St Werbughs City Farm
BUSINESS & DEVELOPMENT
PLAN
2011 – 2015
St Werburghs City Farm is an independent registered charity grant aided by Bristol City Council.
Registered Charity Number 297091 - Company Limited by Guarantee Number 2114442
CONTENTS
Executive Summary
PART 1
1.
THE BUSINESS, ORGANISATION AND KEY PERSONNEL
1.1. The Business
1.2. Background and History
1.3. Legal Structure
1.4. Mission Statement and Social Purpose
1.5. Business Location and Physical Assets
1.6. Organisational Structure
1.7. The Staff Team
1.8. The Trustees
1.9. Farm Membership
1.10. Volunteers
2.
SERVICES, USER GROUPS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
2.1. Our vision
2.2. Current Service Delivery
2.2.1. The Horticultural Training Unit and Animal Husbandry
2.2.2. The Boiling Wells Environmental Centre
2.2.3. Wild About St Werburghs Project
2.3. External Partners
2.3.1. British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV).
2.3.2. National Forest Schools
2.3.3. The Farm Café
2.3.4. Bristol City Council
2.3.5. Youth Services
2.3.6. Schools and Education
2.3.7. Early Years, Play Provision and Family Activities
2.4. Partnerships
2.4.1. Existing work
2.4.2. Local Community
2.4.3. Drop-In Visitors
2.4.4. Business Organisations
2.4.5. Local Farms
2.4.6. Federation of City Farms and Gardens
2.4.6. Narroways Millennium Green Trust
2.4.7. Public meetings and Public Relations
3.
THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT
3.1. Strategic Growth
3.1.2. Succession Strategy
3.1.3. What we are doing
3.2. Limiting factors in service expansion
3.3. Evidence of demand for room hire
3.3.1. St. Werburghs Community Centre
3.3.2. Community Consultation
3.4. Solutions : A New Building
3.4.1. Growth
3.4.2. Teaching / instructional spaces
3.4.3. Community Space and Room Hire
3.4.4. A shop
3.5. Demonstrating the Need for a New Building
3.5.1. Fit for purpose
3.5.2. Education partners
3.5.3. Consultation events.
3.5.3. The Proposals.
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3.6. How robust is the farm’s ‘offer’ to the market?
3.6.1. Income.
3.6.2. Finances of the organisation (income and expenditure)
3.6.3. Types of Income 2008-2011
3.6.4. Community and social uses of the Farm
3.7. Competition
3.8. Long-term outcomes and overall strategy
PART 2
4.
THE PROPOSALS
4.1.
Consultation
4.2.
Capital costs
4.3.
Finding the funding to deliver.
4.4.
Potential grant sources
4.5.
Personnel involvement
4.6.
Disruption to service delivery
4.7.
Costs of the project
5.
LONG-TERM OUTCOMES
5.1.
The proposed building
5.2.
Outcomes associated with a new building
5.3.
Improving our impact
5.4.
Measuring social impact
5.4.1. Monitoring projects
5.4.2. Ongoing consultation
5.4.3. Setting Targets.
6.
FINANCES, TURN-OVER AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
6.1.
Potential Income Generation
6.2.
Potential additional income, based on new building operating from 2012.
6.3.
Monitoring change
7.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
7.1.
Identifying gaps and opportunities
7.2.
Marketing
8.
ACTION PLAN
8.1.
Key Milestones
APPENDICES
1. Memorandum and Articles of Association (Mission statement in full)
2. White Design consultation reports (November 2010)
3. White Design Building Option Presentation (March 2011)
4. White Design Diagrammatic Site A
5. White Design Diagrammatic Site B
6. White Design Diagrammatic Site A & B
7. White Design Scope of Work Stages A-B, Stages B-D
8. Map of area and SOA
9. Photographs of the Farm
10. Photographs of activities and clients engaged
11. Staff profiles
12. Trustee profiles
13. SWOT of Farm operations
14. Previous funding agencies and projects
15. Record of Service Agreement BCC
16. Report and Financial statement to year end 31st March 2010
17. Sage print out this financial year
18. Community Survey Report 2010
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ACRONYMS
BCC
Bristol City Council
HTU
Horticultural Training Unit
NFCFG
National Federation of City Farms and Gardens
SIB
Social Investment Business
SWCF
St. Werburghs City Farm
DTA
Development Trusts Association
SWCC
St Werburghs Community Centre
ONS
Office of National Statistics
IMD
Indices of Multiple Deprivation
SOA
Super Output Areas
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
St Werburghs City Farm has grown steadily over the years, from a small derelict piece of wasteland on
Watercress Road, to its present shape, encompassing three beautiful green locations all within walking
distance of each other – the Farm, Boiling Wells, and the Community Gardens.
It has grown too, as an organisation – starting off as a small community group, it is now a registered
company and charity, employs 13 members of staff, and offers a diverse range of activities to equally
diverse sectors of the local community.
The Farm has had several successful strategic funding bids, allowing specialist youth, play, and
educational work to be carried out on our land, and this in turn has generated an exponential rate of
growth in associated activities. The Farm now realises it needs to work in different ways:
 Take a more strategic overview of its work. To do this it will need a Farm Director, firmly
establishing the Farm as a service provider in Bristol’s extensive environmental networks;
 Establish itself as a working social enterprise, ensuring activities generate revenue to contribute
to operations as a much loved community resource; in order to do this we must:
 Develop a comprehensive Business Plan, setting targets and milestones for each stream of work;
 Expand the Farm built environment – enhance the indoor offer to allow additional meeting rooms,
covered/indoor educational space, and improve office space for staff and volunteers, thereby
benefiting the many local community groups of St Werburghs.
To help achieve these aims, we have employed social and economic regeneration consultant Lesley Nel
(from February to May 2011) to develop the role of a Director, set the scene with potential partnership
organisations, and (working with staff and Trustees) develop an operational Business Plan. In 2010 we
secured funding from Community Builders, through the Social Investment Business (SIB) for a feasibility
study and architectural designs for new building proposals (Design proposals and consultation
information are contained in Appendices 2-7). These have gone through detailed consultation
processes, in preparation for planning application in April 2011. The consultant will work closely with
Farm Managers during March, April and May 2011 to develop milestones, targets, and potential
economic growth for the Farm, and build these into the operational business plan for this coming
financial year and the remaining business plan period.
This Business Plan sets out the case for the Farm to develop a more sustainable operation as an
organisation, particularly in the light of funding cuts and economic downturn. It builds on the demand
demonstrated by local people and local community groups who use the Farm regularly, and
demonstrates how the proposed new buildings can play a role in delivering an improved service to our
clients, our local community. The Farm can play a bigger role (in a wider trading area), in collaborative
delivery of the shared objectives and visions of the wider environmental and educational networks of
Bristol.
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PART ONE
1. THE BUSINESS, ORGANISATION AND KEY PERSONNEL
1.1. THE BUSINESS. St. Werburghs City Farm (The Farm) became operational and began
delivering services on 2nd May 1980.
Contact details: St Werburghs City Farm, Watercress Road, St Werburghs, Bristol BS2 9YJ
Telephone number: 0117 942 8241
Email: office@swcityfarm.co.uk
Website address: www.swcityfarm.co.uk
1.2. BACKGROUND AND HISTORY. The Farm came into existence in May 1980 when a group
of local St Werburghs residents decided that the land, which had been left derelict after an
existing terrace was demolished following subsidence, could be used for an inner city farm.
Their vision opened a community facility that has provided a well regarded service and a place
for recreation and learning for over 30 years and is a much loved focal point for many residents
not only from St Werburghs but from all over Bristol.
