South Cliff Gardens Business Plan 2025-2030
Contents
2.3 Local and strategic context
2.4 Background to South Cliff Gardens
3.1 NYC Parks and Countryside Information
3.5 Strategic Context of South Cliff Gardens
5.0 Proposed Income Generation
5.6 Specialist workshops (horticulture)
7.0 Activity and Engagement Plan
1.0 Executive Summary
North Yorkshire Council (NYC) has been the lead organisation in the delivery of the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) Parks for People project but managed the project with the support of a range of partners, including the Friends of South Cliff Gardens and other local organisations.
This Business Plan has been developed to manage the South Cliff Gardens in line with the NLHF Parks for People Programme.
South Cliff Gardens are an integral part of North Yorkshire Council’s commitment to local regeneration and supports their overall vision to support thriving places and empowered communities that live, work, visit and do business in North Yorkshire; develop more sustainable and connected places across North Yorkshire; ensure the people of North Yorkshire are safe, healthy and living well and maximise the potential of North Yorkshire’s people and communities
This plan considers the opportunities for generating income from the newly restored South Cliff Gardens as an integral part of the future management of the Parks for People Project.
Part of that 5 year (medium term plan)is a desire to plan longer term to ensure the maintenance standards of parks and open spaces remain high quality as well as accessible to residents and visitors alike.
This plan is supported by Barrie Mason (Assistant Director of Highways and Infrastructure, including Parks and Countryside) and Karl Battersby (Corporate Director of Environment).
Barrie Mason has commented that “our open spaces and parks demonstrate the Council’s commitment to residents and visitors alike. We aim to maintain the high-quality parks and open spaces for the enjoyment of the public with appropriate and sympathetic commercialisation to ensure our open spaces can be maintained to such high standards. This enables greater benefits for all not only to appreciate the beautiful gardens, vistas, flora and fauna but also to focus on wellbeing and health the open spaces bring to all.”
Barrie Mason
Date
Signature
2.0 The Project
The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Community Funded Parks for People project has assisted the Council with saving the unique and enchanting heritage of South Cliff Gardens from a point of critical decline and has breathed new life into the Gardens, so they now appeal to 21st century communities and is a vibrant and well-used park once again. The project has allowed the Council to set out a whole-park masterplan that balances heritage, cost and visitor appeal and review and address key issues such as circulation, viewpoints, maintenance, landscape setting and biodiversity to provide the maximum benefits to all. We have been able to rethink what the Gardens offer today’s community and how the original design intentions as a place for health, relaxation, romance, and enjoyment can be made relevant to people’s modern lives. Using this rethinking, we have reinvigorated the gardens through a combination of new amenities and facilities, stunning landscaping, exciting events and activities, diverse training opportunities, and active community involvement and ownership. As well as implementing this business plan and new management systems including a revised staffing structure, management plan, training, and community involvement, to ensure heritage is better managed and people are more actively involved in the Gardens.
The overall aim of the project is:
“To save the unique and enchanting heritage of South Cliff Gardens from a point of critical decline and to breathe new life into the Gardens so they appeal to 21st century communities and become a vibrant and well-used park once again.”
This is supported by several objectives which were updated following the restoration by several community groups involved in the project, the Friends Group, and the Parks Management Team.
· To restore, conserve and enhance nature and its resilience in the garden through a proactive nature-first led approach to sustainable horticultural management and partnership working.
· Continue to make the Gardens as accessible as possible and welcoming.
· Continue to repair and restore the historic fabric of areas of the Gardens not included in the NLHF restoration, to a high quality and with respect to the original design intentions.
· Reconnect people with the Gardens, attracting new and larger audiences and engaging people with their heritage.
· Continue to renew the health and tourism benefits that the Gardens were originally created for.
· Provide a place for people to learn new skills and meet new friends.
· Add a new layer of horticultural excellence that becomes an exemplar of coastal gardening and increases wildlife and environmental benefits enormously.
· Build on 18 great years of active community involvement with the Friends group to further develop local ownership.
· Provide effective management systems to make the most of the Gardens and safeguard them for generations to come.
· Encourage volunteering as a way of helping people connect with the gardens, meet new people, make new friends, develop new skills, and share knowledge and experience with visitors and other volunteers.
· Encourage use of new community assets such as Beeforth’s Hive, the play area and arts trail.
