Clients:  Lincolnshire County & South Holland District Councils

Project: Fenscape – The Fens Discovery Centre

Summary

In 2004, Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) began looking for a trusted supplier to manage and develop their new £1.2 Million Fens Discovery Centre based at Springfields Outlet Complex in Spalding.

In addition to the County Council looking for a partner, South Holland District Council were planning to move their Tourist Information Centre [TIC] to a new location and appoint a company to manage the centre, taking the service to the next level as a Networked TIC.

The £1.2 million Fens Discovery Centre project, which was funded by a range of partners including Lincolnshire Development, Lincolnshire Fenland Leader Plus and Lincolnshire Enterprise, comprises of a range of different elements, all based within the one building.

Objective

To provide a high quality service to manage the facility and Tourist Information Centre on a day to day basis.  The objective was also to develop, expand and improve the Centre, increasing visitor numbers to both the facility and other attractions within the area and to develop links with local schools, businesses and community groups.

Solution

By Design successfully tendered for the management of the facility, taking over the management of the facility in August 2004, under the company name of Fenscape Ltd.

South Holland District Council also saw the Centre as an obvious solution to their plans to relocate the Tourist Information Centre for Spalding and District and so Fenscape Ltd were also appointed to manage this service for them.

Under our management, the site housed a Networked Tourist Information Centre, Gift Shop, Education and Conference Facility and the main Interactive Discovery Centre, which proved to be popular with schools and was a successful visitor attraction, acting as a ‘gateway to the Fens’, signposting visitors to other attractions within the region.

The Conference Facility which was fitted to the highest standard with the latest technology including WiFi, an interactive white board, ceiling mounted projector, flip charts and refreshments facilities, was very successful and was regularly booked by local businesses and training companies.

The Gift Shop acted as a hub for local craftspeople, promoting and selling art work, jewellery, local produce including locally milled flour, jams and preserves, beverages, books, souvenirs and gifts.

Results

In the first four years the Centre received over 300,000 visitors and increased both sales and bookings in the conference facility and gift shop.  Events and activities were held throughout the year including lectures, quizzes, craft activities and demonstrations.

The Tourist Information Centre went from Information Point status to that of a Networked TIC and both the TIC and the Discovery Centre were awarded VAQAS Status (Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme) which recognises that the centre provided an inclusive, accessible and high quality visitor experience.

The schools programme went from strength to strength, developing a successful education and outreach programme, for which the number of visits from schools increased steadily each year and Fenscape successfully tendered and was contracted to deliver schools education programmes for other local groups and bodies including the Lincolnshire and Rutland Education Business Partnership, The Rural Academy (LCC) and the Coastal Communities Alliance.

In addition to the management of the facility, in 2007 Fens Forward (a company limited by guarantee) came to fruition, enabling the centre to apply to funding bodies for new projects.  The centre was successful with two Heritage Lottery Grants and one Leader Plus funded Grant to provide a series of Lectures.

The first of the lottery projects, entitled Faces and Facts of the Fens, employed a part-time project officer to manage an education and outreach programme with young people in the Fens Region.  The young people developed a temporary exhibition based on the history and heritage of the Fens and at the same time came up with themes for a series of eight Loan Boxes and Teachers Resource Packs which were available for Primary Schools in the area to use free of charge.

The Faces and Facts of the Fens Project although extremely successful and well received, highlighted the need for young people and the public to engage more in the Heritage and History of the Fens.  From this, the need for a second lottery project was identified and Faces and Facts of the Fens – Back to the Future came to life.  This second lottery project began in November 2008 with a full-time project officer and worked with Secondary Schools in the Fens to develop and deliver a community lecture series. The students were also engaged in live debates with costumed actors and heritage professionals, the grand finale of the project being a Public Debate open to all. Footage of the debate was edited and placed on display in the Fens Discovery Centre along with an archive of all the material collected during the project, the archive will also be made available to the public via Libraries, Schools and Museums.

The contract has now finished, and By Design was very pleased to have been part of such a successful and important venture to open up more of the Fens to their residents and young people.