1.3. LEGAL STRUCTURE. The Farm is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 29th
June 1987 registered as 2114442 and is registered with the Charities Commission as number
297091.
1.4. MISSION STATEMENT AND SOCIAL PURPOSE. St Werburghs City Farm states in its
“Memorandum and Articles of Association” that:
“….. St Werburghs City Farm works in partnership with the community to provide high quality
educational, recreational and environmental services and resources within a working farm. We
welcome all, including those who are socially and economically disadvantaged”. The Mission
Statement continues: “….. To advance the education of the inhabitants of St Werburghs and
the neighbourhood thereof (hereinafter called "the area of benefit") and particularly young
members of the public at large, in agriculture, horticulture, home crafts, country life and related
subjects through their leisure time activities so that they develop their physical, mental and
spiritual capacities and grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society, and their
conditions of life are improved.”
Whilst the Farm’s mission has remained constant over the past 30 years, its work has evolved
so that a large part of its turnover is now derived from statutory contracts for delivering services
within a farm environment to vulnerable adults and young people from across the city and from
neighbouring counties. The Farm’s vision is to be an inspirational place connecting people,
animals and the land, to promote health and well being for all by providing opportunities for
people to meet, learn, play, build relationships and celebrate the changing seasons.
1.5. BUSINESS LOCATION AND PHYSICAL ASSETS. The Farm is situated on Bristol City
Council land in the Lockleaze and Ashley Wards of the City of Bristol. Ashley Ward consists of
32 streets and divided into 7 Super Output Areas (SOA). The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000
of Ashley Ward is 756, this places it within the worst 9% of all wards in the Country. The Farm
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has a 40 year lease with 35 years remaining, on the four acres of land, which is spread over
three closely-located sites, each of which fall in a different SOA, the Community Garden is
located in the Mina Road SOA. The Main Farm site in the Ashley Hill SOA, and the Boiling
Wells site is in the Muller Road SOA, in the Lockleaze ward.
1.5.1. The main Farm buildings are on Watercress Road, consisting of an un-insulated cabin,
built over 25 years ago housing the Farm offices and a volunteers meeting room with a small
community room hired for public events. A more recent horticultural training building - a log
cabin, was erected on the Farm in January 2010. Paddocks with grazing for the livestock and
pens and stables for calves, small ruminants and petting animals such as rabbits and guinea
pigs and for poultry of various types are all open to the public, with plots and beds within the
Farm Community Garden (Mina Road, leased from the Ashley Vale Action Group) are setaside for both agricultural and horticultural crops to be grown. There are glasshouses for the
production of seedlings and plants for sale. A unique café building of “Hobbit” design attracts
many visitors with its award winning cuisine.
1.5.2. The Boiling Wells site (a former Council small-holding), a steep terraced orchard with
grassland areas, includes facilities such as a timber frame barn and outdoor kitchen where
rural crafts and environmental studies for children are provided, as well as an amphitheatre
constructed by volunteers that can be used for outdoor theatre productions. A roundhouse is
currently under construction on the Boiling Wells site, to act as another enclosed sheltered
space, flexible for a variety of uses and groups. The site plan and location can be seen in the
Appendix.
1.6. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE. St Werburghs City Farm (a limited Company and a
registered Charity) is managed by a Board of Trustees, a small team of staff, and supportive
volunteers. The Farm has a membership scheme, and members are able to vote at AGMs, and
stand for election as Trustees.
The Farm has become a respected strategic player in the delivery of specialist services, largely
due to the success of external funding which has allowed the employment of specialist staff.
This work (heritage, environmental education, animal husbandry, horticulture etc), whether
aimed at people with additional needs or the wider community, has helped to achieve the main
goals of the organisation, and places the Farm in a well established environmental network, in a
position where strategic oversight and direction is a requisite for any representative attending
external meetings. As a result, the organisational structure of the Farm staff management team
was changed in 2010 from being a collective flat-structure to a management with a Director
overseeing and leading a team of Unit Managers – Livestock, Horticulture, Boiling Wells
Environmental Education Centre, Administration etc. However, a change of staff at the end of
2010 has led to the Farm and Board to now further develop the role of a Farm Director, ensuring
that the Person Specification allows continued growth and development of the Farm and
optimise its achievements.
1.7. THE STAFF TEAM.
Table 1 - Current core staff
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Farm Director
Livestock Manager
Horticulture Training Unit Manager
Children Services Project
Wild About St Werburghs Project Managers (job share)
Environmental Youth Work Manager
Admin and Finance Worker
Horticultural Trainer
Youth Workers
Horticultural / Farm Support Worker
Heritage Crafts,Project Leader
Vacant
Tim Child
Lynn Templar
Isabel Lucas / Stephanie Renshaw
Anna Williams
Fiona MacDonald
Lucy Byrne
Tom Hertogs, Beth Silvey
Peter Holland, Amy
Alistair Park
1.8. THE TRUSTEES. The Board of Trustees (BoT) is responsible for the governance of the
Farm and responsible to the local community and the Charities Commission for the financial
viability of the Farm. The BoT comprises eight members as of January 2010, six of whom are
resident in St. Werburghs or live in adjacent wards. It is hoped that during this plan period the
number of trustees will be increased to a full complement of fifteen, broadening the range of
skills, backgrounds and interests of the Board.
Table 2 - The Board of Trustees:
Dave Etches
Deborah Weymont
Anna Sherratt
Andy Youl
Martin Maudsley
John Durant
Peter Watson
Jonnie Brockwell
Chair
Vice Chair and Trustee/Non Executive Director
Trustee/Non Executive Director
Trustee/Non Executive Director
Trustee/Non Executive Director
Trustee/Non Executive Director
Trustee/Non Executive Director
Trustee/Non Executive Director
1.9. FARM MEMBERSHIP. The Farm has a membership scheme, whereby members are able
to vote on issues of policy, direction and management of service delivery. It is hoped to expand
membership during this plan period. This will not only be a source of more revenue but also
provide for a greater community involvement at the AGM and on issues that affect the
management of the Farm.
1.10. VOLUNTEERS. At any one time there are 15+ volunteers working on the Farm
undertaking daily and week-end duties as well as help with the annual events such as Summer
Fair, Apple Day and the Summer Camp. Currently there are volunteers providing one-to-one
support to the Unit Mangers who are working with young people with additional and complex
needs. Volunteers also work within particular projects at the Farm, including the Wild about St
Werburghs Project which has its own small team of volunteers who are particularly keen to gain
experience working outdoors with children. The popularity of the Farm means that there is no
shortage of people who are keen to become involved. We are in the process of appointing a
voluntary, Volunteer Coordinator to effectively optimise this enthusiasm.
8
2.
SERVICES, USER GROUPS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
2.1. OUR VISION
Our vision is to bring rural life to an urban community, and to ensure that all can benefit from it.
As we work to achieve our vision, we have five broad impacts on the local neighbourhood, and
on the wider community:

