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The Trust, which manages over 80 parks and green spaces across the UK, kept its sites open throughout the period of lockdown to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, and has experienced a huge increase in visitor numbers to many of its spaces over the past 6 months.

However as the Trust’s Director of Portfolio Management Alan Carter explains, this rise in popularity has brought its own challenges:

“Through lockdown we took the decision to keep as many of our parks and green spaces open as we could to ensure that our communities could continue to enjoy the physical and mental wellbeing benefits that spending time in well managed green spaces can bring.

“We were delighted to see thousands of people using our sites during this time and were really pleased to see many new faces getting outdoors and staying active, and it’s been obvious to see how much people have appreciated being able to use our spaces during this time.

“However it hasn’t come without its challenges and unfortunately there has been a significant increase in the amount of litter we are seeing on many of our parks and green spaces. While this is sadly inevitable to some extent it is also completely avoidable and we are urging all visitors to please take their litter home with them.

“While we have increased our bin emptying regime on many of our worst affected sites this comes with a cost implication. Tidying some of our spaces is also taking up valuable ranger time which could be better used delivering volunteering, health or educational activities which would provide a much greater benefit to the wider community.

“If you are using one of our sites and the bin is full, please don’t leave your rubbish on the bin or around it. Please take it home with you and help keep our green spaces, pleasant, safe and welcoming places for people and wildlife to enjoy.”

Joe, can you tell us a bit more about strategic SANG?

If a SANG has capacity for more than one development it is referred to as a ‘strategic’ SANG, as it can act strategically and allocate capacity to multiple developments within a specified catchment area. The catchment will depend upon the size of the SANG. Ash Green Meadows for example, is a 24 hectare strategic SANG and so it can allocate its capacity to developments within a 5 km catchment.

If clients were to transfer a strategic SANG to a local authority, then it is likely that they would relinquish all control over the allocation of capacity and the commercial value that it has.

By transferring the strategic SANG to the Land Trust, clients retain all control and commercial benefit of the capacity and are able sell capacity on a per-dwelling tariff. This is the reason Bewley Homes chose to transfer the 24 hectare homes Ash Green Meadows to the Land Trust. Bewley had surplus capacity to their needs and are now selling capacity off to third parties within a 5km catchment.

The responsibility of allocating capacity remains with the client and it is known that tariffs in certain Boroughs/Districts can reach up to £8-10k per dwelling. If you consider that a hectare can allocate 52 dwellings, a SANG becomes a valuable asset with a potential worth of over £400k per hectare.

What is the Land Trust’s role with SANGs?

The Land Trust can offer all services required for SANG from concept and design, management plans, capital works and in-perpetuity management.
Our main role is to manage the land in line with the management plan and the funding in line with our investment strategy. We currently have over 200 hectares of SANG with over 400 hectares of pipeline SANGs.

Natural England has approved Land Trust as an ‘appropriate body’ to acquire and manage SANG in perpetuity and this approval isn’t given lightly. This title is granted because our extensive risk management and safeguards give Natural England and local authorities the confidence that we are a long-term management body that will ensure that each SANG we take on will be delivered in perpetuity.

We appoint local delivery bodies as ‘Managing Partners’ to undertake the day to day management of our sites. Examples include Surrey Wildlife Trust, Deadwater Valley Trust and Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership.
Our approach to SANGs goes above and beyond the requirements of the management plans. We deliver our charitable objectives which ensures that a SANG does far more than protect designated sites.

What experience does the Land Trust have of managing SANGs?

My go-to example for our experience of managing SANGs in Wellesley Woodlands – the largest SANG in the country. It’s a flagship project that has gained considerable status due to its scale and how it goes above and beyond the requirements of a typical SANG.

The Land Trust undertook a £1.25M capital works project creating a 110 hectare SANG from derelict woodland in 18 months. Wellesley has now been open for five years and is managed by two rangers funded by the Land Trust.
Wellesley is a great case study for how SANGs can deliver social value. For example, in 2019/20 Wellesley Woodlands delivered health care cost savings of over £200k and the community engagement had an economic value of over £75k.

You can see the real life benefits that the site is delivering when you attend community events or walk the site and see dens that have been built by children who have engaged with nature rather than played computer games in their rooms.

