Projects
"Central to my approach is identifying the uniqueness of your heritage, understanding your organisational objectives and keeping in mind your existing and developing audiences – all with sustainability in mind. I strive to make you stand out in the market place. I bring a huge breadth of knowledge of the tried and tested and have a strong track record in innovation."
Croome
National Trust
Croome Redefined is an HLF funded project for which I developed the activity plan and a new concept of NT visit, aiming to redefine the role of the country house in the 21st century. The project is breaking new ground in the way the arts and heritage can work together to tell compelling stories. It is now upheld as an exemplar of its kind. However, it required a great deal of vision and conviction in order to persuade the client and funders to take what was perceived as a new and risky path. See projects Soul to Sole, Street Art Goes Rural, Birds in the Park and Summer Reading Challenge
Buxton Crescent
The Trevor Osborne Property Group
In 2014, I was asked by the HLF to review and re-imagine the visitor proposition for a new heritage attraction as part of the £46 million redevelopment and conservation of Buxton Crescent. I did this with the help of WildWorks theatre company. My work included an appraisal of existing plans, a re-appraisal of the vision and themes and new proposals on the use of space. A new visitor concept was developed that will theatrically and artistically bring the story of Buxton to life, using the Crescent, the Pump Room and the town as its stage. Reassured and excited by the new concept, the HLF awarded the project £24 million.
The Roundhouse
Canal and River Trust and National Trust
This project will give new life to a rare and surviving gem of Birmingham's industrial past. It has been awarded £2million from the HLF Enterprise Fund. The mixed use proposition will combine let office space, a bike hub, and a cafe with a new and innovative public programme. The visitor offer will allow people to gain new perspectives on Birmingham's heritage through unusual tours of the city, by bike, foot and boat. I have led the development of the visitor offer from feasibility through to delivery; including creating the activity and interpretation plans.
Milton Abbey Church and Landscape
Diocese of Salisbury, Forestry Commission, Milton Abbey School
In 2015, I developed the activity and interpretation plan for Milton Abbey Church and its ‘Capability’ Brown landscape. The project will break new ground in church interpretation and public engagement by working in collaboration with no less than seventeen partners, set up by me. Partners include arts agencies, the NHS, local schools, universities and social services.
Downside Abbey Library
Downside School
In 2013, I worked with Benedictine monks, volunteers and school staff in the creation of an HLF activity plan that would provide greater public access to a truly astonishing collection of books and archives, in an iconic building. The project required a sensitivity of approach as opening up the collection represented a huge change for the monastery and a challenge for the school.
Other clients include:
Heritage Lottery Fund (Mentoring and Expert Advice), Cultural Heritage Without Borders (Albania), Watershed, Bristol, Chatsworth, Hestercombe Gardens, Massey Shaw Fire Boat, Cogges Manor Farm Museum, Clare County Country Park, Bromley House Library, Ickworth Church.
Current projects include:
- Leading the development of a new vision for Birmingham Botanical Gardens
- Leading the development of a new vision for Moseley Road Baths, Birmingham