Enhancing community cohesion and involvement: the Farm provides a focus point
for people in St Werburghs, and its reputation brings a sense of pride to a deprived
community. The events held at the Farm bring together local people and local
businesses.

Increasing knowledge and understanding of horticulture and animal husbandry:
this is achieved through the horticultural training programmes run by the Farm, through
youth work, and through on-site interpretation.

Creating a sense of engagement with the natural environment: The farm is located
in an inner city area, with little green space and limited opportunities to engage with
nature. We address this through the provision of a working farm, a community garden,
and the green space at Boiling Wells.

Increased self-esteem for vulnerable adults and excluded students. Our horticulture
training programme gives adults with learning difficulties and disabilities the chance to
learn about organic horticulture, and to interact with visitors. Our work with young people
who are excluded from school allows them to develop practical skills in a supportive
environment.

Enhanced emotional wellbeing for visitors and the wider community: The farm
makes people happy, be they casual visitors to the playground or the café, users or our
services, or simply passers-by who stop to admire our pigs.
2.2. CURRENT SERVICE DELIVERY
St Werburghs City Farm is a working Farm, with a small core of staff and volunteers running a
wide range of activities for people of all ages and abilities, including accredited courses and
other learning and skills provisions.
The Farm has a successful record of funding procurement and service level agreements, which
has allowed us to employ specialist staff, run a number of programmes (see below) and
courses, and carry out physical improvements to our sites.
2.2.1. The Horticultural Training Unit (HTU) and Animal Husbandry primarily work with
adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. Training in basic practical horticulture is used as
a medium through which learners develop social and work based skills. A dedicated team
provides training and support to enable people to take part fully in the carefully planned
programme of activities. The team comprises of paid staff, volunteer support workers and
occasional social care students who attend on a work placement basis from local schools and
colleges. The HTU principle staff is qualified in horticulture and training/teaching provision, and
the course has recently been accredited through the Open College Network. We hold a Record
9
of Service Agreement (RSA) with Bristol City Council (BCC) for annual work, and a Spot
Purchase contract for individuals.
Table 3 - HTU and Animal Husbandry: clients and income
Bristol City
Council RSA
BCC Spot
Purchase
South Glos
Council (BLAC)
Brandon Trust
Kendall House
Cleeve Hill
Total
HTU
placements
7
Farm
placements
6
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
29,703
30,000
2
3
12,000
12,000
30,000
(tbc)
12,000
3
6,768
6,768
6,768
1
1
1
15
2,736
2,736
2,736
56,679
2,736
2,736
2,736
56,976
2,736
2,736
2,736
56,976
9
Capacity to increase services: The clients we work with have complex needs, and our course
capacity is a maximum of 6 people per day. We currently have 5 per day, so there is a little
capacity for growth.
The Animal Husbandry course uses the HTU cabin one day a week; and HTU uses it 3 days a
week, which means it is free for one day week should there be a case to expand services.
In addition, the Animals Department offers a Work to Learn programme – a six week course for
14-16 year olds; offers work placements for pupils at local schools, and receives day release
students on livestock care and farming courses at Filton College and Norton Radstock College.
The Livestock Manager cares for our animals – sheep, cows, pigs, goats, chickens and ducks,
and carries out educational visits to schools and on site for schools, and offers the hire of an
egg incubator to schools.
2.2.2. The Boiling Wells Environmental Centre provides rural crafts skills training, woodcraft
and carpentry projects, and is the focus of a range of youth work and environmental education
programmes. The Farm has secured three year grants for a full-time youth manager, and two
(job-share) environmental education managers (main focus is Wild About St Werburghs, see
2.1.3). Current youth work includes:
 A term-time programme of activities for young people aged 14 to 18 who are disengaged
or excluded from school, encouraging a highly supportive environment where students
gain experience with a range of tools and practical skills.
 A weekly open-access youth club is run for local young people aged from 11 to 18 years
old, where we encourage the young people to engage on their own terms whilst gaining
independence, confidence, practical and social skills. Several young people have
worked for and gained environmental awards over the past 3 years.
 Programme of activities are also run for young people affected by social and economic
disadvantage, behavioural and mental health difficulties.
 Out-of-school and holiday activities for local young people are provided with a range of
adventurous outdoor activities. Over the past year we have focussed especially on
10