It’s also important to remember that SANG is a term used for planning purposes. As soon as it comes to the Land Trust; it’s a site like all of our others, one that is managed for community benefit and recreation and we have over 15 years’ experience of managing these sites with over 2,000 hectares of land.



Why should someone choose the Land Trust?

If I’m honest, from my own experience developers seem to choose Land Trust for commercial reasons:

• The Land Trust endowment model is considerably more cost effective than other funding models offered by alternative bodies e.g. commuted sums
• The SANG has surplus capacity and by transferring the SANG to LT, it ensures that the commercial benefit of this capacity stays with the client
• The added benefit is our practical advice on SANG designs and management plans which provide economies of scale to capital works and long term funding.

A Land Trust SANG is more than just a dog-walking site, it’s a community asset that positively contributes to the lives of the visitors that use it.

I encourage our current and previous clients to consider the implications of transferring a SANG to the Land Trust. Yes, you may have saved or made money, but most importantly you have gifted a community asset that will deliver Social Value and which ticks the ESG box for investors.

What does the future look like for the Land Trust and SANGs?

The Land Trust is playing an ever-increasing role with SANGs and as they are instigated more widely across the Country, I can only see our role expanding in the long term. With a new aspiration to undertake capital works I expect we will be engaged on SANGs a lot earlier too, which is always good.

We are currently on track to acquire a further five SANGs by the end of the financial year. Hopefully this blog will lead to a few more acquisitions in future years.

Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality are emerging hot topics at the moment and have similarities to the SANG model. We are currently working with developers at Group and Regional level to discuss strategic delivery of BNG and Nutrient Neutrality and expect we will play a similar role with these environmental sites, as we do with SANG.

This is currently affecting many of our sites play equipment and buildings remain closed. For an updated list of closures or alterations on sites, please see below:

Car parks across our sites are now open.

We will begin reopening play areas and play equipment in line with government guidance from 4 July 2020.

Greenwich Ecology Park - To keep both visitors and staff safe, we are limiting the number of people who can visit at any one time and introducing a booking system.

From Wednesday 29 July to Friday 11 September, you will be able to book one of 5 free sessions on each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. A maximum of 12 people will be booked for each session so that visitors can enjoy the park safely.

Book your visit

Pleasley Pit - Cafe open for takeaways. Engine rooms closed.

Port Sunlight River Park - all buildings closed (café/visitors centre) Please note: a one way system may be in place. Please look out for signage on site.

Northumberlandia –  The cafe and toilets are now open every day: Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 11-5.

All sites may be affected by a reduced service, meaning bins may not be emptied and grass may not be cut as frequently as usual. Please be mindful of this when using any of our sites. Where possible, please take your litter and dog mess away with you to dispose of at home.

Last updated 21/07/20

Whilst using our green spaces, please ensure you practice social distancing and keep two metres away from anyone who you do not live with.



Thank you for helping keep these green spaces accessible and usable at this time. We look forward to resuming normal service and welcoming more visitors once safe to do so.

Land Trust Chief Executive, Euan Hall, said:

“During what is an incredibly difficult time for so many people across the UK and the world, more and more people are being forced indoors.

“While it is absolutely vital that people follow the government issued guidance to stay healthy and avoid spreading Covid-19, it is also important that people’s emotional and mental wellbeing is considered during what could be a very long and difficult period for people in this country.

“Getting outdoors is one of the best things anybody can do to keep them feeling emotionally well which is why the Land Trust will be doing everything we can to ensure that our spaces continue to operate normally during this testing time. This is reflected in comments from the UK’s Chief Medical Adviser who has said that getting some exercise and being outside is still a very good thing to do.

“While it’s likely that our organised events programme will be significantly reduced during this period we still want our communities to have access to places where they can get outdoors safely and responsibly and continue to enjoy the associated health benefits that being in nature can bring.

“We remain absolutely committed to delivering as much social impact to the communities we serve during this challenging period.”

The Land Trust manages over 80 green spaces across England and Scotland. More information on their locations and the facilities available there is available on the Land Trust website here: https://thelandtrust.org.uk/visit-land-trust-spaces

Should any individual sites face restrictions or closures we will announce this on social media. Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park is closed as it is accessed via a building, while other sites may see cafes or visitor centres closed during this time.

The main target audience for the Go Wild Family Challenge will be families with children under the age of 12, but the sheets will be designed to be accessible to all visitors.

