Successful farm diversification in Cheshire

AMC receives requests to fund a whole host of diversification plans but there aren’t too many farmers asking for funds to flood their own fields.

That was Michael Cope’s plan and Swanley Bridge Marina, near Nantwich, Cheshire is a brilliant example of lateral thinking that makes the best of a perfect location.

Michael, a third generation dairy farmer, who farms 450 acres on the banks of the Llangollen Canal, has flooded 10 acres to create a marina with 317 canal boat moorings.

“This was an opportunity that we could not afford to ignore,” said Michael. “We have 320 dairy cattle and sell our milk through Robert Wiseman Dairies in Manchester. Up until three years ago we had also processed all our own milk but took the decision in November 2002 to curtail that operation. Whilst our dairy business is still very viable, like everyone else in the dairy industry we suffer from a constant squeeze on milk prices and really needed to look for other income streams.

“It was in February 2003 that we first started looking at the marina as an option. More and more narrow boats were passing through the nearby lock and it soon became very clear that flooding some land and creating a marina had enormous potential. Initial investigations revealed no real planning issues. Soil samples were taken and showed we had the right clay soil to make a good base, we had no real gradient and we were not overlooked. An environmental survey revealed that we were not a home for any unusual plants or animals,” said Michael. “How to best finance this project was the next step.”

Major investment

Michael worked closely with David Hughes, his farm business consultant, to bring this £1,000,000+ project to life. With David’s help they prepared a comprehensive business plan and successfully applied for a Defra Rural Enterprise Scheme grant, which provided 28% of the project funding.

The business case was presented to Mike Scott of AMC Agents, Denton Clark in Chester. Alongside Michael’s own investment and the Defra grant, AMC has provided the bulk of the funding at a very competitive rate, spread over 17 years.

“This was a very well-presented business proposal. Michael had done his homework. British Waterways only give approval to schemes like this if they can see that they are viable. It was obvious that new moorings were in demand and that Michael had all the necessary approvals. He had a good solid financial base and whilst there is always some risk involved this was clearly a ‘goer’.

“It is our policy to respond quickly to such requests. From the submission of the application AMC were able to make a very good offer to Michael within five working days,” said Mike.

Financial return

From start to finish it has taken three and a half years to bring this project to life. Michael dug up 10 acres of former grazing pasture, lined the marina with the clay soil, sheet-piled three sides of it and then flooded it with 12½ million gallons of water. He has added two kilometres of decking and provided electricity and water to all of the moorings. In addition he has built a 500 metre drive down to the Marina from the road and created 100 car parking spaces.

The Swanley Bridge Marina opened in July 2006, with an official opening at the beginning of October. Michael has already taken bookings for 160 of the 317 moorings. These are mainly long-term bookings which will pay between £1,400 and £2,400 per year dependent on the size of the narrow boats, and are charged every three months. Even with a levy to British Waterways, plus insurance and staff costs he expects a profit of £400 per year from each mooring.

In addition a brokerage business pays rent and operates from the marina and a small hire fleet of four boats also runs from the marina. A full length 100 metre slipway with a custom built trailer allows for the launch and retrieval of a 70 foot narrow boat. A competitive ‘blacking’ service is available and there are plans to develop the engineering and service facilities in Phase II next year

“Uptake is good and we are already ahead of budget. Timing has been crucial. We will continue to run our dairy business alongside the marina as separate businesses.

“We were fortunate to have the prefect topography and the support of British Waterways. This was the right move at the right time,” said Michael.