Archived decisions

Hampshire County Council.

Sir George Staunton Country Park Joint Management Committee Item 7

Tuesday 13th June 2006.

Park Manager's Report.

Contact: Lewis Paterson (Telephone: 023 9245 3405).

1. Introduction

    1.1. The following report updates members of the Joint Management Committee on developments at the Park since the previous Park Manager's Report presented on 21st November 2005.

    1.2. Staunton has enjoyed an encouraging winter season with November, January and February having the highest relative visitor numbers on record. There was a slight downturn in figures during March, largely due to a later Easter holiday.

    1.3. The 2006/07 financial year started promisingly with strong trading during the Easter period.

    1.4. Membership sales continue to perform strongly and combined with the renewed marketing activity over the Easter period numbers have now exceeded 3500 (more than a 30% increase).

    1.5. Visitor numbers to the pay zone during the 2005/06 financial year were 80,526. This is the busiest year on record (which began in 1990) with a 7% increase on the previous years numbers.

    1.6. Volunteering at Staunton through organised community groups continues to show a marked increase on last year. Early season figures for individual volunteers are comparable to last years figures.

    1.7. During the 2005/06 financial year the average spend per head for visitors to the pay zone was £5.70.

2. Site Information

    Farm

    2.1. The quality and quantity of stock has been a target for improvement during the past seven months. This has culminated in a number of new arrivals in the period leading up to Easter.

    2.2. Key arrivals included;

    · Sixteen pedigree longhorn cows & heifers

    · One pedigree longhorn bull

    · Three llama (one pregnant); and

    · Three alpaca (all pregnant)

    2.3. One of the alpaca has since given birth to a male Cria. In addition two miniature donkeys are anticipated to be arriving in October.

    2.4. The Parks breeding programme also continues to be successful with the following numbers born to date;

    · 76 Lambs (including a high percentage of twins)

    · 5 Calves, with a few still due

    · 10 Kids

    2.5. Two of the Parks pigs are currently pregnant with the next piglets due in mid June. The current batch of piglets, born in May, will be kept to pork weight within a new central courtyard paddock. A second external pig paddock is being created and it is planned to utilise pigs as `animal tractors' to assist in paddock restoration.

    2.6. The rabbit and guinea pig breeding programme is now fully re-established and income streams from the sale of pets are once again picking up.

    Glasshouses and Formal Gardens

    2.7. Gardens renovation continues apace with the restoration and replanting of the following areas;

      · Serpentine border (Leigh Park Gardens);

      · Oval Garden border; and

      · Llama slope (with Regency Period shrubs).

    2.8. Bee hives will be reintroduced to the formal gardens in the near future. It is hoped that one of these hives will double as a viewing hive for members for the public.

    2.9. A carnivorous plant display is currently being prepared within the glass houses. It is anticipated that the first specimens will be in place during June.

    2.10. Box hedging within the Walled Garden has unfortunately fallen prey to Box Blight, a fungal infection. Despite attempts to treat the infection large sections of box hedge are now dieing off. Due to fungal spores remaining in the soil it is not feasible to replant box hedging. In conjunction with the Landscape Advisory Group alternative planting schemes are currently being considered. It is likely that restoration will commence in stages, with the first stage hopefully being undertaken during the autumn.

    Leigh Park Gardens & Ancient Woodland

    2.11. A significant amount of restoration and improvement works have been undertaken within Leigh Park Gardens. These include;

      · restoring the path around the Ornamental Lake;

      · resurfacing a section of the Avenue;

      · clearance of forest paths to create medium and long walking routes;

      · clearance of forest paths to create a cycle route.

    The vast majority of this work was undertaken by Staunton staff in conjunction with volunteers and community groups.

    2.12. Tree felling operations undertaken by the Park team in order to open up original woodland rides will serve to improve the woodland as a visitor attraction whilst improving biodiversity. Much of the timber is being extracted and this will continue into the summer. Timber will be converted (sawn) for use in the Estate. The remainder will be left as habitat piles. Inevitably some damage has been caused to the rides during extraction but this will be corrected.

