Are you trying to take on land, or already have land and hit something you can't work through on your own? Whether you're exploring an idea, negotiating a lease, navigating planning or wondering what to do when something has gone wrong, this is a space to think it through with us.
What is it?
The Advice & Support Hotline provides free support for individuals, community groups and land-based enterprises who couldn't otherwise afford professional advice.
It's a space to bring a live challenge or question you're navigating around taking on and using land, and to think it through with us on a one-hour call.
We're piloting the hotline from September 2026. It's a part of how we're working out what community groups and land-based enterprises actually need, and what's missing in the wider ecosystem.
Who is it for?
This service is for people who are taking on land that will be used to create shared social, environmental and economic benefit. We're particularly interested in hearing from projects focused on agroecological growing and farming, community enterprise and nature recovery.
You don't need to be an official group or enterprise, own anything or have a plan worked out. Some people come to us at the very start, with little more than an idea and a question about where to begin. Others may be further along in their journey and need a second pair of eyes.
What we can help with
This is what you can expect from the Shared Assets hotline:
- Space to think things through. Helping you make sense of a problem and clarify what's really at stake.
- Reflecting back what we're hearing. Patterns, tensions, options and assumptions worth testing.
- Practical next steps. Most people finish a call with a clearer sense of what to do next.
- Signposting. Towards relevant resources, policy, examples and other practitioners where something is beyond what we can offer.
Some of the topics we can help you with include but are not limited to:
- Your search for a site or assessing whether it’s right for you
- Guiding you to the right person or information for your next steps
- Informal advice on whether you need planning, or how to navigate the planning system
- Thinking about a lease or tenure agreement
- Legal structures and governance
- Early-stage enterprise development and business modelling
- Whether you should consider a Community Asset Transfer and community ownership
What to expect
- Fill in a short form. It takes around 10 minutes and tells us about your project and what you're stuck on.
- We'll be in touch. If it looks like a good fit, we'll send you a link to book a time.
- We prepare. We spend an hour beforehand reviewing your situation and gathering anything useful.
- We talk. A one-hour video or phone conversation.
- You get it in writing. A written summary of the conversation, the key issues, possible routes forward and signposting to relevant resources and people.
What it isn't
Our goal is to act as a professional friend to you and your project. We're not lawyers, planning consultants or accountants, so we can't give formal legal, planning or financial advice. We can help you orient yourself, work out your next steps and point you towards the people who can. Each support package is up to three hours in total, so it's a light-touch offer designed to set you up for your next challenge.
This is a pilot, enabled by funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and what we learn from it will shape the support we offer next. All data will be handled with care and in line with our data management policy available here.