2.1 Project Outcomes
· The park and its heritage will be better managed.
· The park and its heritage will be in better condition.
· The heritage of the park will be better interpreted and explained.
· The heritage of the park will be identified/recorded. People
· People will have developed skills.
· People will have learnt about heritage.
· People will have volunteer time. Communities
· The local area/community will be a better place to live/work/visit.
· Environmental impacts will be reduced.
· More people and wider range of people will have engaged with Heritage.
2.2 About North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is an attractive place to live, work and visit. The county has an enviable identity with a brand globally renowned for its culture and spectacular landscapes. The county has a varied and vibrant local economy, the lifeblood of which is defined by over 32,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which form 99% of all businesses locally. North Yorkshire Council serves a diverse and dispersed population of an estimated 615,400 people across a geographical area of over 8,000 square kilometres. Large parts of the county sit within two beautiful National Parks. Ninety eight percent of the county is either sparsely (13%) or super-sparsely (85%) populated with just over a third of the population living in these areas. This results in a population density of just 77 people per square kilometre, compared with an England average of 432.
2.3 Local and strategic context
South Cliff Gardens provide three main things:
· A local green space for residents and wildlife
· A major tourist attraction for visitors
· A landscape backdrop to the iconic South Bay panorama South Cliff Gardens is classified as a “Town Park” in the Council’s public open space typology, indicating their status as a high value green space. They provide the main green space for the south of the town, as Peasholm Park and North Bay do for the north of the town.
2.4 Background to South Cliff Gardens
South Cliff Gardens is one of Scarborough's great historic public gardens. It offers formal planting, wooded walks down to the seafront and is a haven for wildlife. The Gardens benefit from impressive views out over the southern coastline and towards Scarborough, particularly to the northern side of South Bay, with clear views of Scarborough Castle from many vantage points within the Gardens. Elsewhere the Gardens act as a backdrop to inland views from the seafront, particularly behind the Spa complex buildings which sit in between the seafront and the Gardens. From the Esplanade at the top of the Cliffs the well vegetated areas of the Gardens screen outward views where vegetation has outgrown its original intent, although conversely vantage points are maintained from specific viewpoints, such as opposite the Crown Hotel to allow views.
Connected to the seafront are a collection of buildings related to seaside summer use, such as the beach huts, the Clock Café, and the former Sunbathing building, now the Spa. The Clock Café, meadow and new play area offer a ‘destination point’ for users to aim for, and to spend additional time within the Gardens. Before the restoration most users were passing through the Gardens en-route to either the town or the seafront and miss the chance to detour through the gardens at all. Following the restoration visitors dwell in the space, attend activities in the New ‘Hive’ community building and explore the history of the space.
Along the seafront there are shops, The Spa (a venue for concerts and theatre) and the Sun Court Cafe. The Clock Cafe within the gardens is situated to the north-east of the site (open during the summer months), it is next to the new accessible public toilets, accessible play area and sunken wildlife garden which has been a favourite with local people and visitors alike. Adjacent to the Clock Cafe is the Spa Cliff Tramway which used to prevent access to the north of the gardens but following the tunnel opening as part of the restoration access across the site has been opened. The coastal gardens have 14 shelters dotted around the site and numerous gardens including the Spa Gardens (started as private gardens in 1837), the Prince of Wales Gardens, a Rose Garden, Holbeck Gardens, Shuttleworth Gardens, and Italian Gardens (added throughout history between 1860 and 1914, listed in consecutive order). At the southern edge of the site is the Holbeck Clock Tower, a putting green, additional public toilets which open all year round and the UK's largest star map viewpoint. There are also beach chalets on site that are available for hire.
The Gardens are divided into 5 sections with zone 1 at the Northern end of the Gardens which connects to the town centre, zone 2 encompassing the spa, zone 3 which hosts the clock café and family hub space and the cliff lift, zone 4 which allows informal recreation and provides links to the seafront and esplanade including the new community centre and zone 5 which links to the coastal paths.
3.0 The Organisation
North Yorkshire Council has gone through a period of rapid transformation and organisational change, bringing together 7 district authorities and the county council to become a unitary organisation on 1st April 2023. Since this a series of restructures has taken place to bring the new authority together with one set of values and one forward vision. Parks and Countryside sits within the Environment Directorate.
