Belfairs Woodland Centre The Belfairs Woodland Centre is the result of a partnership project between Essex Wildlife Trust and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. A steering group was formed early in the development of the project consisting of local ward councillors, Southend Education Trust and the South Essex Natural History Society alongside project officers. A community consultation was undertaken pre-planning involving local volunteers and school children questioning local residents in Leigh-on-Sea town centre and in Belfairs Park, the site of the development. Additionally, over 8,000 copies of the consultation leaflet were disseminated to local residents; an online consultation was made available for 4 months and promoted in local press, through mail-outs and via the Southend Association for Voluntary Services. All schools in Southend were consulted and involved in the development of the project. Feedback from schools, individuals and local groups helped to guide the progress of the project. The project is linked to the Southend Education Trust through school participation. Schools can visit the Woodland Centre independently or as part of a structured education package. The Southend Association for Voluntary Services works closely with staff at the Woodland Centre offering volunteering opportunities for local residents. The South Essex Natural History Society (SENHS) has been involved in the project from the outset having been instrumental in saving the ancient woodland from housing development in the 1930s. The Woodland Centre is situated to help continue the protection of the woodland, provide education and involve the local community through walks, activities, events and interpretation. Woodland Centre staff are working with local groups and experts including SENHS and the Southend Dormouse Group to train volunteers in surveying and woodland management to protect and preserve the ancient woodland into the future. This project is central to the survival of the landscape in which it is situated. The woodland is coppiced a vital but oft misunderstood activity which ensures the survival of rare species. The centre provides a place from which and in which the community are able to understand and engage with the surrounding habitat its nature, history and future. Public access is encouraged through facilities, which provide an understanding and interpretation of their surroundings. This enhances the public understanding of this particular landscape and encourages involvement with nature conservation leading to practical forestry work (including coppicing) within the ancient woodland. The building located at a prominent position and at a confluence of paths acts as a hub, designed with a boat like form as a confident landmark in materials, which will soften over time to a woodland colour. Through developing a sense of ownership within the local community through consultation over time and providing a means of engagement and the opportunity to volunteer. By having a well resourced, envisioned and committed organisation at the centre of the enterprise with the expertise to inform and enthuse visitors about their surroundings. By providing facilities, which are easy to access and enable interaction between human beings and with nature, which in the manner and form of their design demonstrate a responsive approach to, the surrounding community and environment and a responsible approach to the use of resources embodied in the building fabric and to the financial and environmental costs of running the building. Public access has been both improved and increased: the main access track leading to the site has been upgraded to include a safer junction with the highway, additional car parking spaces, cycle parking, an electric vehicle charging point and information and material (including a mobile App and online information) on how to travel sustainably to site. Public rights of way leading from the park and woodland are being improved with better drainage and a new path has been provided with surfacing giving alternative access for especially families with young children wishing to avoid the right-of-way with permissive vehicular access. The project has worked closely with a second initiative in the borough to increase cycling across the town. The rural section of the Prittlebrook Greenway now passes through Belfairs Park and the Woodland Centre has become a ‘Cycle Friendly Café’. The scheme has been used by a number of local schools to date and the reaction has been very positive. Repeat bookings show that the facility is meeting the needs of the schools. The education hall is ideal for a class of children and provides the equipment, storage and outdoor access that are essential. A number of community activities take place as part of a full annual programme. These activities reach a large section of the community from young children and families to specialist groups and interested individuals and cover a wide range of wildlife and environmental themed topics. These activities are well received and often fully booked with waiting lists. General visitors to the Woodland Centre are always interested in the building and a number of local people have started to visit the centre on a regular basis, including a local walking group. The project was funded by a number of bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund, Interreg 2 Seas, a European grant, and landfill operators. This has provided an excellent visitor centre to welcome visitors, the tools and equipment to undertake woodland management and education, interpretation and artwork to disseminate the key messages, and staff to ensure the on-going success of the project and to train volunteers. The initial three year vision has enabled the project to get off the ground and build itself up naturally. A longer term 10 year plan looks to the future and the direction the project should take. This considers financial sustainability alongside the core aims of the facility. The project focuses around Living Landscapes, a high-level objective for Essex Wildlife Trust, and so is part of far-sighted planning to sustain the project into the long-term.