Farm diversification
Turn Underused Land Into a New Income Stream
Own a farm, field, estate or unused piece of land? Adacon can help you explore building-based ways to generate additional income from it — from a single shepherd hut or holiday-let unit to a larger glamping, leisure or commercial development.
Most people arrive here before they have decided what to build. That is the right time to talk. We design and supply buildings around the opportunity, rather than pushing one product at every site.
What could your land become?
Pick the direction that feels closest. Each one shows what Adacon actually designs and supplies for it — not every diversification idea in existence.
Accommodation
Shepherd huts, glamping and holiday units
Guest accommodation is usually the first route landowners look at. It can start with one unit and grow if bookings support it.
Tourism & leisure
Visitor facilities, toilets, showers and changing
Visitor sites usually need supporting buildings long before they need more accommodation: reception, washrooms, changing and staff space.
Commercial space
Offices, workshops, studios and storage-related buildings
Letting workspace to local businesses is one of the steadier diversification routes, and it suits yards and redundant building footprints.
Food & drink
Café, farm shop and hospitality buildings
A café or farm shop building can turn passing traffic into revenue, and often pairs with accommodation or a visitor attraction already on site.
Wellness
Treatment rooms, studios and retreat accommodation
Retreat and wellness uses combine quiet accommodation with a treatment or studio building, and tend to attract higher nightly rates.
Events
Venue support, washrooms and guest accommodation
Wedding and event venues usually need washrooms, changing and somewhere for guests to stay before the venue itself earns properly.
Not sure yet
Tell us about the land and we'll set out the options
Send the location, rough area, access and services. We will come back with the building-led routes that are realistic for that site — including the ones we would not recommend.
Turn land into guest accommodation: start with one unit, expand if it works
Accommodation is the route most landowners test first, because a single unit is a contained decision. If bookings hold up over a season, the site can grow unit by unit rather than in one large commitment.
Shepherd huts for glamping
The usual starting point: one unit, tested over a season.
Huts with bathroom and kitchen
Self-contained units where guests never need a shared block.
Modular holiday lodges
Larger footprints for families and longer stays.
Multi-unit developments
Phased sites where units are added as bookings prove out.
Estate and guest accommodation
Additional guest space alongside an existing house or estate.
Holiday-park accommodation
Replacement and expansion units for established parks.
How many units could work on your site?
Send a postcode, site photos or a plan and tell us what you're considering.
The wider diversification picture
Not every route involves a building, and we would rather say so. These options exist and may suit your land better — we just don't supply them.
- Renewables such as solar or wind — land-based, not something Adacon supplies.
- Natural capital routes including biodiversity net gain and carbon schemes.
- Dog-walking fields, storage yards, parking and grazing lets.
- Equipment or caravan storage on existing hardstanding.
Where we do help is the building-led side: accommodation, workspace, hospitality, washrooms and visitor facilities — often several different buildings across one site.
Can I put glamping accommodation on my land?
This is the question that stalls most projects, so here is the honest answer rather than "ask your council".
- Using agricultural land or farm buildings for commercial accommodation usually involves a material change of use, and planning requirements depend on the site and the proposal.
- The fact that a shepherd hut is movable or sits on wheels does not automatically mean a commercial accommodation project is exempt from planning requirements.
- Government guidance is that farms generally need planning permission when changing land or buildings from farming to another use.
- Caravan sites usually also need a local-authority site licence, and GOV.UK guidance is that planning permission is required before applying for that licence.
- We are not planning consultants. We design and supply the buildings, and we will tell you plainly where a proposal looks like it needs specialist advice.
The commercial reality
We won't tell you what your site will earn. What we can do is help you test your own assumptions: your nightly rate, your occupancy, your running costs. England farm-account data cited by ICAEW for 2023/24 put average enterprise income at around £23,900 for letting non-farming buildings and around £16,500 for tourist accommodation and catering — useful context, not a forecast.
Farm diversification questions
Tell us about your land
Send the location, roughly what you have and what you're considering — including "I'm not sure yet". We'll come back with the routes that are realistic for that site.