3.1 NYC Parks and Countryside Information
With the Parks for People funding the Council employed a Head Gardener and Community Engagement Officer through the project who were fundamental to the delivery of the Business Plan (through raising the profile of horticulture and the delivery of activities and events). A new staffing structure is now in place for the council’s Parks and Countryside service which will enable the delivery of an Action Plan in coordination with the Business Plan and Management and Maintenance Plan. The following staffing structure is now in place and fully funded through the grant and council funding.
This structure and additional management support allows South Cliff gardens the opportunity to keep developing and improving whilst allowing additional chargeable events and activities to take place to ensure the longevity of the improvements. The new Parks and Countryside Team enables wider functionality.
The Area Operational Teams focus on the direct delivery of operational services and a wide range of maintenance operations, they are key in the horticultural function of the service as well as undertaking the inspection and maintenance of assets/facilities within our parks and open spaces.
The newly formed Tree and Woodlands Team maintain tree survey data to effectively manage risk, are responsible for operational tree works will give specialist advice and lead for planning and legislative matters in relation to trees as well as support and lead on policy development e.g. conservation, climate change etc.
The Commercial Team coordinate and manage the Charter markets across North Yorkshire, are responsible for income generation from concessions, leases and contracts, support the business-to-business sales of traded services such as grass cutting, develop new business activities to support transformation, coordinate and set up fee and charges within Parks and Countryside and are responsible for building commercial partnerships internally and externally.
The Community Assets and Engagement Team manages and develops partnerships with the community and voluntary sector, coordinates and plans all community development and improvement initiatives including capital investment, manages specific land assets (via a countryside ranger function) and coordinated inward investment into Parks and Countryside.
3.2 Volunteer Information
Volunteer Activities in South Cliff Gardens
The Friends Group serves as the primary volunteer team dedicated to maintaining and improving the Gardens. Here’s an overview of their contributions and activities:
Weekly Volunteering:"Volunteers in Parks" sessions occur every Wednesday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Ecology & Conservation Efforts:Following the Gardens' restoration, a specialized branch of volunteers focuses on ecological and conservation tasks, meeting biweekly at the Holbeck end of the site.
Social Engagement:The Friends Group also hosts a monthly coffee morning on Tuesdays, generating a modest income (approximately £40) via a donation box.
Achievements and ContributionsThe Friends Group has played a pivotal role in:
· Maintaining key areas like the Rose Garden and Shuttleworth Garden.
· Securing funding for South Cliff Gardens.
· Taking full responsibility for new planting areas, with guidance from Doug Stuart and the RHS, to improve sustainability across the site.
Community Involvement
Local schools occasionally visit for litter-picking and planting activities.
Businesses like McCain regularly organize work parties, with a recent initiative involving 90 volunteers over three days.
Litter Picks:Litter-picking events take place regularly coordinated by Keep Scarborough Tidy
Partnership with Skills VillageThe new collaboration with Skills Village in Eastfield is actively:
· Training apprentices in building skills (e.g., steps, walls).
· Involving volunteer groups such as Andy’s Man Club in various construction projects.
3.3 NYC Our Vision
The council want to harness the power of North Yorkshire’s natural capital, unique communities and businesses, continuously improving our services to enable a good quality life for all.
The plan is based around four main aims as shown below and is supported by One Council with strong, local and customer-led services.
3.4 NYC Political Structure
The councillors are responsible for providing strategic direction and decision on a wide range of public services to the people of North Yorkshire. They are made up of an elected assembly of 90 councillors, with elections normally held every four years.
The councillors are elected democratically by the people of North Yorkshire. They are active at the heart of their local communities, listening to concerns and responding to the needs of the public to deal with issues that are important to where they live.
They also act as a champion for North Yorkshire and its people. They represent and promote the interests of our county in the wider Northeast region, in the whole of the United Kingdom and abroad.
They work closely with a range of partners and organisations to support the people and businesses of North Yorkshire.
We are a Conservative controlled council. There are 90 councillors in total:
· Conservative - 47 (including 3 Conservative and Independents)
· Liberal Democrats and Liberals - 13
· Labour - 11
· NY Independents - 8
· Green - 5
· Unaffiliated – 5
At present the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation, Road Safety and Cycling is Cllr Malcolm Taylor.
