Here’s the dilemma:

Milton Keynes now has the second highest growth in the number of small businesses in the UK – equal to that of London according to new figures released from accounting group UHY Hacker Young.  It is without doubt, the place to do business.  Indeed, many high profile brands agree.  Abbey, Amazon, Dominoes, Argos, Traffic Master, Daimler Chrysler and Rightmove are just some of the household brands that have moved to the new city.

However, whilst growth of business is so promising, that brings with it high priced commercial property.  Alliance and Leicester have reported, in their 2009 Cost Monitor findings, that Milton Keynes is the second most expensive town to rent retail property space.  It makes perfect sense.  Where there’s demand, there is a price increase.

So, how does the small business take advantage of the opportunities Milton Keynes has to offer without being crippled by the over inflated property rates?  This is, after all, one of the most recession-proof towns in the country according to the Sunday Times.  Milton Keynes is a town to get in with.

Milton Keynes may strike up instant images of concrete and roundabouts.  And yes, there are a lot of both.  However, Milton Keynes is very fortunately located.  The town is surrounded by breath-taking Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire countryside. It is in a beautiful part of the UK. 

What this means is that small businesses have a choice.  Rural alternatives are popping up all around the city in contemporary business hubs offering something a great deal more pleasant than the expensive, congested concrete jungle.

Liscombe Park is one such business park.  Set in the idyllic, rolling hills of Soulbury, just 15 minutes from Milton Keynes town centre, this nest of offices gives the small business a flexible get-in, get-on work set-up without the hefty price tag. 

It’s not just the rates that make this property option appealing.

Liscombe Park developments have designed their offices with work-life balance in mind.  ‘Time to think, Time to Achieve’ is what they promise.  It’s easy to believe them as you journey up the grand, tree-lined driveway, passed the equestrian land with horses grazing, arriving at a community of converted barn-offices.

At Liscombe, you can hold meetings outside while you picnic.  You have free parking.  You have an exclusive, luxurious health club with pool and spa facilities next door with subsidized membership for tenants*.  There is no traffic.  It’s easy.  It feels calmly dynamic.  You get a sense that this is how working is meant to be.

Business tenants of these outskirt locations to Milton Keynes truly get the best of both worlds.  In quarter of an hour they’re in the bustling centre, networking with their neighbours.  In quarter of an hour they’re back out, able to breathe and do business in a way that feels far less stressful.  My advice: Do it now before the herds follow.

For more information on Liscombe Park, visit www.liscombepark.co.uk.

* Subsidised Health Club Membership can be negotiated for new tenants at Liscombe Park.

énergie Liscombe Park is holding a Wine & Wisdom Evening at the club from 7.30 pm on Friday 30 January.

The event costs £5 per person and includes a glass of wine and light refreshments. Teams are to be made up of a maximum of 6 people with prizes for the first three teams.

Please contact Scott or Jacqui at the club on 01296 682281 as soon as possible as places are running short.

Sunday 8 February sees Liscombe Park holding its first wedding show between 10am and 4pm.

Set in the idyllic 300 acre Liscombe country estate the show will showcase not only Liscombe Park as a beautiful wedding venue, but also some of Leighton Buzzards premier wedding suppliers.

Exhibitors include Leighton Buzzard based companies Lightdraw Photography, Fogarty Formal Hire, Let Them Eat Cake and J’Adore lingerie as well as Bedford based Creation Flowers.

The event is organised by Jacqui Garrad and Scott Wiseman of the énergie Fitness Club Liscombe Park and will be staged in a marquee provided by Castle Marquees. Entry costs £2.50 per person and light refreshments will be provided.

Liscombe Park is situated off the wing Road between Soulbury and Wing and easily accessible from the Leighton Buzzard by pass. For more details please contact Jacqui or Scott on 01296 682281.

The typical journey to work is plagued with stress: Rushing for the train; sitting in traffic jams; shouting at half-asleep drivers; finding a parking space…that’s a lot of anger to face first thing in the morning and a lot of pressure to deal with before the day has even begun.

Don’t underestimate the stress this has on a business. More and more companies are leaving their offices in the towns and cities and moving out to the country. Relocation to the trendy rural suburbs is big news.

The draws for working out of town are many; price being the greatest reason for moving office. The cost of rural commercial property is significantly less than city based offices, as is the price of parking – in fact, parking is free and there’s plenty of it to go round.

Towns like Milton Keynes are struggling to provide parking spaces not just for visitors to the city but, more importantly, for employees of local firms. Free spaces are rare; convenient parking is at a premium many businesses simply can’t afford. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis for many workers in the city, while those that don’t get there early enough are forced to brave the windy, rainy walk to their office building from a parking space blocks away. The real frustration for many companies comes when, despite their enviable M1 location, they still can’t tempt their clients to visit due to the sheer inconvenience and expense of parking.

So, where are these businesses moving to?

Forward thinking companies are planting their roots in the outskirts. These peaceful, countryside locations make the most of the Milton Keynes, Luton, Cambridge and Oxford arc and are often only minutes away from the city centres by car. Ironically, many of these rural sites have become much more accessible by road than those in the city centres.

There’s something rather serene about starting the day on clear, traffic free roads, driving through beautiful scenery that inspires rather than angers. Fresh air instead of exhaust fumes; cows instead of concrete, trees instead of traffic lights, free parking spaces on your office doorstep…and no more Milton Keynes roundabouts! There is an abundance of benefits to doing business in the sticks.

Working in the city is no walk in the park…but there is a working solution that is…

Of the various new commercial developments that have appeared on the scenic landscapes of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Liscombe Park is one that has taken the work/life balance concept one step further. Not only do they offer flexible office space in attractive properties that can accommodate businesses of any size, but they’ve managed to throw in a health and leisure complex on-site; equestrian activities and land for horse owners; beautiful park walks and outside meeting/picnic areas.

Located just 15 minutes from Milton Keynes, 15 minutes from Aylesbury and 25 minutes from Luton Airport, you can certainly see the appeal of relocating to Liscombe Park and working in the country. Rural working is cheaper, more convenient and more pleasurable – what’s not to like.