Archive for the :: Commercial Category

The Marston Vale Trust, the charity behind the creation of the Forest of Marston Vale will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 14 December 2011, 5.30 for 6pm, at the Forest Centre, Marston Moretaine.

This is an opportunity for anyone who has an interest in the Forest, to meet our trustees and find out more; there are usually presentations by members of the Forest Team on particular highlights of the year and plenty of time to chat and ask questions afterwards.

Everyone is welcome, but space is limited so if you would like to come, please let Tony Talbot know in advance by calling 01234 762601 or emailing tony.talbot@marstonvale.org

the Forest Centre catering team (and some others)

We’ve always known that the Centre’s Lakeside Café is a great place to eat and now it’s official. Central Bedfordshire Council’s Environmental Health Food Team awarded the café and kitchen the top, five stars in March this year; a wonderful tribute to the hard work of the whole catering team. It’s also an assurance for every visitor that the café and its kitchen are well managed and scrupulously clean.

The Central Bedfordshire Award Scheme

Together with publishing on the Internet Food Hygiene scores based on a National Guidance and Code of Practice Central Bedfordshire\’s Environmental Health Food Team has developed a 5 Star award scheme based on parts of the Code of Practice. Most people are familiar with the 5 Star concept and this allows the public and businesses a quick method of establishing compliance with legislation.

This scheme permits premises to be benchmarked against the same criteria namely: hygiene, structural and confidence in management.

Read more

Woodchip delivery for the Forest Centre boiler

For a couple  of years now, the Forest Centre has been heated by burning woodchip. This switch from gas to biomass heating  is saving roughly 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

It has until now been difficult to find woodchip to burn and we have been bringing it to Marston from Suffolk. Fortunately we recently secured a supply from Bedfordshire’s own Woburn Estate. We reckon this is giving a net saving of around 1,825 miles in haulage/vehicle movements each year; a net carbon saving of  around 2.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.

On cost, the haulage from Suffolk, was costing as much as the wood chip itself. By using locally supplied chip, we’re reducing haulage costs and distance, supporting local employment and rural business, helping reduce carbon emissions and saving money in heating the Forest Centre. Good news all round; for the environment, local employment and road congestion!

Try Battlefield Live at the Forest Centre

“An amazing and unique combat gaming experience” has been added to the list of attractions on offer at the Forest Centre. Battlefield Live “is like being part of your own movie except the plot is determined by you”. From kids’ parties to corporate events, this is something different and exciting for our visitors.

There are no projectiles fired from the gaming guns, so no pain, no bruises and no risk of injury.  The guns use infra red ghost bullets so there’s no extra cost of purchasing paint pellets to play

To find out more visit www.battlefield-gaming.co.uk or call 01234 262058

The  Marston Vale Trust’s new planting at Rectory Wood Phase 4 has been shortlisted, as one of six finalists in the Natural Environment category, for this prestigious award.

The judges will be looking for their own category winner, before meeting later in the year to decide who should be awarded the overall winners prize. Category winners each net a trophy and £2,000 in prize money, which can be used to develop their projects or fund other initiatives.

The awards are held to recognise the hard work and dedication of the people behind the projects Biffaward fund. They celebrate the ordinary people that achieve extraordinary results by building a better community for others.

We won’t know the outcome until 3 November. We’ll tell you if we win!

Read more

ElliptiGO in action - try one at the Forest Centre

Fresh from California, this amazing “cross-training device” will be available for short trials from now until the Woodworks! weekend (3 & 4 September). You can try it for a very short time or it is also available for hire; why not come and take a look? Click here for more details about cycle hire at the Forest Centre.

Here’s what the ElliptiGO web site says about it…
“At ElliptiGO, we like to push through that boundary of what everyone else says is “impossible” and wave to them from the other side. Whatever your fitness goals may be—no matter how humble, audacious, realistic or impossible they may seem—training on the ElliptiGO will help you achieve them.  And we want to help you get there”.

