since 1998. He and his partner decided to move south into Cumbria last year as a result of her job.

They wanted to buy a property with potential for investment and development, not only as a workshop for Peter’s own work, but also with space for him to run specialist woodworking courses on site.

Matthew Robinson’s family have farmed at Holmescales to the east of Kendal for just over 100 years. Soon after he and his wife, Alison, took over the dairy farm in 1996, milk prices collapsed. Matthew was very involved in regional and national awareness campaigns and in exploring solutions for the future of farming through the NFU and Dairy Farmer’s Co-ops.

Castlerigg Farm has been providing camping facilities since the 1920s, and Doris Harrison came into the business in 1997 following the sudden death of her husband’s uncle. The site had a toilet and cold tap when Doris joined the family business, and since then she has developed a shop, modern shower and laundry facilities.

John and Debbie Hughes and their young family moved to Rainors Farm between Gosforth and Nether Wasdale in 2000. John works as Head Chef at The Screes Inn in Nether Wasdale and Rainors Farm is an 18th century Georgian farmhouse that has not been a working farm for many years.