As with most planning applications extra pieces of information have been requested from us. We have been busy digging holes in a variety of locations and pouring in water to see how well the water drains in the ground at the Arboretum, in some areas the water drained quicker than could be filled!
The tanker which was planned to be used for both days left early to be MOT’ed which meant the final hole needed to be filled with buckets, wheelbarrows and any other containers which could carry water!
We are also expecting a ‘time team’ like dig to take place to assess if we have anything interesting in the proposed car park, we don’t expect to find anything but you never know.
The project team recently enjoyed a brief break from the grindstone in Silk Wood with Paul Hayden, who normally leads a 6-day Windsor chair making course at the Arboretum.
We had a lovely day making rolling pins, stools, candlesticks and garden dibbers and all left feeling proud of our achievements but also very achy!

We have now submitted our planning applications for the Westonbirt Project! It’s been a frantic few days, with several long supporting documents and reports flying through our emails for final tweaks and approvals. It’s quite a relief to finally have reached this big milestone with fingers-crossed for approval at the end of the summer, if all goes to plan.

 
The project has been split into three applications; one outline for Propagation, two separate full applications including the Welcome Building, Downs Restoration and Education & Learning Building. 

 
The next big step for us, as a project team, is to complete all the documents we need to send to HLF and ultimately complete the second round application. This will happen if and when we get planning approval for our proposals sometime after September this year.

The Westonbirt Project is progressing at an exciting rate and letting people know about what we hope to provide for visitors, staff and the local community is vital for gaining, and keeping, support for the project.

For the local community, our aim is to keep our neighbours well informed about building developments and the planning proposals we will be submitting.

Our recent local community evening attracted people from Westonbirt Village, Tetbury and Malmesbury (and several villages in-between).

The turn out was good (despite competing with the first ever televised election leaders’ debate for our audience), and the Westonbirt Project team, including representatives from the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum and Westonbirt School made their way around the visitors to discuss the plans on show and answer questions.

Feedback was generally positive and some really important, and sometimes difficult, questions were raised and answered by the team. Feedback was encouraged and many attendees submitted comments cards.

Perhaps the most encouraging comment: “A great way to bring Westonbirt into the 21st Century whilst retaining original ideas”. This to me sums up perfectly the aims of the project; to enhance visitor experience, provide new learning opportunities and connect people with the collection in new ways without compromising the history, heritage and fundamental principles of Westonbirt.

FAQs raised from the evening and from visitors using the feedback boxes at the onsite exhibition by Maples restaurant will be displayed on the pages of www.westonbirtproject.co.uk soon for all to see.

I am delighted to have joined Westonbirt. As the Arboretum’s new Head of Fundraising, this year will see me delve into intensive planning and develop crucial activities to support the Westonbirt Project.

In the last 15 years, my work has taken me from the UK to the USA, I’ve delivered communications and fundraising projects in higher education, worked in business development for a specialist unit of the Financial Times and have completed postgraduate studies at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

It’s an honour to now be able to work in such an inspirational place; inspiring people about our environment and learning about the role of trees in our lives are key aspects which the Westonbirt Project will deliver.

My immediate task to ensure Westonbirt can realise these plans is to secure commitments and pledges of several million pounds, in order to match the Heritage Lottery Funding the Westonbirt Project has already secured.

So, with a well built plan and invaluable support from the ever-increasing Project team, I know 2010 will be busy, but hugely rewarding.
….And a bit from Miranda Winram, our Project Director…
“I’m very pleased to have Andrea on-board. Fundraising is a key element of our work to secure and deliver the future plans for Westonbirt and I’m delighted we were able to appoint Andrea, who brings a wealth of fundraising experience to the role.”

 I know that Roz (our webmeister) won’t be around to upload this blog until after the New Year, but its Christmas Eve and I’ve a choice between a) Finally forcing myself to do 3 months worth of filing, b) Getting to grips with a new financial management system or c) Writing my next blog.  Unsurprisingly c) has just won.

 This has been the most magical of all possible first Christmases at Westonbirt. Forget all the plastic ‘Winter Wonderland’ experiences out there, forget even (dare I say it…) the very lovely Enchanted Christmas here, the snow has turned Westonbirt into the Real Thing. I’ve been arriving at my desk later and later every morning, as I’ve been held up, entranced, along crisp rides framed with delicate silhouettes and the occasional soft swoosh of powder settling. The ground has crunched happily underfoot, and I’ve appreciated the incredibly strange and stunning patterns that branches and trunks have made against the ground or the sky. The specialness of our trees, their planting and their structures really shouts out when the world is a black and white negative.

 And best of all, there’s been no-one else around. I think Westonbirt is more beautiful in the snow than at the height of its autumn colour, but it seems to be the best kept secret around.

 It’s been a challenging first few months, but to come to work here, for the last week, has made it all worth while. Not a bad way to close 2009.

Timesheets have been rather a big preoccupation for me recently, it’s been like drawing blood from a stone to get my Steering Group members to tell me how much time they’ve been spending on Westonbirt Project business.

The context to this is that they’re mostly volunteers – either Trustees of FOWA or HoWT – and as part of our HLF development funding we promised to contribute a certain amount of volunteer time. In fact, all our volunteers are giving far more time than we ever suggested to HLF, which is fabulous, but if we don’t document it then HLF has no proof.  Hence my nattering on at the Members about what they see as a tedious and unnecessary admin task. In desperation, last month I promised a jar of home made plum jam in return for co-operation, and lo and behold, yesterday’s Steering Group meeting delivered a bunch of neatly filled out forms. I only hope that my ‘Jam for Timesheets’ deal doesn’t contravene public sector bribery rules.

On the plus side, (and a good thing given that I’m now out of jam), I reckon that the time logged to date is almost enough to tick the HLF box – give it another month and I hope that I’ll be able to stop collecting them.

On the capital works front, we had a meeting with our consultants this week to look at some initial ideas for how the new entrance and car park might work, and the potential layout of new tree team and propagation facilities. It sparked lots of very constructive internal debate, and a consequent reshuffling of some of the functions. I now just need to find the words to tell the architects that it’s all changed…