young people facing difficulties and challenges during the transition from primary school
to secondary school, working closely with teachers, key workers and the local Extended
Schools Service.
Courses open to the public include the Wood Carving and Greenwood Working Course.
Table 4 - Boiling Wells Activities and income
Activity
Primary
Youth work
Thursday Club
Summer Camp
Income
2010/11
BCC
BCC Positive
activities
BCC Extended
Schools
Fees
CYPS/TPA
Referral fees
Fees
Radcliffe Trust grant
5,000
1,904
2011/12
2,000
3,000
5,000
1,904 tbc
Hire of site
2,000
various
2,040
5,000
3,608
1,000
2,000
tbc
4,500
n/a
4,000
Hire of Barn/Round
n/a
750
Weddings
Events
500
1,800
10,000
Creative Wood
Heritage Crafts
2.2.3. Wild About St Werburghs Project is a three year project (2010-13) which aims to
engage, in particular, children and their families but also other community members with the
green spaces of St Werburghs. We manage and deliver a variety of activities and events
throughout the year. The events are family friendly, seasonal, celebration days including Apple
day, Wassail and May Day. Activities vary and include provision of Forest School-type services
for local school groups, seasonal family workshops and wildlife walks. In the future naturerelated children’s clubs will be established. The sites we use are: the Farm itself, the Boiling
Wells conservation and education site, Narroways Nature Reserve and Mina Park. The project
has been developed in partnership with Narroways Millennium Green Trust to encourage wildlife
friendly use of their site and to raise awareness of it as a nature reserve. This project has been
funded by Natural England and Big Lottery Fund, and is one of their Access to Nature
programs. The overall aim is to reach people in areas of Bristol facing social and economic
hardship, and those from areas deprived of green space. (Lockleaze and Ashley wards have
been identified by Natural England and the ONS as qualifying areas).
2.3. EXTERNAL PARTNERS
2.3.1. British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV). The Farm has been working on the
Boiling Wells site in partnership with BTCV since 2003 providing environmental youth work and
training opportunities for young people. Current groups include young volunteer taster
sessions, and the Entry to Employment Programme with 10 young men continually adding to
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site development including work to the amphitheatre, compost toilets and the planning and
design of new “Wild Walk”.
2.3.2. National Forest Schools - the Wild about St Werburghs Project has begun to provide
Forest School style sessions to local schools. The Farm is a member of the Bristol, Bath and
West of England Forest Education Initiative, which coordinates Forest School activities, shares
best practice, training and funding opportunities. We aim to train all Wild about St Werburghs
staff, volunteers and Youth Workers to Forest School level three qualifications. This would allow
the Farm to become a hub for Forest School, providing activities for local schools lacking greenspace and others schools in the wider Bristol area.
2.3.3. The Farm Café is part-and-parcel of the Farm, however, it is leased to Leona Williamson,
and provides an attraction for young families, as it is adjacent to the Farm play area. Under the
management and direction of Leona the Café has been awarded numerous national awards for
ethical catering, local sourcing of its produce and top class catering. The Farm Café has won
numerous awards including in 2008 the Observer Food Monthly Award and in 2007 the UKTV
Food Local Hero Award.
Currently the Café’s Manager runs cookery workshops for children and families, with some for
ethnic culinary specialisms, at the St Werburghs Community Centre. This is good for our
relationship with the Centre, but these could and should be held on the Farm, thus allowing
some degree of integration of Farm education/experiences with the Café visits and activities.
There is potential to increase the activities/courses on food linkages with the theme of “Farm to
plate” when we have suitable facilities in the proposed new building.
2.3.4. Bristol City Council. The Farm’s annual core grant funding and the leasehold is from
Bristol City Council (BCC) which currently provides £32 000 per annum for provision of core
services. The Council also contributes £30,000 towards the Horticultural Training Unit, for
contracted services and provides some grant funding towards the Youth Worker’s salary, as
well as part funding contracted services for young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream
education. The Farm provides placements for the Youth Service and takes referrals from the
Education Welfare Service. It also provides alternative curriculum sessions for schools in Bristol
and South Gloucestershire through the Pupil Referral Unit, this includes for pupils from St.
Matthias PRU and Florence Brown Special School, within the St Werburghs catchment area.
2.3.5. Youth Services. The Farm has a long history of working with Bristol’s Youth Offending
Team, Henbury Youth Inclusion Project, Young Bristol, Little Island Care Home (now Care UK),
Prince’s Trust, Fairbridge West, Connexions, Bristol Dyslexia Centre, Pupil Referral Units,
Grounds for Change, Knowle West Media Centre, City of Bristol College, University of the West
of England (UWE) UWE, and many other youth projects through the Ashley Youth and Play
Partnership. Delivery has ranged from partnership work and delivery at youth festivals to
referrals, outreach sessions and group facilitation at the Boiling Wells site, see section 2.2.2.
for more information.
2.3.6. Schools and Education. All local schools and children’s nurseries have been involved in
activities on the Farm since its inception, but the lack of indoor space/s is one of the big
limitations on the Farm’s current work with schools. The Wild about St Werburghs Project has
developed stronger working links with local schools and families, and the Livestock Manager
carries out regular visits and talks to schools as part of hiring out egg incubators. The Farm
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provides guided visits to schools - good quality, hands on, educational trips which are local and
affordable. The project has also enabled the provision of Forest School style sessions to local
school groups, and we aim to become a central hub for Forest School activity in the Bristol area.
The Farm site itself doesn’t currently have a specific, covered, teaching area; this makes
sessions and lunch times more difficult in poor weather. The Boiling Wells site is currently used
for education purposes and is an excellent multi-purpose space, popular for use by the various
Farm projects.
2.3.7. Early years, play provision and family activities. In the past this has been something
the Farm has done well – high quality, affordable play provision for children before and after
school and during the holidays. Our former activities ended 5-6 years ago, but the current
programmes place us is in an ideal position to meet local demand – after-school play activities
will resume on the Farm in spring 2011.
Families of pre-school aged children are the biggest weekday users of the Farm. Currently we
offer very little beyond what they experience directly of the animals in the “rural” setting of the
Farm. There is great potential to enhance experiences, particularly for local and regular users,
providing a programme of structured and supported family activities, which we now do through
our programmes such as the Outdoor Stay and Play Scheme.
2.4. PARTNERSHIPS
2.4.1. Existing work. The Farm already has a number of strategic partnerships in place to help
support the organisation’s objectives, such as links with the Federation of City Farms and City
Gardens, the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, Narroways Millennium Trust, the
Scrapstore and the Ashley Vale Allotment Association. Networking links include Lawrence
Weston and Windmill Hill City Farms, Green Arts, Ashley Youth and Play Partnership (AYPP)
and the Forest Education Initiative. The Farm has a close relationship with the Ashley Vale
Allotments Association, working together on the development of the proposed new building,
providing outlet possibilities for allotment produce. We have a Memorandum of Understanding
with the Association identifying synergy in working together in the use of shared facilities,
providing potential for training and links with the Farm Café, greater public awareness of the
concept of “Farm-to-plate” and the inter-linkage between food and the environment.
The Farm worked with the students of the University of the West of England’s Faculty of the
Built Environment in the preparation of initial designs for the proposed new building. The
designs and models made by the students were used as part of a public consultation exercise in
2008.
2.4.2. Local Community. The Farm continuously seeks to expand and deepen its relationships
with the local community, and with more businesses in St Werburghs and further afield.
Ongoing contact will continue with community groups, such the Narroways Millennium Green
Trust the Ashley Vale Allotments Association and the St Werburghs Community Centre. Close
relations exist with the Mina Road Park group, and we are currently planning a joint programme
of activities through the Wild About St Werburghs project. Other current projects are
strengthening the relationship with the St Paul’s Neighbourhood Forum. Formalizing such
relationships provides the Farm with a sounder local base and a depth of practical support,
working together on community events etc. The annual Farm Fair attracts about 5 000 visitors
who enjoy a wide variety of activities and side-shows as well as the usual Farm attractions. The
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Fair usually generates a revenue of around £20 000+ and has now become very much a
community “institution”.
The play area, adjacent to the Café, is popular with local families and children, enjoying the
freedom and the interest of the Farm at the same time. The Farm, Boiling Wells and the
Community Room is used as a regular meeting place by very many local groups –
 The Woodcraft Folk (young people);
 Steiner school kindergarten;
 The Men’s group;
 Scouts;
 Drumming groups;
 Theatre and performing arts groups;
 Yoga;
 Local residents are also users of the Boiling Wells site for baby naming ceremonies and
wedding receptions.
Local businesses and branches of national companies are frequent users of the site,
participating in teambuilding exercises – usually involving volunteer work.
2.4.3. Drop-In Visitors. The Farm has around 30,000 annual visitors, include mainly parents
with young children. However, at week-ends the numbers and type of visitor expands to families
and older people who are attracted by the rural atmosphere and especially the Café and the
attached playground. The Consultation Report of early 2010 showed that, apart from the Café,
one of the main attractions for visitors were the animals.
The Farm is currently planning to upgrade the playground and there are plans to design/build
new play equipment and features to compliment our development proposals. A separate fundraising effort will be undertaken in spring 2011 for the play area, working closely with the Café
2.4.4. Business Organisation. The Farm aims to develop linkages with local businesses, to the
mutual benefit of both parties, whether it be sponsorship of activities, or linking in with
community support programmes. The Farm already has a close association with a number of
local businesses in the area, such as The Better Food Company, Scrapstore, and ‘The Farm’
pub (which is not part of the Farm, but is situated next door), particularly during the Farm
Summer Fair, which benefits the Farm, local community and local organisations. A number of
large national companies located in Bristol arrange staff “away-days” at the Farm as part of their
team-building and staff development programmes - maintenance work and development of our
facilities has been undertaken in the past.
2.4.5. Local Farms. As well as linking with the other city farms in Bristol, we are closely
associated with a number of local farmers in the Bristol hinterland, exchanging animals on a
regular basis. The Farm exchanges livestock with the Cherry Orchard Residential Farm, a
Stiener centre for adults with learning difficulties.
2.4.6. Federation of City Farms and Gardens (the “Fed”). This representative body for city
farms, community gardens and similar community led organisations across the UK
(http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/) provides us with advice, guidance and support whenever
appropriate. One of our staff members is also on the “Fed’s” management committee.
14
2.4.6. Narroways Millennium Green Trust. In securing several acres of land near the Farm on
a 999 year lease the Trust complements our efforts to provide accessible open space in the
inner city. As mentioned earlier, the Wild about St Werburghs Project has been developed in
partnership with Narroways Millennium Green Trust to encourage wildlife friendly use of their
site and to raise awareness of it as a nature reserve.
2.4.7. Public meetings and Public Relations. The AGM is attended by all interested in the
future and well-being of the Farm, and Members of the Farm are eligible to vote or stand for
election. Other Farm related public meetings are publicised on our website or noticeboard. We
do pride ourselves in good public relationships with those around us, however we aim to work
more closely with other organisations and the local media to better publicise what we do and
how we can successfully collaborate on issues and initiatives.
The Farm’s website has recently been re-developed, looking at various aspects of the Farm, the
staff, the services that are provided and items of interest. This will be regularly up-dated and
expanded with more information on news and activities, with the facility to have interactive
discussions on relevant topics.
These interventions will be part-and-parcel of a
communication strategy that will be developed during this plan period (see section 7 for more
details)
15
3. THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT
3.1. STRATEGIC GROWTH
3.1.1. The Farm is now well placed as a highly respected organisation and an attractive
environment to deliver services, including those for vulnerable young people and adults with
additional and complex needs. A full list of our current activities can be seen in section 2. We
have excellent relationships with our local community and the residents of St Werburghs and
Ashley Ward, and recent consultation has highlighted local demand and areas of potential
growth.
As a service provider, we have developed a wider trading area (we serve local authorities –
Bristol and South Gloucestershire, with scope to include a third – North Somerset). We are in a
position now, to take our role as an environmental centre further, and to become a more
strategic player in a wide range of initiatives in the Bristol area, including:

