BEN WHARFE

DIRECTOR

I can see a British countryside which is a place of jobs, homes, businesses, investment and vibrant bio-diversity, a place that is rich in feeling and emotion. A place where new businesses can flourish, children can buy homes in the villages that they are born in, new businesses can start up, existing businesses can diversify, expand, continue to grow and contribute to the society of our country. A place where food can be produced sustainably, nature can recover, homes can be built, energy produced, places explored and balance restored.

I have experienced first-hand how difficult it is to create anything in the countryside. The enormous difficulty of navigating the labyrinth of legislation, public opinion, political policy, misinformation and stigmatism. But I also recognise the enormous latent potential. In response, I started Wharfe Rural Planning so that people had somebody that they could trust, that they could turn to and knew that they would be in their corner supporting them every step of the way.

We now have an amazing team of experienced planning and design consultants from a variety of backgrounds that all share the vision of bringing the countryside to life. I am honoured to be able to lead this group of people and provide an environment of success, high performance, trust, and dedication to our clients.

The consistent message from the people that we work with is that we go the extra mile, we support them and counsel them through the process and we do everything we can to get a successful outcome for them. The business is based on a fanatical belief in our core values of Excellence, Dedication, Innovation & Trust: it runs through everything that we do and guides every decision that we take.

It is my job as founder and Managing director of the business to ensure that this culture remains the guiding light for our future.