    2.13. Cross Country Athletics returned to Staunton during the early part of 2006 with the Hampshire Athletics Association County Championships in January and the Today's Runner cross country event in February. Both events were considered to be a great success by organisers and the Park.

    2.14. The first piece of sculpture, a seat, has been produced by resident artist Anthony Rogers. Following a series of community days construction of the second piece has now commenced. Both pieces will be sited on the medium walking trail during July.

    Visitor Services

    2.15. Membership continues to rise with particularly brisk business during the Easter period when over five hundred new members joined. Total membership is now in excess of 3500.

    2.16. During the 2005/06 financial year members accounted for 22% of all visitors to the pay zone and membership ticket sales represent 7% of the average spend per head for all visitors to the pay zone.

    2.17. The average spend per head for the 2005/06 financial year for visitors to the pay zone was £5.70 (£5.32 when VAT removed from relevant cost heads). The breakdown of spend per head can be seen in table 2.1, below.

    Table 2.1: 2005/6 Visitor Spend per Head

    2.18. Active marketing of Sir George Staunton Country Park has meant a significant increase in local media coverage. Between July (appointment of our marketing officer) and the end of March Staunton has enjoyed 1697.5 column centimetres of editorial in local press. In addition we have undertaken a brand builder campaign with The Quay radio station (local to Portsmouth) and more recently undertaken some marketing with Ocean FM. This higher media presence has undoubtedly had a positive impact on our visitor numbers, a trend which was sustained through the autumn and winter seasons. The continuing trend of increasing visitor numbers can be seen in Table 2.2, below.

Table 2.2: Visitor Numbers

    2.19. Achieving total visitor figures of 80,526 is a significant landmark in Staunton's development. The 2002/03 management plan predicted that it would take until 2012 to achieve 80,000 visitors to the pay zone. Our target for 2006/07 is to exceed 90,000 visitors.

    2.20. New merchandising display equipment has now been installed within the Gift Shop. This forms the first stage of phased improvement of the point of sale within the Gift Shop. It is anticipated that this will have a positive impact on sales.

    Catering & Conferencing

    2.21. The tea rooms continue to perform well, with some encouraging visitor feedback on quality and service. The Victorian Coach House café in Leigh Park Gardens is again open and has been trading steadily during school holidays and at weekends. Delays in the opening of the cycle route have undoubtedly had and impact on business but it is anticipated that this will be operational by June.

    2.22. Conference and meetings business remains slow to become established. Additional marketing efforts are again being focussed on this important element of the business.

    Education

    2.23. Staunton remains popular as an educational venue with school bookings remaining strong. It is intended to further develop educational business at Staunton during 2006/07. The recently developed (in conjunction with Portsmouth Water Ltd) range of water related topics are now available to schools.

    2.24. Once again a range of trails are available to visitors, including the ever popular dinosaur trail.

    Leigh Park Nursery Site

    2.25. Initial attempts to raise funding in order to produce detailed feasibility study and plans have to date been unsuccessful.

    2.26. It is proposed that consideration should be given to leasing portable and fit for purpose accommodation to enable Sparsholt College and Havant Day Services activities to relocate to, and function more effectively within, the Nursery Site.

    2.27. Currently Sparsholt College courses operate from a converted cabin adjacent to the main car park and a small meeting room within the tea rooms. With growing demand for course places these facilities are becoming restrictive.

    2.28. Havant Day Services were displaced upon the demolition of the dilapidated buildings which formerly occupied the Nursery Site. They currently operate in part from Staunton Country Park with rented accommodation at St. Albans Church, West Leigh. Again a fragmented operation is not ideal.

    2.29. It is considered that establishing a more focussed and centralised working partnership within the Country Park will be beneficial to all organisations involved whilst demonstrating that funding the development of this operation is a viable proposition.

3. Recommendation

    3.1. That the Joint Management Committee note the content of this report.

    3.2. That the Joint Management Committee support the proposal to further investigate the leasing options for portable classroom accommodation.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report. NB this list excluded:

    1. Published works.

    2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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