3.5 Strategic Context of South Cliff Gardens
South Cliff Gardens is owned and managed by North Yorkshire Council. The framework within which the project has be delivered is defined by the council’s strategic plan, which has a strong focus on people and the environment. Locality working is a key element of our Council Plan which has four pillars of locality working:
· Local services and access
· Local accountability
· Local action
· Local empowerment
The NLHF project “Saving South Cliff Gardens” has supported the council’s aim of supporting the region as a place with a great quality of life, as well as helping to increase employability and building skills through the apprenticeship post. As well as partnership with Futureworks, Horticultural Skills Village, Scarborough Skills Village, and a package of training opportunities.
4.0 Business Plan
4.1 Current Situation
The current audiences for South Cliff Gardens include residents, tourists, and day visitors. The Gardens tend to consistently serve a relatively narrow group of users (generally older people, visiting families in the summertime using the Gardens as a cut through to the seaside and dog walkers all year round. A slight increase in use from other sectors of Scarborough residents including teenagers, users with mobility issues, young families, and ethnic minorities has been shown following the restoration work.
Current and popular use of the Gardens includes dog walking, cycling, and jogging, families using the play area, through routing, bird watching, short-term “pop in/out” visitors attend for events and activities held across the site and in the new ‘Hive’ community building and conference/Spa users. We have also seen a small increase in people using the site to explore the history and for landscape painting with the new meadow space becoming a popular draw. This perhaps is a knock-on effect from the increase in ecological and cultural events that are on offer thanks to the activity programme.
4.2 Demographics
Using Visitor Observation Data from 2023, there was an even split between male and female users, with 47% of users identified as female and 53% male. This is similar to the gender ratio within Scarborough Town, where 51.7% of residents identify as female.
Data from the Visitor Observation Study demonstrates that most visitors to South Cliff Gardens are White, reflecting the local area where 96.5% of residents are White. However, 1.2% Black and 0.4% Asian people visited the gardens, which is a slight increase on the previous data in 2018.
Only 26 (1.1%) visitors were identified as having an obvious, observable disability through the Visitor Observation Study. This included one user in a mobility scooter and two using wheelchairs. This is significantly lower than the local area, where 22.2% of residents consider themselves to have a limiting long-term illness but higher than the 12 people recorded in 2018.
The Audience segmentation shows that the residential market at Scarborough largely older families and singles who are highly engaged. Local populations cover older people, younger people such as students and those who are culturally diverse. Activities of interest include drama, art and craft exhibitions, music, heritage events, public art installations and carnival type festivals. To attract visitors and new volunteers to the gardens, marketing should be through a variety of sources including on websites and social media, via email, in local newspapers and through a range of community organisations. The gardens should also be signposted from the town centre and from key attractions along public transport routes.
4.3 Events and Activities
Following the restoration, we now have a successful activity programme which includes everything from art classes to yoga and a book festival. Our most popular events are the music events that we host in the Italian Gardens. They take place every week throughout the summer period and at the peak we had over 190 people attended.
The new community building Beeforth’s Hive is well used by the local community, including groups such as the U3A (University of the Third Age), Civic Society, board game groups, music, play and dance groups. The community room is booked up 6 months in advance and proving to be very popular. The proposal is that the room can be used for free by groups that have been involved in the project or that offer something in return. For example, North Yorkshire Art School use the space to teach art classes and in return they offer several free spaces which can be used by our project Youth Steering Group.
Below is a list of regular events delivered through the activity programme:
· Big Garden Bird watch. An annual bird watching event taking place 27th -29th January which is a community bird watching event supported by bird-themed family craft activities in Beeforth’s Hive.
· U3A weekly art and craft workshops.
· Weekly drop-in crafting session at Beeforth’s Hive, often with a plastic free, wildlife/environmental theme.
· Monthly Friends meeting hosted at the Hive.
· Half term activities including Go Wild and Crafts with local artist, poets, and musicians aimed at families and children.
· Weekly Friends Gardening group volunteer days and fortnightly conservation volunteer sessions.
· Presentation of music and poetry project alongside historic postcards heritage exhibition supported by Friends group.
· Easter activities including crafts and storytelling will take place at Beeforth’s Hive and in the gardens during the Easter holidays.
· A programme of landscape-artist led classes utilising the key viewpoints in the gardens.
· Writing Workshops, writer-led adult sessions. Participants will create poems and short stories inspired by the gardens using Beeforth’s Hive and the outdoor classroom.
· Fun Music sessions ever popular toddler music events led by a professional local musician.
