CHAIRMANS FOREWORD
The Chairmans Annual Report to
the Board on 14th November 2002
This has been one of the busiest and most successful years in the history of the Conservators.
Building on the bedrock of a sound management plan supplemented by a large number of well thought out policies it has been possible for our staff to attract a considerable amount of support from our partners resulting in an unprecedented amount of grant aid towards the implementation of a wide variety of schemes.
A major success was the approval of the Heritage Lottery Grant. This together with grants towards refurbishment of features on the Hills in the wake of the Foot and Mouth epidemic and to undertake a number of vital surveys including a study of the use of our car parks has allowed us greatly to accelerate the implementation of the management plan without recourse to imposing a greater burden on the local parishes.
The acquisition of four separate parcels of land totalling almost forty hectares is the most significant addition to the Board's estate in recent times and includes for the first time a most attractive and substantial area of land in the parish of Mathon. Confirmation that we are able to spend our capital resources to undertake capital works on our land has allayed previous concerns about the acquisition of new land increasing the burden on our revenue budgets.
The staff establishment is now almost complete and the newly created post of Financial Assistant supported by our Financial Consultant is particularly welcome. At a time when our financial affairs are becoming ever more complex due to the multiplicity of grant offers and other financial incentives it is essential to have clear and comprehensive information available instantly on all financial matters to ensure the most effective budgeting.
We have however failed in our commitment to appoint a Visitor Services Manager and to draw up a Recreation Strategy. We now have the expertise, resources and the strategies to manage our land to a high standard and our priority for the coming year must therefore be to ensure that in the future our visitors have the best possible experience in enjoying the land that we are managing so effectively.
The year has seen a number of successful events which have helped cement our good relations with the public including the naming of Jubilee Hill, the Jubilee beacon and the Three Counties Show. We continue to enjoy an excellent relationship with the local press which has been immensely helpful not only in promulgating the good news but in helping to deter those seeking to cause problems on the Hills.
We submitted voluntarily to an in depth scrutiny by the Charity Commission which proved to be a very helpful and worthwhile exercise. Not only did the Commission conclude that the Board was managing its affairs effectively but they commented on the energy, enthusiasm and commitment displayed by everyone.
Once again I thank our partners, fellow Conservators, staff and volunteers for all the help and support which has made it such a successful year. All too often the hard work and professionalism of the staff goes unseen and unsung but the storms of late October gave an opportunity for the Field Staff in particular to demonstrate their qualities and to prove that however much work we put out to contract there will always be a requirement for a band of highly trained and flexible people to respond instantly to our needs.
Richard Graves
Chairman of the Board
Annual Study Tour
Conservators inspecting cattle grids in the New Forest