Bristol Food Network;

Transition Bristol (including Montpelier and Bishopston);

Bristol Wild City (and the other Access to Nature projects in the area);

Bristol Sustainable City;

Forest Education Initiative and Forest Schools;

Bristol Natural History Consortium.
However, in order to achieve the step change required to place us as market leader, we need a
new strategically driven Farm Director, and, we need to address some of the issues that recent
research and ongoing service delivery has highlighted, with specific regard to our physical
location, building provision, and a strong communications and marketing strategy.
3.1.2. Succession Strategy. Our current streams of grant funding have allowed us to develop
good relationships and contracts for service delivery, providing the Farm with additional income
to continue its work. However, the revenue for our key staff (education, youth, etc.) is timelimited, ending in 2013. The outcomes we have achieved so far have benefited us, our clients
and the people we work with. For this to continue it is imperative that we develop stronger
relationships with partners during the project periods, be outward looking to develop new
work streams, and further diversify our activities to generate income for staff to remain in
employment.
3.1.3. What we are doing: Our consultant, Lesley Nel is currently developing new partnerships
and establishing improved links with other educational and environmental initiatives in the
Bristol area. This has already led to new expressions of interest in city wide bids for new work
with families, children and young people’s services within the council. Recruitment of a new
Director will ensure that new and emerging partnerships are sustained and productive.
3.2. LIMITING FACTORS IN SERVICE EXPANSION
The contractual services which SWCF currently offers are running at capacity due to the amount
of physical space available to work with both individuals and groups. During spring, summer and
autumn, delivery of many services could be doubled with the addition of a suitable indoor space,
16
allowing groups to alternate between classroom-based activities and outdoor activities.
Currently, delivery of many services on the Farm’s main site are hindered due to unpredictable
weather and the sensitive variations of the user groups we work with; a covered area or indoor
space will allow more groups and users year-round opportunities.
3.3. EVIDENCE OF DEMAND FOR ROOM HIRE
3.3.1. The nearby St. Werburghs Community Centre (SWCC) carried out extensive
consultation in 2008, identifying a chronic lack of community spaces in the locality, leading to
the redevelopment and refurbishment of their own facilities. In addition, The Wild Goose Space a new community hall has been opened very close to the Farm as part of a cooperatively owned
housing development. Both these spaces are booked over 90% of the time, and will not accept
any regular bookings. Other local community buildings, such as the Jack Brimble Centre, are
fully booked with regular groups (a Kindergarten, guides and yoga). The local de-consecrated
church is a full-time climbing centre, and there are no other spaces for rent within a
considerable distance. The Farm’s community building, which is a ‘small and dilapidated
space’, is regularly booked by community groups, and has a 70% booking rate for meetings,
arts workshops, children’s parties and group work, contributes a low but fairly constant amount
to the Farm overheads.
3.3.2. The Farm’s Community Consultation (2010, Appendix 18) highlighted the city-wide
demand for room hire with responses to one specific question in the citywide survey of
organisations “……. Would you use an interesting room for hire” indicating a further demand for
space:
• 70% of surveyed organisations stated they would pay to use an ‘interesting space’;
• Most organisations said that it was difficult to find interesting places to meet, hold team
building events and training days;
• Many cited the location, and the ability to have break-out sessions in a green setting as the
deciding factor when choosing a place to meet.
One of very few comparable places in Bristol with ‘interesting space’ for hire is the Greenhouse
owned and run by the Federation for City Farms and Community Gardens building in
Bedminster, Bristol. They state that “…… they could rent their meeting space twice over, as
demand is so strong” (Caitlyn Jones, December, 2009).
We are confident that the Farm can better serve the community around it by enhancing and
increasing the number of community/hire spaces available on our sites.
3.4. SOLUTIONS : A NEW BUILDING
3.4.1. The growth of services the Farm offers has increased the number of staff, volunteers and
the number of user groups passing through and based in the Farm buildings. The current offices
and staff meeting room are now no longer fit for purpose. If the organisation and service
provision continues to grow, as is necessary to improve the income-generation contributions,
the need for new practical, well insulated, environmentally friendly, flexible and more
modernised office space is a priority.
3.4.2. New indoor teaching / instructional spaces are essential to provide year-round service
provision, and should be flexible and multi-functional. Spaces will also be available for hire
17
(children’s parties, meetings of local groups or clubs), as well as by projects conducted by the
Farm, thus generating income for the Farm and activities. A workshop would provide space for
repairs of Farm equipment and offer facilities as an instruction or demonstration area.
3.4.3. Community Space and Room Hire. We currently charge 9 per hour for local residents
and 10 per hour for other people, to hire the community room on Watercress Road. The
increased demand for space in the St Werburghs area indicates we will be able to fill the
proposed new multi-functional spaces as rent out spaces very easily, and this is shown in Table
9 in section 6. Beneficiaries are largely local users: individuals (childrens parties etc)
playgroups and music groups, and a family cooking group, working with the HTU and allotment
growers.
3.4.4. A shop. Surprisingly, a clear priority from the community consultation is for a shop,
mainly for use by “drop-in” visitors such as parents and carers with their children. The financial
viability of a shop is hard to gauge at this point - however, the Ashley Vale Allotments
Association is supportive of and interested in working in partnership with us, developing a space
in which to sell any excess produce from their allotments and for storage of their garden inputs
such as seeds, canes, small tools and compost. A shop, or kiosk, if run along the lines of a
community shop, has the potential to increase the number of visitors and returning visitors, and
contribute to a range of shared objectives with local food initiatives (Bristol’s Local Food Plan,
Food Network, Community Gardens etc).
3.5. DEMONSTRATING THE NEED FOR A NEW BUILDING.
3.5.1. Fit for purpose. The need for a new building has become more apparent as our
activities, service delivery and staff numbers have grown over recent years. The replacement of
our existing old, cramped and no longer fit-for-purpose building with appropriate office space,
and new ‘flexible learning spaces’, will allow a greater degree of confidentiality with client
groups, improve our informal learning offer, enable the Farm to provide year-round all-weather
training and have space which can be hired out to community groups at an economic rate that
will also provide revenue for the Farm.
3.5.2. Education partners. The 2006 Development Plan identified the need for more space in
which to deliver the training and education services envisaged. The Development Plan found
from a survey of four local schools in early 2006, that:
 They were keen to visit the Farm and make links;
 There was a need for curriculum linked and after school activities;
 Schools are able to pay up to £180 per day for educational visits;
 Most are restricted by funds so cutting out travel would be an advantage (we offer an
insight into rural issues but in an urban setting);
 They visit other city farms and rural residential centres;
 They had not visited previously due to lack of information about the Farm;
 Our clients are very happy with our services.
Furthermore, our current contracts with other clients (adults with additional and complex needs,
Pupil Referral Units etc) are currently limited to specific times and days (we can’t mix groups on
the same site at the same time), due to the physical layout of the Farm. A new building, with
more flexible space, will allow us to increase our learning and skills provision, with more groups
18
throughout the week and throughout the year, thus further enhancing our ability to generate
income towards a degree of financial self-sustainability.
3.5.3. Consultation events. A half day development day for staff and trustees further
emphasised the need for the Farm to be equipped with a first class, multi-purpose building. The
detailed community consultation exercise undertaken by The Farm (published in January 2010),
updated the previous needs identification and confirmed, enhanced and developed the previous
survey providing further evidence of need for covered outdoor classroom space, additional
indoor space, and improved office space.
The report demonstrated too, that communities in St Werburghs have a considerable demand
for space for educational, social and recreational events. This is confirmed in discussions with
the Director and staff of the nearby St Werburghs Community Centre, who says that the
demand for the use of the space in her Centre far outstrips supply.
The Farm has gained a good skill base and reputation in a number of areas, particularly
environmental youth-work, play-work and education, livestock management as well as heritage
crafts and green woodworking. Our work over the last year has exceeded all targets set for
engaging children, young people and communities in events and activities. There is real scope
for us to become a centre of excellence, not just locally but nationally, but we need the right
facilities to enable this to happen. In particular we need indoor spaces that match the quality of
our outdoor environment, so that the Farm can provide an all-weather year-round offer, and thus
ensure a cash-flow that will contribute towards financial sustainability. With improved building
facilities, with the location and the potential of the physical site and with the current dedication of
both staff and trustees the possibility to become a centre of excellence is considerable.
3.5.4. The Proposals. The Farm is looking to develop a new, all weather, multi-purpose
building that will:




replace the existing old, unsatisfactory temporary timber buildings which are currently
in a state of disrepair;
allow us to expand our education and training provision to meet with demand;
ensure that we can continue to work towards becoming more financially sustainable;
provide new office accommodation and storage space to replace the dilapidated
building that is currently in use and thus improve the working environment.
The new building will include a library / quiet area / meeting rooms; store rooms; workshops /
classrooms; volunteer rooms; and offices which will be environmentally sustainable. It will aim
to be carbon neutral, constructed with sustainably sourced materials and have solar panels for
provision of hot water. The new building will architecturally complement the character of the
area – and specifically be in harmony with the unique design of the Farm’s Café – and be
accepted by the local community. Design proposals and consultation information is
contained in Appendices 2-7.
The new building will enable the Farm to provide a practical “hands-on” service to primary and
secondary schools and further education college students. This new building will include
teaching facilities and will enable the Farm to participate in such national initiatives as:
19




Department
for
Education
and
Skills
(DfES)
“Growing
Schools”
(http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/growingschools/);
Farming and Countryside Education http://www.face-online.org.uk/) that is supported by DfES,
the Department of Health and the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA);
Healthy Schools (http://www.healthyschools.gov.uk/) projects; and
Food for Life Programme (http://www.soilassociation.org/foodforlife) for which the Soil
Association’s has received £17 million from the Big Lottery Fund.
Local initiatives (in Bristol) will include:
 Bristol Food network;
 Bristol Wild City (Access to Nature);
 Bristol Sustainable City;
 The Schumacher College Permaculture courses;
 Sustrans;
 Forest schools;
 Eco Schools.
School visits to the Farm and the nearby allotments would be further enhanced by facilities
providing indoor teaching activities as well as hands-on work with plants and animals. It will
provide space for the Ashton Vale Allotment Association (AVAA) to sell their produce, store
some of their supplies and hold meetings. AVAA has been in discussion with the Farm for
some time now and a synergy and cooperative approach to the delivery of services, by both
entities, is very much sought and would be most beneficial to the local community.
3.6. HOW ROBUST IS THE FARM’S ‘OFFER’ TO THE MARKET?
3.6.1. Income. The Farm derives its income from six main areas :
 One core funding grant from BCC, covering general overheads and part of the Directors
salary;
 Project specific grants – such as the 3-year Wild about St Werburghs Access to Nature
grant, covering salary, on-costs and activities for local communities and families;
 Service Level Agreements to deliver specific activities, such as the work with special
needs adults (social services SLA), and the youth work (SLA with BCC CYPS);
 Local community fundraising events and activities;
 Room and space hire.
We have excellent relationships with our (paying) clients and local community. We need to
demonstrate that all our work activities, particularly those with time limited streams, leave a
robust legacy, and are able to continue working in some form even after funding has ceased. A
legacy may be a stronger partnership and/or more clients, more trained volunteers, a wider
audience of users. There is a keen desire to continue our project activities, and the Farm will
strive to develop its role as a service provider, and expand its trading area. Other areas of
operation (such as room hire or activities) will continue to improve our current trajectory of
income generation in order to help fund the educational and running costs of the Farm, and
provide an ongoing resource for local people.
20
Recent partnership development work has identified the Farm as a respected organisation able
to deliver effective learning and skills programmes, and our bookings and consultation has
proven we are still a valued resource for the local community. The tables below illustrate the
range of income we receive – income from contracts and services provided is healthy and
constant – with room for improvement should facilities allow! What we offer to the market
(clients and community) is robust now, however, it is crucial we optimise that offer whilst we
have a full contingent of staff and as soon as we recruit a new Director, and implement the
succession strategies for each stream of work. The proposed new building plays a big role in
this, as does engaging more volunteers, establishing a comprehensive training programme, and
a proactive communications strategy.
3.6.2. Table 5 - Finances of the organisation (income and expenditure)
2010/11
Office
Farm
Wild
Boiling Wells
HTU
Summer Camp
Summer Fair
Cafe
Total
Income
78,282
10,172.48
18,713
42,072.18
49,515
3,024.77
26,024.63
6,549
234,353.06
Department
Office
Farm
Wild
Boiling Wells
HTU
Summer Camp
Summer Fair
Cafe
Total
Expenditure
85,035.34
40,929.22
21,662.36
32,668.58
35,321.22
1,404.61
11,472.94
657.35
229,151.62
3.6.3. Table 6 - Types of Income 2008-2011
Donations and membership fees, Farm
Fair
Grants
Horticultural placements & sales
Farm (livestock and sales)
Café rent, room and building hire, other
earned income
Investment income
Total
2010 to 2011
(to 04.03.11)
28,608.13
2009-2010
2008-9
34,489
39,591
136,916
30,000
9,622.48
17,367
127,003
27,868
8,769
22,617
102,450
56,389
10,639
23,698
20,346.89
233,198.58
104
220,850
3,574
236,341
NB. The information in tables 5 & 6 has been taken from different sources and formats, and
refers to different time periods.
3.6.4. Community and social uses of the Farm. The Community Consultation demonstrated
that the Farm is a highly valued part of the community landscape, and that there is a concrete
appetite for more local workshops and activities. This is further illustrated by the types of income
in the table above (donations, fair, workshops, room hire etc).
The Farm receives 30,000 visitors a year, and there is potential to turn visits into additional
income generation through a shop and new activities. Visitor numbers are considered to be
21
reliable for the future, as the reasons the vast majority of survey respondents gave for visiting
the Farm were animals, the Café and the playground.
3.7. COMPETITION
The largest user group for the farm is casual, drop in visitors. There is little competition for this
as a venue/location, as it is the only farm or wildlife/natural landscape in this area of Bristol.
The same applies to school and youth club trips – we are local, within walking distance of
several schools and centres, bringing the costs of trips into a very affordable range for visitors.
Our research has shown that there is a need for meeting spaces too - particularly ‘interesting’
meeting spaces, where demand for attractive, “different” and usable space is high and demand
outstrips supply. Our green location (near central Bristol) and our offer is our unique selling
point, and we hope to fill the gap in the market with our new building and its rooms.
Competition for our provision of learning, education and vocational skills is currently few and
far between, as our offer is so unique – the environmental space with one-to-one support or
hands-on activities, that we feel secure in our current contracts and confident of gaining new
clients to fulfil our anticipated increased capacity with the proposed new buildings.
3.8. LONG-TERM OUTCOMES AND OVERALL STRATEGY
The long-term strategy of the Farm is to remain a space within the urban area for community
development and to enhance community cohesion, through the delivery of “rural” services and
experiences to a wider audience, with an increased throughput of clients. With expanded
delivery of services, further fulfilment of our wider social objectives including an increase in the