· Play dates for local group’s e.g., young carers, home educators, and refugee / asylum seeker groups.
· Bi-weekly heritage walks lead by trained volunteers.
· Program of gardening training sessions lead by RHS trainer Dough Stewart.
· Family Book Festival
· Music and poetry free drop-in sessions in the gardens
· Family Friendly Events Program. 20-40 free or affordable family events and activities Yoga
· Weekly guided Heritage Walks.
· Scarborough Jazz Festival Event
· Halloween Events.
· Christmas Craft Sessions.
4.4 Local Neighbourhood
Around 18,000 people live within 15 minutes’ walk (1km) of South Cliff Gardens (SBC Ward Profiles), comprising largely of the wards of Ramshill, Weaponness and Castle. The heritage of the Gardens, their spectacular setting, facilities such as the Spa and Clock Café, and the proximity to the beach mean that they are seen as a green space for the whole town and many existing users are from outside the immediate 1km catchment.
Future and Target Audiences Demographic, audience and market segmentation analysis, visitor observation studies and consultation throughout the development phase of this project has provided us with evidence to suggest that the key under-represented groups and therefore the proposed target audiences for South Cliff Gardens are:
· Families with Children
· Young People
· People with Disabilities
· Older People
· Disadvantaged Communities
· Ethnic Minorities
The Activity Plan sets out the following future and target audiences as shown in the table below:
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Why this audience is important |
Barriers to use |
How we will engage this audience
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Families with children
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Visitor Observations showed children were more underrepresented in the gardens compared to other user groups even though there had been an increase following delivery.
Typically, parents looking for family orientated summer holidays where beaches play a starring role. |
Less awareness of garden and new play facilities, activities |
Develop exciting events and activity. Programme
Promote the new play facilities and trails.
Target promotional activities at families and young people
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Older people |
Those over 70 were less represented as users of the gardens than other groups.
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Safety concerns
Unwilling to visit alone.
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Improve maintenance of Gardens with greater staff and volunteer presence and increased public use. Events to re-engage in a safe group. environment |
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Disadvantaged communities
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There are pockets of deprivation within Scarborough, particularly to the north of South Cliff Gardens, Castle and Ramshill Ward. Within the 1 km buffer, the most deprived area is The Old Town, ranked eighth most deprived of the 71 LSOAs in Scarborough. The LSOA directly north of the Gardens is also ranked the most deprived in terms of living environment |
Lack of awareness of Gardens and what they offer Perception of “not for us”.
Cost of living crisis |
Develop exciting events and activity. Programme
Work with local community centres, groups and schools to engage with disadvantaged communities in Castle and Ramshill wards.
Promote walking and cycling.
Provide free facilities, e.g., play area, and plentiful opportunities for picnics and seating
provide free events. |
|
Disabled people |
Demographic data show that 10.5% of the local population have their activities limited a lot by long-term illness. Visitor Observations revealed that this audience were using the gardens at a lower-than-expected level with only 1% being perceptibly disabled. |
Lack of awareness of the garden and its access improvements |
Work with Mind, Dementia Action Alliance and others to design appropriate events to re-engage.
Promote the access improvements. |
|
Tourists |
South Cliff Gardens are an important area for tourism. The Esplanade above the gardens is predominantly hotels and guesthouses. There is an upward trend in domestic tourism across the UK with the North Yorkshire area now attracting 1.4 million trips annually Tourists come into the area to visit the Spa, which attracts nearly 600,000 visitors a year.
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Lack of information
Poor interface with Spa |
Improve quality of horticulture, making the Gardens and exemplar of coastal gardening
Develop exciting events and activity. They are an important group audience for the project being already in geographic proximity to the gardens and being comprised of other key audiences including families and older people. |
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Those with horticultural interest
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The gardens have huge potential to provide learning and enjoyment to those with a horticultural interest. Audience segmentation shows Scarborough is likely to have untapped potential in in this area. |
Lack of events, activities and interpretation.
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Sustain weekly volunteer opportunities.
Provide greater support and training. for volunteers
More and wider promotion of volunteering and involvement opportunities through advertising, walks and talks.
Provide visitor volunteer opportunities, e.g., horticultural.
Increase biodiversity and wildlife. interest |
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Those interested. in health & wellbeing
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Need for green spaces to promote health benefits Link to heritage of the gardens- they were intended to be a place to take the spa waters and associated with good health and well-being as well as gentle recreation.