Wellesley Woodlands is a 110 hectare green open space in Aldershot boasting diverse habitats, an abundance of wildlife and a network of eight trails to explore.

The Go Wild Family Challenge sheets, produced in association with Hayley Bush Design, will be created specifically for four of the trails and available to download from the Wellesley Woodlands and Land Trust websites.

The sheets will include information about the environment, nature and local history and a number of tasks and challenges to be completed and form part of a wider strategy at Wellesley Woodlands to encourage young people to get outdoors, with evidence gathered by the National Trust suggesting that fewer than one in 10 children regularly play in wild places and a third have never climbed a tree.

An example of one of the challenges is the ‘Plane Trail’. Participants will be required to follow a 1.5 kilometre route which will take them around the woodlands and eventually lead them to the famous Wellington Statue. Once there they will be tasked with identifying which direction the Duke is pointing using a compass.

Land Trust Projects Officer, Ed Knowles, said:

“Encouraging families and young people to learn about the nature and ecology of Wellesley Woodlands will help build their understanding of the importance of our woodlands.

“Combining this new resource with Wellesley’s Brass Rubbings Nature & Heritage Trail and the soon to launch Education Packs, will ensure we have a range of things on offer to encourage young people to get outdoors in the woodlands and enjoy all the physical and mental health benefits that spending time in well managed green space can bring.”

‘Go Wild in Wellesley’ will be launched in October half-term with free family events and a chance to try all the challenges.

The airport fund that made the project possible is open to groups based within three miles of Farnborough Airport and grants can be given to community or environment based projects, which improve green or open spaces, natural habitats or activities with an emphasis on outdoor education.

More information about the airport fund and other grants administered by Rushmoor Borough Council is available on the council’s website, www.rushmoor.gov.uk/grants

The sheets will also be available to download on www.wellesleywoodlands.co.uk

MowMow is a new, free to download app, available on the Apple Store and Android Google Play store, which combines technology with a good old fashioned game of hide and seek resulting in a fun activity that gets children moving outside in the real world.

The app builds on the popular children’s activity of painting rocks and leaving them for people to find. While there are a number of active Facebook groups where people share the rocks they have hidden or found players can’t currently track where their rocks are or who has found them.

This is where MowMow comes in. The new app will allow players to log where they hide their rocks and will be notified whenever their rock is found by someone playing the game. The rock even springs to life in rich augmented reality too!



Alan Carter, Director of Portfolio management for the Land Trust, explained why the partnership between the Land Trust and MowMow was a natural fit.

“We’re delighted to be teaming up with MowMow to launch this fantastic initiative and we hope it will make a real difference and inspire young people and their families to get outside and enjoy spending time together in the outdoors.

“We know that spending time outdoors in green space has a myriad of physical and mental health benefits and it’s absolutely vital that young people develop the routine of spending time in the natural environment at the earliest possible stage and develop this habit in order to ensure that they enjoy healthy, active lives.

“However in order to encourage this, children must have positive, and most importantly fun, experiences and this is where apps like MowMow are so important. In this digital world, with many young people having access to mobile phones and tablets, to be able to combine an online game with spending time in green space is an ideal solution and we look forward to a successful partnership with MowMow and working with them on our sites across the country.”

The new app will be officially with an event on the Land Trust site at Wellesley Woodlands with hundreds of children expected to attend and will be followed at events at other Land Trust sites across the country.

Matt Faulkner CMO and Co-founder at MowMow said:

“We are delighted to be teaming up with the Land Trust, an organisation that shares our passion for getting children spending more time outdoors and encouraging an active lifestyle.

“The game is already incredibly popular but our app will take things one step further, allowing families to plan their routes, share photos when they find the rocks, and track their step count along the way.

“MowMow is a country wide initiative and we hope that our first event at Wellesley Woodlands will trigger a chain reaction within schools, local communities, children’s clubs and families in general to encourage each other to get involved and get active.”

Last year’s 2018 ‘Land Trust Through a Lens’ competition saw hundreds of entries submitted, before being whittled down to the final 12 that featured in the calendar.

Photography enthusiasts and budding shutterbugs may submit up to 10 entries showcasing the changing colours of nature through the seasons. Any entries submitted must have been taken on one of the Land Trust’s sites to be eligible to win.

The competition will be open until October 25 2019 and the overall winner will win £100 in photography vouchers and will appear on the front page of the Land Trust’s 2020 calendar. Runners up will win £25 in vouchers as well as having their photograph featured in the calendar.

