Renting out garden space?

[Intothewoods123]

Hi we've been hit as so many have by mortgage hikes. We have a teeny house but 2acres of garden and are trying to explore whether we can make a little money from it. Its a random space, an old quarry pit so dips away from the ground level and is wooded with some lovely 100yr old oaks. We have parking for 10 cars, an outside composting toilet, small fire pit area etc. I was wondering whether there's a way of using it to bring in a little income. Renting it out for kids parties, halloween nights, venue for outside yoga, workshops etc. In effect the kind of thing you'd hire a village hall for but outside. I know we'd need insurance but does anyone do anything similar? Is this a ridiculous idea?

It sounds lovely.

Is it possible you could hire it as a dog exercise area? One place I go to with my dog is like this, effectively in someone’s back garden, but it’s fenced off and has seperate parking. It’s my favourite place to take my dog - £12 per hour!

I think it depends what else is around you. You would struggle round here as there is fantastic public woods/ green spaces where you could do most stuff of that stuff for free. It sounds like it would lend itself to camping/ glamping if your location is good.

Children's forest club might work well too. They would probably need access to toilet facilities though.

People traipsing around for parties (potentially not sober) would probably cost a bomb in insurance premiums. Dog walking field would probably be more ideal. Or maybe reach out to any foraging groups and offer times they could do walks etc?

Dogs and you have the issue of dog poo, either on the ground or needing to empty a bin.

A Forest School group might hire it? You'd need to check on the council website if you'd need planning permission to change the use of the land from private to business.

@KievLoverTwo It's so lovely which is why we're desperate to keep it...but also very happy to share it.

@Fizzypop88 unfortunately it's not well fenced. We have steep banks that contain out kids and dog but it would cost a LOT to fence especially at 5/6ft high

@Badbudgeter it's a weird one. We're very rural but actually very little accessible space that isn't just a square of grass. Glamping is the obvious but the set up costs are a bit terrifying :-(

Check how much insurance will be. If you are only planning on renting it adhoc it may not be worth it.

I came on here to suggest a dog walking field too - but yes, it would need fencing to at least 6 foot. You'd also need a code access gate, and a system / policies for keeping different households separate at all times - many people who use such fields do so because their dogs really cannot be around other dogs / strangers.

A pop-up campsite might be a suitable idea. You don't need planning permission so long as you restrict use to 56 days a year. I've camped on several of these sites and they are usually great - very quiet and natural, few or no facilities, and not huge amounts of investment for the owner (compared to glamming).

It's a good idea to have (hire) at least one portaloo, and you need to provide drinking water somehow (a tap, a hose or a bowser). But the sort of campers who like natural camping tend to not want lots of infrastructure.

www.holidayfox.com/en/discover/articles/pop-up-campsite#

Are you near any popular walking routes?
Our local walking club often has camp-out nights, the wilder the better for that lot! They like a toilet and fresh water supply and a clear area for a campfire/bbqs. A couple of decent size logs to sit on.
Any bushcraft companies looking for day venues or overnights?
Forest bathing groups?

There is a place that sounds similar near us and they have set up as a humanist wedding venue. They’re booked up over a year in advance! It’s all very simple, lots of fairy lights etc but nothing that would cost a lot, more a blank canvas for people who want an outdoor ceremony.

The rules for camping reverted to 28 days (not 56 - that was a Covid relaxation) and I'm not sure it included private gardens in the first place.
A new process has recently been introduced where you have to make an application for camp sites
Planning rule change for temporary campsites in England - Strutt & Parker (struttandparker.com)

How about advertising it an overnight stop for motor homes and campervans?

Usually lots of groups who would hire the whole place for meet ups and clubs.

Not sure about the rules is the same as camping?

Camping

People rock up to the wilderness with their campers or tents /awnings.

Market it as a definite wilderness far from the madding crowd.

Probably not a ridiculous idea but you should get the insurance if the terrain is bad and it might be expensive.

One thing, I went for a walk in the (public) woods once and a load of people were around doing battle re-enactment. I am pretty sure they would prefer to do that sort of stuff in a private space as lopping the heads off walkers with massive swords and getting chased by a dog while you are trying to spear someone probably isn't high on their agenda.

I think there are loads of things you could rent it out for. It is whether the rental will meet the insurance costs and also getting plugged in to the places where you can sell time.

I would go on the web and see whether there are any other spaces for hire like you propose and see what business model they have come up with.

Ooh that makes me think of film studios renting it out? That would be very easy money.

Probably not going to be as frequent or lucrative as the OP is hoping for - they tend to be looking for something very specific.

I've had a listing on a website that film crews use, and I've had two enquiries (one booking) in 2 years. It's not a location, it's a classic car, but the one booking wouldn't cover the insurance for a single year.

OTOH years ago I used to live near where Casualty was filmed. We'd periodically get a note stuffed through the door because they were looking for a house to film in, and it would always be quite specific - an modern kitchen diner with three steps down into it, french doors and a well tended garden outside, for instance.