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Lack of targeted facilities and activities
|
Develop exciting events and activity. Programme
Work with local fitness providers to run and promote activities in the Gardens
Promote the health and wellbeing. benefits of using the Gardens through branding and information
Develop specific activity groups for health benefits, e.g., dementia gardening, walking groups, volunteering |
4.5 Marketing and Promotion
Following the restoration of the South Cliff Gardens marketing has been improved, with the addition of a new project website, with new content being published on a weekly basis on the website and across several social media platforms. Events are published on the website and several local event pages including:
· Discover Yorkshire coast
· Leaflets and posters are distributed to local notice boards within the gardens, the library, market, bus and train station, art gallery, local hotels, the spa
· Installation of interpretation boards across the gardens which include a general map highlighting key attractions within the gardens, distances, access information and how much time it will take to get between each.
· Provision of a free information leaflet and map, of which 50,000 copies have been circulated to date
· Provision of a website (South Cliff Gardens – Scarborough)
· Provision of a Facebook page South Cliff Gardens | Scarborough | Facebook
· Provision of a YouTube channel South Cliff Gardens - YouTube
· Trip Advisor average score 5 from 348 reviews with the Italian Gardens ranking 11th of 74 things to do in Scarborough
· Page on Discover Yorkshire Coast website
· Page on Parks and Gardens UK website
· Page on Yorkshire Guide website
· Post on Visit Scarborough website
5.0 Proposed Income Generation
Detailed financial projections in the form of a trading profile for a 10-year period, linked to the management and maintenance plan, have been developed and can be found in this section of the plan. This Business Plan sets out the main direct income generating opportunities considered for South Cliff Gardens:
· Licences
· Memorialisation
· Sponsorship / crowdfunding
· Suggested donation buckets at activities and events
· Tours of the gardens
· Specialist workshops (horticulture)
· Beeforth’s Hive room hire
· Pitch and Putt
· Plant and map sales
In addition, a range of community and other initiatives within the Activity Plan will drive visitors to the site which will strengthen opportunities for secondary spend. The level of income generation is based on the partnership approach. This model establishes baseline rental arrangements or other performance related structures. This has a number of advantages, not least that it guarantees the annual income and means that the partners absorb a significant proportion of operational costs. It also means that operators with specialist knowledge, experience and potentially activities across multiple sites are able to bring efficiencies and economies of scale to their respective areas of operation.
5.1 Licences
There are a number of potential licences that South Cliff Gardens could generate income from, these include filming, wedding photographs, professional dog walkers, dog agility and fitness trainers. A proposed charge of £100 per booking for wedding photographs has been inserted into the trading profile totalling £800 income plus inflation. This figure is based upon 8 per year, generated from a 50% take up from 17 wedding bookings and has been assessed on number of spa wedding bookings (1 per weekend run between May and September therefore 22 weddings).
5.2 Memorialisation
Commemorative seats and trees currently generate £1,500 per annum for South Cliff Gardens and it is felt that this could be dramatically increased as there is a large demand for this as many local residents have a special connection with the gardens and enjoy the many viewpoints. some forms of current memorialisation are also inappropriate, and the materials used may deter some people from visiting and / or using the benches. This proposal includes formalising memorialisation to include commemorative seats, trees, plaques, ashes scattering donations and creating a memorial walkway or similar. The estimate inputted into the trading profile covers new 1 and 10 year agreements for £1,500/memorial item and bringing the management of this under Parks team as per the management and maintenance proposals. Options for memorialisation may include benches, trees, heritage urns, kerb edging, a new artist designed / sculptural memorial and possibly a ‘buy a brick’ scheme for the Horticulture Hub. Additional predicted income has been set at a baseline of £100 per year.
