Client: Epping Forest Heritage Trust
Epping Forest, described by Queen Victoria as the ‘People’s Forest’ in 1882, is London’s largest open space. In April 2018, the Friends of Epping Forest (1969) and The Epping Forest Centenary Trust (1978) merged together based on a mutual desire for growth, resource integration, stability and future endeavours. The new organisation ‘Epping Forest Heritage Trust’ (EFHT) has to embark on a new more sustainable future with well-equipped trustees, staff, volunteers and operational systems.
As part of a National Lottery Heritage Fund project PSC was appointed by EFHT to carry out a comprehensive feasibility study and assessment of the Trust’s activities to provide clear, practical recommendations on its services moving forward. Our work focussed on:
- Undertaking a strategic review of EFHT activities at the Epping Forest Visitor Centre at High Beach from financial, organisational and site perspectives
- Carrying out consultation and running workshops with Trustees, Volunteers, Staff and interested parties to ensure their views, experience and expertise fed into the development of the preferred option
- Evaluating a range of case examples, helping to learn from best practice in the sector
- Assessing the economic viability of the Visitor Centre to EFHT and suggesting new income generation ideas and commercial enterprise ventures to underpin any future investment and service delivery
- Identifying opportunities to capitalise on and promote the Forest’s natural assets and encourage residents and visitors to use Epping Forest and appreciate its heritage, landscapes and biodiversity
- Drawing together the above work into a development strategy and action plan that identified the key actions and timescales, the associated costs and benefits, the risks and critical success factors involved
How can we help?
If you have any questions about preparing a business plan or income generation or development strategy for your organisation or would like to discuss our work please don’t hesitate to call Richard Linington on 023 9248 1999 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk