'Being in a lovely location makes bad days a whole lot easier to deal with'

Ten years or so ago he was working long hours in the City in an

investment bank. The job brought its own rewards, but it also meant long hours and a daily fight with a thousand other commuters trapped in the rat race.

However, in 2000 Martin had something of a Eureka moment, left London behind and decided to go it alone amid the tea shops and outdoor stores which line Richmond's market square.

Today, City Secret, the technology company he founded, is thriving. He still deals with investment banks and hedge funds, providing specialist financial software, but most days he doesn't have to wear a shirt and tie to work and based just a short walk from the banks of the Swale, he's also blessed with some picturesque views.

"At the time, a lot of firms were outsourcing parts of their business to places like India. I just thought if you can shift an entire operation to another continent, it must be possible to move to Yorkshire," says Martin, who grew up in the north of the county and always harboured fond memories of holidays he spent in Richmond. "Some people thought I was mad, but to me it made perfect sense."

After a decade of trading, City Secret, originally based in a room above a shop, has now moved into new premises. With 30 employees, it has an annual turnover of 2.2m.

"Moving out of a traditional city location does mean you have to be creative when it comes to recruiting," adds Martin. "There isn't necessarily a deep pool of people with the right skills on your doorstep, but on the plus side you can sell a lifestyle as well as a job.

"Like every banking industry we have experienced tough times in the last couple of years, but in the last quarter things have begun to pick up and hopefully we have now turned the corner.

"Being in a lovely location doesn't insulate you from what happens in London or Leeds, but it definitely has its compensations and the bad days are a whole lot easier to deal with. Since I've been up here, I've met quite a few other people who have set up financial companies. These days you can run businesses from almost anywhere, so why wouldn't you choose somewhere like Richmond?"

The answer comes from the Commission for Rural Communities, which this week warned the Government that short-sighted policies and an unprecedented amount of red tape are tying many rural businesses in knots. According to its report, which comes on the back of figures showing the recession hit labour markets in the countryside worse than the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth, a radical overhaul of planning regulations is needed if businesses wanting to expand are to be given the best chance

of survival.

The CRC's Agenda for Change document also talked of the need to improve broadband and mobile access in remote areas, which would allow those working in the countryside and struggling to make a living from traditional industries to diversify.

It's exactly the kind of U-turn that saw the renaissance of Broughton Hall, near Skipton.

Built in the 16th century, the sprawling estate covering some 3,000 acres is home to 11 farms and for centuries had relied on the land for its income. However, by the early 1980s, agriculture was no longer the lucrative industry it had once been and the Tempest family were on the look out for a new opportunity. It came purely by chance.

"The transformation of Broughton Hall from traditional country estate to modern business park happened by accident," says estate manager David Aynesworth. "We were looking for some way to diversify because the ownership of agricultural land now produces very little income for an estate like this. At the same time, someone came along, saw an empty stable block and said, 'Could I just have a little office in the corner of it'.

"That's how it started. There was no grand plan, there was no twinkle in the eye, but there certainly is a grand plan now."

Over the next decade, the outbuildings and stable blocks, which for years had been home only to swallows and sheep, were fitted out into modern office spaces. More than 50 companies, including pram-maker Silver Cross, which transferred its headquarters there from Guiseley, a cruise entertainment business and a radio station, have moved in.

Together they employ in the region of 600 people and the Broughton Hall Park development has won awards for its commitment to enterprise.

"The Tempest family who have owned the estate for 900 years have a

great feeling of responsibility to ensure it keeps going in future generations," adds David. "They've always been a family who have been really interested in the community and this has been a marvellous way of putting something back into the local economy.

"Lots of the businesses have told me that if they are hoping to win a contract and their client visits them here, it's more likely to be a done deal before they even open their mouth than it would if they were based on an industrial estate."

Not every rural community has an impressive historic estate ripe for redevelopment and not every small town has a glut of entrepreneurs like Martin Worner, keen to mix business with pleasure, but elsewhere in Yorkshire there is proof that from even the smallest of acorns large

and lucrative oak trees can grow.

Richmond's station was opened at the height of the railway boom in the mid 19th-century, but when passenger services ceased in 1968, the building found use as a garden centre. However, in 2003, the site was taken over by the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust, with the aim of once again turning it into a focal point of the local community.

"The inspiration was to try and maintain what is quite a distinctive building in the town and to make it work for the community," says Jim Jack, a member of the RBPT. "Everyone in the town and surrounding area was sent a leaflet asking them what they would like to see happen and it quickly became clear they wanted somewhere to meet, somewhere to eat, a cinema and an arts space." The public's wishes were granted and the Station now houses two 100-seat cinemas, a restaurant, gallery, two meeting rooms off the main platform and a new extension is dedicated to promoting local food producers.

"There are six production units and each sells 10 per cent of what they make in the Station," says Jim. "However, it's on the condition that they also let people see what they are doing and talk to them about their business, whether that's making cheese, bread or beer.

"That side of the project is vitally important and I think it has paid off. The Station is very busy on weekends and evenings, particularly in the winter and what's nice is you get a real mix of the community coming in.

"Every business has paid its rent on time and in the credit crunch that says something to me. Either they have managed to make enough money to stay here or they have been willing to borrow the money until things pick up. We have been fully let right from the start and that's perhaps one of the Station's real success stories."

If the CRC is right, setting up and expanding a business in the countryside may not always be easy, but for those who stick at it, the hard work often pays off.