5.3 Sponsorship/Crowdfunding
This project presents an opportunity to embrace new ways of raising income e.g. crowd funding and to market the site and the restoration project at zero cost. An idea for generating income for the site is through Crowdfunder for which donation packages for up to £100 could be created dependent upon level of donation e.g. postcard, bag, t-shirt, publications / books, 'buy a bird box', wildflower seeds, shrub or a tree and a tour of the gardens. In order for such schemes to work the project team will need to identify specific projects which offer something additional to the core offer. The South Cliff Community Group have recently set up a sponsorship page on their website and are trialling this concept. They have been receiving pledges from local businesses and the community which are being used as match funding for the project. The pledge form can be seen here: http://www.southcliffcommunitygroup.com/hlf-bid---parks-for-people.html
There are numerous hotels and shops in the town and local businesses (particularly Ramshill businesses) and this project will seek to develop better links with these to reinforce the training offer, encourage a greater level of corporate volunteering and develop commercial sponsorship of community projects or sponsoring a shelter. There are plans for the Council to create an overall framework for donations and sponsorship and to formally create a pledge web page that contains a shopping list of items ranging between £5 and £100 for people and between £100 to £5000 for businesses. Examples of such items could include: a packet of wildflower seeds for £5, a shrub for £10, a bird box for £25, a tree for £50, a Heritage Urn for £500 or a shelter for £5,000. A figure of £2,500 per annum has been inputted into the trading profile, it is therefore forecast that a good sponsorship campaign will generate £25,000 over the 10-year period.
Consideration will also be made in relation to applying for additional grant funding to support specific projects and improvements moving forwards.
5.4 Donation buckets/posts
Currently we offer free of charge craft events and activities for children throughout the year (mainly school holidays and special occasions), it is proposed to encourage a pay as you feel for these activities to recoup the cost of materials whilst still being able to run some activities at low cost as required. Suggested income is £500 per annum.
5.5 Tours of the Garden
There is a possible income figure of £6,000 per annum against guided tours of the gardens for the public, schools and special interest groups. The programme of guided walks and talks programme should cover all aspects of the Gardens and their heritage. It is envisaged that 3 weekly tours will take place during the summer season (April to September) covering 20 weeks. The income projected assumes that there will be 20 participants on each walk and that these will be charged at £5 per head, generating £6,000. The hotel trade is very keen on this and there are also potential links with dawn chorus walks and breakfast offers. This would require additional trained staff to undertake these tours which at present we are unable to commit to, so this is a future consideration.
5.6 Specialist workshops (horticulture)
There is significant potential to develop and run specialist horticultural training events and workshops in the Gardens, in collaboration with local hoteliers, as part of a package holiday.
Proposed Workshop Structure:
Duration:
Two days per
workshop.
Day One: A guided garden tour followed by two teaching
sessions.
Day Two: One teaching session and a half-day of
volunteering.
Participation and Fees:
Each workshop is designed for
10 participants.
Workshops would run four weekends per year, covering May, June,
July, and August.
Fee per participant: £150 per weekend.
Projected Income:
Annual income from workshops: £6,000 (10 participants per workshop, four weekends).
Operational Needs:
These workshops would require staffing and management by suitably qualified officers based at the site to ensure smooth execution and high-quality training. This would be a future consideration.
5.7 Beeforth’s Hive room hire
The new facility of Beeforths Hive offers an opportunity for individuals and groups to hire the room (with basic kitchen facilities for the provision of hot/cold drinks and pre-made cold snacks; also, a fully accessible toilet). The room is already popular with some location groups such as Yoga, Choir, U3A all of whom are aware there will be a charge to cover expenses. It is proposed the charges would be like other Council owned facilities within the local area.
Within a 10 miles radius of Beeforth’s Hive there are 9 meeting rooms (7 listed below), offering variations from the room sizes, technology provided, catering availability, booking packages, i.e. food, accommodation, technology and stationery. Research has been undertaken to identify the charging rates and this will allow us to align our pricing with local expectations and ensuring competitiveness.
Operating costs and overheads must be factored in regarding the room rate charges as we must consider the cost of utilities, cleaning, maintenance, insurance, and staffing costs, as we need to maintain financial viability and pricing should align with similar council-owned venues in the area.
By refining our pricing strategies, improving digital presence, and leveraging unique community offerings, Beeforth’s Hive can carve out a distinct market position and grow as a sought-after venue for both casual, repeat and event-based bookings.
Projected income £400 per calendar month; £4800 annually
5.8 Pitch and Putt
It has been decided the running of the onsite Pitch and Putt will return to the Parks Team so any income generated from that and related sundry sales will support the improvements within the gardens.
Projected income £3090, however need to consider staffing and other related expenses.
5.9 Plant sales
It is proposed we sell surplus bedding plants and shrubs at coffee mornings and specific plant sale days from the gardens, this will generate not only a small income but also will increase footfall into the gardens.