Say no more.

Tandem for hire at the Forest Centre (image Don Morris)

It’s now possible to hire a tandem from the Forest Centre. This addition to our fleet of high quality bikes offers something really different from your average cycling experience. It might take a few minutes to get the hang of riding a tandem if you’ve never done it before and it requires a little co-ordination between you and your co-pilot, but after a short while you will be enjoying something new.

Equipped with adjustable saddles, excellent brakes and 21 gears, the machine is capable of tackling anything the Park’s trails or the surrounding area can throw at it.

A tandem adds a new dimension. If you’ve never ridden one; try it soon. It’s great fun and surprisingly quick. If your sight isn’t good enough for solo riding, a tandem can get you out on the open road with the wind in your hair and flies in your teeth. All you need is a friend!

Hire charges start at £14/hour for the tandem. Many other high quality cycles, trailers and buggies are also available for hire. Helmet hire is included in the price. Full details

Retiring Forest CEO, Tony Talbot

Since 2003 Tony Talbot has held the posts of Managing Director of Marston Vale Services and Chief Executive of The Marston Vale Trust. Tony recently announced his intention to retire later this year.

This is neither the time nor place for a retrospective – there is certain to be plenty written and said over the coming months about his leadership through what has been a challenging period in the Community Forest’s life; suffice to say, the last eight years have brought great success and seen the Forest grow in all sorts of ways.

The Forest needs a new boss – a business-minded leader, entrepreneur and ambassador – to maintain and increase the rate of transformation of this 61 square miles of Bedfordshire.

If you might be that person, take a look at the information here.

Staff of Blue Chip and United Music Group with their new commemorative plaque at Shocott Spring

California-based United Music Group became a client of Blue Chip and a partner of the Forest this year when they committed to plant 21,000 trees in the Forest of Marston Vale. 

As reported earlier this year, Blue Chip, the IT service specialist’s, have launched a unique partnership with the Marston Vale Trust.  Together they have set out a shared vision to plant up to 3/4 million trees within new woodlands across the Forest of Marston Vale.

Two exciting and significant schemes in the Forest are moving closer to reality. Whilst work on one is due to start this year, the other is a more distant ambition. Both however, will create significant wildlife habitats and recreational facilities, both are watery projects with wetlands and water-based recreation at their hearts and both are being made possible by creative thinking on the part of planners, developers, local land owners and charities.

The Waterway Park as proposed in the new Marston Vale Innovation Park

Waterway Park in Wootton

Bedford Borough Council has been moving forward the Marston Vale Innovation Parksouth of Fields Road. Landscaping works are planned for this year and later, four connected, long, thin ponds will be constructed. This is the clever bit – initially these will be ‘just a feature’ in the Innovation Park but in the future they will become a significant section of the Bedford Milton Keynes Waterway;  a new waterway linking the Grand Union Canal to the River Great Ouse. The Park will also build a new, off road section of Route 51 cycleway.

More information   Innovation Park    Bedford Milton Keynes Waterway Park

Willington Watersports Lake

The second development is the 2.3km Watersports Lake in Bedford River Valley Park. The lake moved a step closer in March when Bedford Borough Council’s Executive approved their Allocation and Designations Plan, including the principle of limited development in the Park to fund its construction. The Allocations and Designations Plan is part of the Bedford Development Framework which will eventually replace Bedford’s Local Plan – follow this link to learn more.

Overwhelming public support was received for the project which will create a lake for a whole range of watersports and will include an Olympic length rowing course.  To celebrate this landmark, Mayor Dave Hodgson and representatives of the numerous partner organisations in the project planted four trees on what will become the north shore of the new lake. When complete, the lake will stretch between a point close to the River Great Ouse, north of Willington, to close to Meadow Lane, bisecting the Marston Vale Trust’s Grange Estate. It will be a spectacular feature in the Bedford River Valley Park.

Read more about the Rowing Lake.