Last year the competition had some outstanding entries, spanning dozens of Land Trust parks, nature reserves and woodlands.
Alan Carter, Director of Portfolio Management at the Land Trust said:

“We want people to get outdoors this year and capture the beauty of nature through all the different seasons.

“So many of us don’t spend as much time outdoors as we should, but this is an opportunity to track down your nearest Land Trust space and capture the wonderful colours of the landscape.

“You don’t have to be a professional photographer or have a professional camera. Most of us have the ability to take great pictures on our phones.”

Unlike last year, the competition will run throughout the majority of 2019 to give people the chance to get out and take their photographs throughout the course of the year.

To enter, submissions should be sent as an attachment or shareable link to media@thelandtrust.org.uk or uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram tagging the Land Trust and using the hashtag #LandTrustInColour.

A full list of terms and conditions can be found here and must be read before submitting entries and can be found here.

 

 

 

The new SCEO will have responsibility for working with the local community, stakeholders and partners to develop and deliver an exciting range of public events, learning and volunteer activities. The post holder will undertake wide-ranging consultation work to increase support, establish priorities and inform the future direction of community involvement at this site.

The Land Trust works in partnership with property developer Grainger plc. and Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership (BVCP) at Wellesley Woodlands, supporting the nearby Wellesley development through the management of a beautiful green open space that offers a range of benefits to local people and wildlife. The post holder will join the BVCP team and be employed by Hampshire County Council.

Land Trust Estates officer, Steve Crosby, said:

“Wellesley Woodlands now attracts over 200,000 visitors a year and the recruitment of a new officer to work with the community will really help us to engage with local residents and visitors to Aldershot.

“We know the positive impact that well managed green space can have on community cohesion and mental and physical well-being and the new officer will play a vital role in delivering these benefits for the community.”

More information about the position and how to apply can be found here.  The closing date for applications is 28 October.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact BVCP manager, Steve Bailey on 01252 331353.

There are 18 plaques to discover on the trail, showing some fascinating parts of Wellesley’s nature and heritage. Plaques include the WWI and WWII firing walls, a dragonfly, a stag beetle and the iconic Wellington Statue.

As well as the interesting facts provided in the booklet, there is a section for each item to place on the plaque and rub over with a crayon, creating a fantastic piece of art.

The event to launch the trail was attended by dozens of families, giving them an opportunity to get outdoors and learn about the nature and heritage of Wellesley.

Laura Keighley, Countryside Ranger for Blackwater Valley at Wellesley Woodlands was on hand to give out the crayons and booklets throughout the day, and said, “It was great to see so many families getting involved. Even despite the bad weather in the morning people were keen to explore the trail, with many spying out the posts before they collected the booklet. It showed great community spirit!”

The booklets will be placed in community buildings in the near future for people to pick up and Laura will also be handing some out at the upcoming Bioblitz event on September 1^st.

The Bioblitz will involve a variety of activities in which people can get involved and learn about the wildlife of the woodlands. There are planned walks throughout the day, talks from volunteers and another opportunity to get your hands on the Brass Rubbings Trail booklet.

Please note that some of these activities have limited spaces and will need to be booked in advance.

For more information about events at Wellesley Woodlands, including how to book Bioblitz events, go to facebook.com/WellesleyWoodlands.

Land Trust Through a Lens is an opportunity for people to share their photographs taken at one of the Trust’s 63 sites across the country.

There will be twelve winners chosen after the competition closes at midnight on October 19. The winning photographs will then feature in the Land Trust’s 2019 calendar and all winners will receive a copy.

Entrants may submit up to five photographs per category. Photographs must be high quality and taken at/of a Land Trust site within the last two years.

Entries can be made under the following categories:

Charitable Themes                                  Seasons

Environment (wildlife)                                Spring

Education (in action)                                 Summer

Economy                                                   Autumn

Health                                                        Winter

Social Cohesion

Entries can be made either via social media or email. To email, send your image along with your full name, details of where and when the photograph was taken and which category it is being entered into to media@thelandtrust.org.uk. To enter via social media, upload your photo using #LandTrustThroughALens stating when and where the photo was taken and which category you are entering it into.                                                                                                                         

Winners will be contacted via email or direct message after October 19, 2018.

 

Click here for Terms and conditions.