Projected annual income £150
6.0 Financial Forecast
Taking all elements into consideration, the following list details the options to move forward with.
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|
Projected Potential Annual Income |
|||||
|
|
2025 |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
2029 |
2030 |
|
Licences |
£800 |
£824 |
£849 |
£874 |
£900 |
£927 |
|
Memorialisation |
£100 |
£103 |
£106 |
£109 |
£113 |
£116 |
|
Sponsorship / crowdfunding |
£1,500 |
£2,575 |
£2,652 |
£2,732 |
£2,814 |
£2,898 |
|
Donation buckets at activities and events |
£500 |
£515 |
£530 |
£546 |
£563 |
£580 |
|
Beeforth’s Hive room hire |
£1,000 |
£4,944 |
£5,092 |
£5,245 |
£5,402 |
£5,565 |
|
Pitch and Putt |
£1,000 |
£3,090 |
£3,183 |
£3,278 |
£3,377 |
£3,478 |
|
Plant sales |
£150 |
£155 |
£159 |
£164 |
£169 |
£174 |
|
TOTAL PROJECTED INCOME |
£5,050 |
£12,206 |
£12,571 |
£12,948 |
£13,338 |
£13,738 |
The gardens will require regular maintenance (with an estimated annual cost of £248,500) as well as specific key focus areas of maintenance, this income will support the additional maintenance costs associated with the gardens – further information is available in the Management and Maintenance Plan and related Action Plan. The expenditure includes the increased staffing levels and is accounted for within the Parks and Countryside annual budget.
7.0 Activity and Engagement Plan
In order to encourage people into the gardens there will be a regular activity programme at which we can promote more commercial events/activities. Examples are shown in the table below:
|
MONTH |
ACTIVITIES |
|
January |
· Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch · Community Wellbeing Morning |
|
February |
· Half Term family workshops · Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · Love in the Gardens poetry and photos |
|
March |
· Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning |
|
April |
· Easter family workshops · Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning |
|
May |
· Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · Half Term family workshops |
|
June |
· Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning |
|
July |
· Family workshops · Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · Love Parks Week activities |
|
August |
· Summer and Insect themed family workshops · Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · Music in the Gardens · Library reading challenge |
|
September |
· 2x Yoga in the Shuttleworth Gardens · Friends Coffee Morning · Friends AGM · Poetry Open House · Community Wellbeing Morning · 2x Heritage Open Day events · Dementia Awareness Walk |
|
October |
· Half Term family workshops · Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · North Yorkshire Open Studios weekend |
|
November |
· Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · Talk at YMCA in collaboration with Friends of South Cliff Gardens |
|
December |
· Friends Coffee Morning · Friends Meeting · Community Wellbeing Morning · Christmas craft workshops |
8.0 Risk Analysis
The income generated for 2025 will only commence on approval of all reports at Director level so will be presumed to be approximately half the amount indicated above.
|
Market Risks |
Operational Risks |
Financial Risks |
Regulatory Risks |
|
Regular users unable to pay |
Income from licences generates income for other service area |
Increase in service charges |
Privacy and data protection laws affect how customer data is handled |
|
Regular users go elsewhere |
Human errors, such as record keeping |
Customers failing to pay on time/in advance |
Changes to H&S operating legislation |
|
New and increased competition |
Demand on staff time to increase income generation |
|
|
|
Fluctuations in service demand |
Access to the building is restricted due to keys being retained by previous user |
|
|
9.0 Monitoring and Evaluation
We will undertake regular user surveys to review income generation and opportunities for additional income generation.
We will also undertake site user surveys to ensure supportive marketing and publicity is reaching the target audiences.
Results of all surveys will be published on the North Yorkshire Council website.
These support our corporate Key Performance Indicator (KPI) recording as will the number of volunteers active within the gardens.
KPI’s are reported on a quarterly basis and will help support the ongoing review of this business plan. It is planned the document will be reviewed every 3 years to ensure it accurately represents.
Initial Key Performance Indicators will be:
· Quarterly Volunteer hour recording
· Annual events records with number of attendees and income generated
· Satisfaction surveys every three years with an action plan to identify improvements required
· Annual Green Flag Award Achievement
· Quarterly Review of Action Plan
These KPI’s will be reviewed ongoing and added with targets to the service KPI’s for 2026/27 and beyond.