number of trainees and students, enabling them to develop transferable skills through provision
of different learning activities/styles, it is expected the improved income generated will enable
the Farm to become financially less dependant upon grant aided funding. This is further
detailed in section 5, part B. Trustees and staff (in particular the new Director) intend to develop
the Business Plan in greater operational detail, to review and update it on a regular basis and to
include performance targets and measures or milestones for all areas, quantified where
possible, linked to outputs and outcomes.
22
PART TWO
4. THE PROPOSALS
4.1. CONSULTATION
We have held several consultation events with the community, staff and partnership
organisations prior to and throughout 2009-10. This process identified a range of priorities and
proposals for enhancing the Farm as a destination, as an organisation, and as an environmental
educational facility, and of course, as a working farm as well. A successful bid for a Community
Builders grant has funded designs for:
 A new building to house improved office space, community room, meeting rooms, an
improved kitchen, with a reception area sufficiently flexible to host a small shop/display
area;
 An outdoor classroom on the Watercress Road (main farm) site, covered, offering
protection from weather year-round;
 An enhanced play area.
Proposals went to final community consultation on March 7th, and detailed designs will be
submitted as a planning application to Bristol City Council in mid-April 2011. Detailed records
from the consultation workshops, collated by the architect, can be seen in the Appendices 2
and 3, and a proposed Floorplan of the buildings/site can be seen overpage, illustrating the
potential of additional and enhanced roomspace.
4.2. Capital costs. The architect and quantity surveyor’s estimated costs are based on the most
popular designs at consultation, reflecting the optimum offer to space, covered area and office,
as well as a continued but enhanced community room/small hall. Site A is the Farmyard, with
improved building spaces and covered outdoor education area; Site B is the current location of
office space and the community building.
Table 7 - Costs to deliver proposals for Sites A&B, Option 2
Demolitions and alterations
36,750
1. Substructures
57,850
2. Superstructures
189,130
3. Internal finishes
36,215
4. Fitting and furnishing
20,000
5. Services
116,825
6. External works
119,850
Estimate of net construction cost
576,700
7. Preliminaries
86,000
8. Project on-costs
54,100
Estimate Total construction cost
717,300
9. Market trends
Base date: 2011 Index:219
Projection: 2012 Index 226 3.20%
22,900
Estimate projected construction cost
740,200
10. Professional fees
92,500
11. VAT
166,500
Estimate of project out turn cost
999,200
23
4.3. Finding the funding to deliver. St Werburghs City Farm will need the support of a number
of large grants and donations to enable us to grow.
4.4. Table 8 - Potential grant sources
Name of grant/funder
Biffaward Flagship Grant
SitaTrust
Reaching Communities
Amount
500,000
50,000
500,000
Clore Duffield
Up to £1m
Deadline
Probably June 2011
Rolling programme
Consultant to discuss with Big Lottery
asap
Register expression of interest
You can see more about these funding streams on
http://www.cloreduffield.org.uk/page_sub.php?id=73&parent=35
http://www.biffaward.org/home
http://www.sitatrust.org.uk/apply-for-funding
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_reaching_communities?tab=3&regioncode=-uk
4.5. Personnel involvement. The staff and trustees of the Farm will be involved at all stages of
the preparation, development and construction of the new building. Others involved will include
Bristol City Council, contracted architecture company – White Design – the various engineering
specialists and the building contractor. The new Farm Director will be expected to project
manage the construction phase of the proposals, working with the relevant contractors and
partnership organisations. There is potential for some construction work to engage community
volunteers and / or students from the local college, and this will be explored by our consultant,
architect, and future Director..
4.6. Disruption to service delivery. During of the demolition of the current office block and
community building and the construction of the new building, there will be a need for temporary
office accommodation, possibly in the existing livestock block, however, this is still under
discussion.
4.7. COSTS OF THE PROJECT
Funds are/were required for:
 Public consultation on the location and design of the new building (this has come from
the first round of Community Builders grant, through the SIB);
 The architectural design of the building, for obtaining planning permission from Bristol
City Council (this will come from the second round of Community Builders grant, through
the SIB);
 The construction of the building (this will be the focus of partnership development work
to ensure the proposals can be a Centre of Excellence for Bristol, and will also become
central to developing strategic external funding bids for major and flagship grant
schemes, over the next three months).
24
5. LONG-TERM OUTCOMES
5.1. The proposed building. The long-term purpose of the new building is for the Farm to
expand its provision of year-round services in a space which is flexible for the delivery of social,
educational and recreational activities. These will, through fees and charges, contribute
towards the financial sustainability of the Farm, and allow us to continue the valuable
programmes we have embarked on over the years. See detailed designs and proposals in
Appendices 2-7.
The building will house administrative office space, teaching facilities, demonstration areas,
cooking facilities for teaching on food from “Farm to Plate” (see section 2.3.3) and community
space for use by local groups.
5.2. Outcomes associated with a new building. The need for the new building is clearly
linked with the five outcomes of the Community Buildings programme, from which it received
funding for the development of designs and public consultation:
 Broader access to and greater use of existing services – in addition the building will
allow for the expansion of education / training provision at the Farm;
 Greater number and wider range of new services the new building will allow for more
schools visits / more vocational education visits and courses;
 Increased participation by the community – any new building in the area would need the
full backing / buy-in of the local community; this has been obtained in the public
consultation meetings that were held in 2010 which have shown considerable support for
the new build and the need for more social space within the St Werburghs and Ashley
Ward area;
 Community premises that are more financially viable – one of our goals is that it helps us
to work towards becoming financially sustainable by increasing our ability to generate
income and operate as a social enterprise;
 Premises that use less energy, cause less pollution, create less waste, and contribute
less to climate change – we are very clear that the building would be environmentally
sound.
5.3. Improving our impact. In the next five years, our main ambition is to continue to develop
the positive social impacts listed in section 2.1. The Farm is already a very successful
operation and our recent community consultation has identified a number of areas where we
need to improve our social impact:

Increased awareness and use of the Farm within the community. A random street
survey in St Werburghs suggested that 79% of local residents visit the Farm at least once
a year. This is good, but we would like everyone in St Werburghs to benefit from the
Farm;

Ensure that more young people benefit from the Farm. We would like to increase the
number of Farm users who are young people between the ages of 12 – 18 years. Many
children from Fairfield School pass the Farm everyday, and yet report that they have
never visited the Farm, and do not know what it offers;
25

