(photo credit -"Drone East")
Landguard Governance Project
secures National Lottery support
Five organisations that care for the
heritage, wildlife and natural environment on the Landguard Peninsula in
Felixstowe, with East Suffolk Council acting as lead partner, have received a
National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £43,200 for an exciting project in Felixstowe
made possible from money raised by National Lottery players. The project which focuses
on how the nationally important heritage and natural environment at Landguard can
be best managed into the future will commence in June.
Landguard has developed into an extremely
popular destination for local people and visitors alike over the past 30 years.
During that time there have been many changes and the organisations involved now
need to review what they have achieved so far and seek the best way forward to
meet the challenges of the future.
Supported through the National Lottery
Heritage Fund, the project will provide training opportunities to ensure
trustees and key volunteers are aware of the most up to date best practice so
they can confidently develop a shared vision and strategic plan. To inform
outcomes workshops, consultations and learning opportunities through visits to
similar charity organisations will take place, as well as professional led
business and visitor assessments.
Landguard is a special place, a peninsula
to the south of Felixstowe lying between the North Sea and the Orwell Estuary. King
Henry VIII commanded the first fortifications to be built at Landguard to
defend Harwich. Defences have come and gone, changed and developed to counter
ever evolving threats from abroad. Today the present Grade 1 listed 18thC Fort
is bordered on one side by a vegetated shingle spit designated as a Site of
Special Scientific Interest and on the other by the busiest container Port in
the UK. Housed in the Ravelin block is the Felixstowe Museum, whilst the
Landguard Bird Observatory is situated atop one of the Fort’s prominent outer
gun batteries. This juxtaposition of giant ships and cranes, wildlife and
history merge here into one unique but ever changing landscape at the southern
most tip of Suffolk.
Commenting on the award, Landguard Project
Officer Paul Grant said: “We want to build on the amazing work that’s been done
by our dedicated volunteer groups and there are exciting plans and ideas for
Landguard’s future. First however we need to make sure we have the right
structure and resources in place to make the most of new opportunities. So it’s
great that the National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting us with a grant
from its Resilient Heritage Fund towards shaping our future.”
This
project is a partnership between the organisations that manage the heritage and
wildlife assets at Landguard. These are; East Suffolk Council, English Heritage,
Landguard Conservation Trust, Felixstowe Museum and the Landguard Fort Trust.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead
and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change
for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
For further information, images and
interviews, or if you would like to get involved at Landguard please contact the
Landguard Partnership Project Officer Paul Grant on 01394 444457 or
paul.grant@eastsuffolk.gov.uk.