Make the Farm more accessible and attractive to elderly people. Seventeen elderly
people were consulted through a focus group. Of these, only 50% had visited the farm,
but most said that they would be interested, particularly if the Farm offered activities
which fitted in which their needs and interests;

Increased perception of the Farm as a multi-cultural place. 25.6% of Ashley Ward
residents are from ethnic minority communities. All available evidence suggests that
visitors to the Farm do not reflect this diversity. Teachers consulted have suggested that
a more diverse staff team would encourage BME communities to feel more welcome. We
aim to improve our partnership working with the Ashley Neighbourhood Forum and
develop more partnership activities.
5.4. MEASURING SOCIAL IMPACT AND DATA MANAGEMENT
5.4.1. Monitoring projects. St Werburghs City Farm successfully delivers a number of
(externally funded) programmes and activities which require careful regular monitoring during
delivery and evaluating success against set targets and milestones. These include (and
included) the Heritage Lottery Fund grant project, the Big Lottery Wild About St Werburghs, and
all of the Bristol City grants and contracts, as well as other smaller grants.
Project Managers keep records of numbers, types, ethnicity etc. of user groups, and information
is integrated into regular reports to funding bodies. In addition to data gathering, each group on
an official visit is asked to complete an evaluation form, so we can see how to improve or alter
our service delivery.
5.4.2. Ongoing consultation. Some community activities allow us to gather data and measure
impact. This year we held a number of community activities on the Boiling Wells site celebrations include Wassails, May Day, storytelling events, Halloween, Apple Day and the
Christmas Craft Fair, each engaging several hundred people, and providing us with information
on where they come from (across Bristol), ethnic group, age etc.
Our community consultation also provides evidence of the impact that we have. It confirms that
the Farm is a useful community resource, and gives some indication of the profile of users. The
information gathered through this exercise can contribute to a useful baseline data from which
we can assess changes. Our ambition to be a stronger player in the Bristol green networks will
also help to measure impact. We do already have a wide range of shared goals with other
organisations we work with, but we know there is more we can do by working together in more
efficient partnerships, whether it is engaging people in community gardening activities, provision
of after school clubs or holiday clubs, or increasing our educational programme.
5.4.3. Setting Targets. Setting targets is all about ensuring we deliver our outcomes and meet
our objectives, engage the groups and communities we want to reach. The organisational
Business Plan will be updated regularly, with targets, and monitored with key performance
indicators.
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6. FINANCES, TURN-OVER AND FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
6.1. Potential Income Generation. The new building will allow us to increase our sources of
income generated on the Farm, through increasing our activities and having more attractive and
user-friendly spaces to rent out. We would anticipate a rise in income from room hire; additional
income from a shop; new clients for our learning and skills programmes/crafts workshops etc,
and that these will really make a difference to the Farm working as a social enterprise.
Our consultant, Lesley Nel, is currently working with existing clients, potential new clients, and
our management team to identify how our client-based custom can be increased with a new and
improved building facility. This work has indicated there is scope for growth and a new building,
with our existing staff structure, we will be able to accommodate that growth. However, more
work needs to be carried out before we can put costs against this, and this will feed into the
operational business plan before the end of May 2011.
However, we can estimate the anticipated increase in room hire and workshop fees from the
research already carried out.
6.2. POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL INCOME.
The figures below are based on current room hire charges of 9 per hour for local people and 10
for others, and on anticipated increased number of workshops that we will be able hold on the
Watercress Road site (these are currently held at Boiling Wells, and on the anticipated
increased numbers of placements and other users we will be able to accommodate on site.
Table 9 - Additional income based on new building operating from 2012
Room hire
Workshops
Clients
Shop
Events
Total
2010-11
11,000
2,084
45,000
0
23,000
81,084
2011/12
13,000
2,500
56,000
0
25,000
96,500
2012/13
15,000
4,000
60,000
2,000
35,000
116,000
2013/2014
18,000
5,000
75,000
0
40,000
138,000
6.3. MONITORING CHANGE.
Setting targets and monitoring change allows us to regularly review how effective we are, in
engaging our community and in operating as a social enterprise. We may need to set new and
realistic charges for our services, particularly in areas where we will not be part-funded by
contracts, grants or service level agreements, and we will endeavour to claim full cost recovery
in all our streams of work. Targets will be set prior to the recruitment of a Director, however, the
new Director will be responsible for setting and monitoring targets from then on.
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7. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
7.1. Identifying gaps and opportunities. St Werburghs City Farm is a well known, highly
respected organisation and education facility, engaging a wide number of other organisations in
its daily work. The Farm has carried out several audits of partnerships and networks over the
last year, and carried out a major consultation and market research report. However, the
process identified a number of organisations, consortia and initiatives in the Bristol area who
know about St Werburghs Farm, but whom the Farm has not yet engaged with in strategic
activity. There is a need to develop a Communications Strategy outlining partnership
agreements, ways of working together – common goals and shared objectives. A
Communications Strategy will identify how, working in a wider partnership, the Farm is able to
increase its audience and client groups – and play a bigger role in delivering some of its own
goals and activities. Furthermore, the employment of a strategist in the way of a Farm Director
will help to embed those relationships in an enhanced service delivery.
7.2. Marketing the Farm is closely linked to the development of a communications strategy and
strengthening our strategic role in the Bristol educational and environmental networks and
partnerships. Our work needs to be more closely integrated with that of other organisations,
utilizing their websites, newsletters, and events to share our offer and achievements. We need
to develop better relationships with local press and media, and continue to update and develop
our website and social networking sites, and we need to promote the ‘alternative’ facilities for
events such as weddings etc.
We aim to further develop the relationships and number of contacts we have made with schools,
out-of-school services, and youth groups, and to work closer with organisations such as
Fairbridge West, engaging young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). A
new Director will reposition the Farm as a venue, location, and service provider. He or she will
strive to lead the Farm, in partnership, to becoming established as a centre of excellence.
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8. ACTION PLAN
8.1. Key Milestones
This Business Plan sets out action required to achieve the aims of the organisation and the
Farm, including the recruitment of a Director and planning for a new building. The table below
charts progress and milestones to be achieved.
Table 10 - Action plan
Stage
Personnel Involved
1. Organisational Development
Recruit consultant
David Etches
Chair
Consultancy work
Lesley Nel
Partnership
Lesley Nel
development
Develop job
Lesley Nel
description for new
Director
Operational Business Lesley Nel
Plan
Recruit new Director
Lesley Nel
Director in
tbc
place/handover
LN
2. Building Development
Planning Stage C
Steering Committee +
White Design
Fund raising for
BoT & LN
Stage D
Planning Stage D
Public consultation,
Committee + White
Design
Application to BCC
BoT + White Design
Funding bid
BoT + DTA + LN
preparations
Final designs
Preparation of ToRs
for building tenders
Scrutiny of tenders
Award of building
contracts
Site preparation and
office relocation
Completion Date
Potential Cost
End Jan 2011
End May 2011
mid- April
£10,000
Part of above
mid-April
Part of above
By mid May
£1,500
By end May
By July 2011
Part 10k
tbc
January 2011
End January 2011
March 2011
White Design + BoT
White Design + BoT
April 2011
On-going –
completion by 2013
???
End 2011
End 2011
White Design + BoT
BoT
Mid-2013 ???
End 2013
Contractor and Staff
Spring 2014
Part of SIB grant (2)
May be part of LN
contract
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