Howbery Celebrates 25 Years
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YEARS Parklife HOWBERY CELEBRATES MORE NEWS INSIDE... November 2019 25 YEARS Howbery Business Park - Wallingford How do we measure up? Environmental impact summary NOVEMBER 2019 NOVEMBER We have replaced the single-use plastics used ParklifeHappy in our delicatessen with We producedAnniversary 830 Howbery! bio-degradableGo GTI and CO2e tonnes in 2018, 4 compostable alternatives. down 21% from 2017. There's a 13 buzz around Howbery Kilowatt The Solar Park generated 3 kings Improving In 2018, we installed 8 767,83water 8 kWh’s ecosystems the second Int thiswo issue: electr 3 ic vehicle of electricity in 2018 – There's a buzz around Howbery 4 10 Honey harvest / Happy Howbery Birthday Annika 11 Strolls from the park 12 Happy Birthday14be Jewel!st year / Marvellous ever Miramar! 13 charging points. Happy Anniversary Howbery 8 Kilowatt kings 9 19 Style Acre events news A warm 20 welcomeLifestyles rehab,to our gymnew tenants& performance / Go GTI! centre 14 River 22 Wasteof life II on 15 the Grab park a /cup Vibrant 16 Newsveg / Downfrom HR on Wallingford the allotment 18 23 Work In a on cardiac your wellbeingemergency / Picture perfect Catering news and events 3 We compost 185m 55% of the electricity of garden waste each year. we use comes from renewable sources gardens and woodland walks. - up from 43.5 % in 2017. A successful leakage repair All 23 tonnes of the and monitoring plan reduced wood we used last year potable water was either recycled or consumption by 44% reused. in 2018. The 20% we made in 2018 100% gas saving of our waste is recycled promised by the installation of or used to generate energy. decentralised gas boilers. R3 GR148 3 There's a buzz around Howbery 3We will spend the next year at Howbery Park championing bees, having signed up to a scheme that rewards biodiversity initiatives. To enhance conditions for bees, our team will have to meet a set of objectives set by As part of the new initiative, our gardeners Nurture (which maintains our grounds) and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust over will record sightings of all bees and the next year. These include introducing ‘homes’ for wildlife, buying certain ‘bee- encourage tenants to do so too. There are friendly’ plants, buying peat free compost and plants, and putting up information currently 24 species of bumblebee in the UK – two boards to improve our bee knowledge. species became extinct in the last 80 years and eight are When we complete this year’s objectives, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust logo endangered. will be inscribed on the blank petal of a flower-shaped award. We will then choose Nurture’s Business Development and Biodiversity Manager Simon Blackley said: “When another area of biodiversity – such as butterflies, insects, birds, amphibians or asked to improve biodiversity where do you start? Nurture has started a scheme which wildflowers – to focus on for the following year to gain our next petal. aims to improve biodiversity in small steps and raise awareness of some of the smaller “Encouraging biodiversity is very important to Howbery Park,” Howbery Park Estates conservation organisations. There are very few other awards that look specifically manager Donna Bowles explained. “We are seeking to make the most of our lovely at improving biodiversity in the gardens and grounds that we maintain. Nurture landscape for our tenants, and that includes supporting nature. We have already has created this award so that we can clearly demonstrate significant biodiversity developed diverse habitats ranging from ornamental flowers to wildflower areas, and improvements.” we wish to further this work. Concentrating on bees is an obvious starting point in Bumblebee Conservation Trust CEO Gill Perkins, said: “We’re delighted to see Howbery the biodiversity awards for our park, as we introduced beehives on site in 2016.” Business Park taking such impressive steps to help wildlife, in particular the bees. Introducing 'homes' for wildlife and planting the right flowers will provide food for our Bees are first step in initiative important pollinators. We very much look forward to seeing the results in the grounds.” Beehives were introduced after an aggregation of Ivy mining bees was discovered here in 2013. Ivy mining bees are a relative newcomer to the UK and were first “Encouraging biodiversity is very important to Howbery Park.” spotted in Dorset in 2001. Howbery Park Estates Manager Donna Bowles 4 4Happy 25th Howbery! We celebrated the 25th anniversary of Howbery Business Park in June with a week of events that brought together our wonderful community to mark the occasion. Tenants, suppliers and contractors gathered on the Manor House patio on 6 June for a special celebration. The Howbery management team gave speeches and ceremonially cut the anniversary cake. Afternoon tea was then served to a background of jazz with former employee Fleur Stevenson on vocals and Pete Billington on keyboards. Earlier that day, local historian David Beasley, another former employee, shared his knowledge and wonderful collection of archive photographs from the site. He explained that the Manor House had a host of fascinating characters from MPs to Lords in residence at various times. On 4 June, Hugo Loudon from Heritage Tree Services led a tour describing the impressive range of trees on the site, and imparting some fascinating facts. The week ended with a tour by HR Wallingford of its state-of-the-art Froude Modelling Hall and ship simulator. Continued... 5 Sustainability through solar In 2011, Howbery Park became the UK’s first solar-powered business park. The adjacent solar farm generates around a quarter of the park’s annual energy needs. Across the sunny summer months of 2018, this rose to an impressive 40%, with occasional periods 5 when the park was completely grid-free. In 2018, enough electricity was also exported back to the grid to supply 20 average size homes for a year. In 2017, the park undertook another major energy saving project, installing high- efficiency boilers. This has led to further significant carbon savings, and was followed in 2018 by the installation of electric vehicle charging points. Since 2012, the park’s waste has been zero to landfill. Continued... The Howbery Park Estates team Building on our rich history Today Howbery Business Park is home to over 50 different businesses, ranging from small family enterprises to large organisations. The Environment Agency (EA), known at the time as the National Rivers Authority, was the park’s first tenant, and started life at Howbery Park in several small buildings. The EA is now one of the site’s major occupiers in state-of-the-art 35,000 sq ft Red Kite House which opened in 2005, and which was awarded the ‘Best Bespoke Office Development Outside Central London’ in the same year. Four years later, a second BREAAM excellent-rated building, Kestrel House, was built to mirror Red Kite House for park landlord HR Wallingford. With each of these new buildings, the aim was to show a model of best practice in sustainable office development. The projects have managed to demonstrate that a small increase in building costs can result in significantly-reduced carbon emissions and greater efficiency, while at the same time creating light and well-ventilated working environments for their occupants. 6 6 Hugo Loudon gives a tree tour These include William Blackstone MP, who bought the estate in 1833 but tragically never saw the house finished, Count de Morney who completed the building in 1860, and Henry Bertie Williams–Wynn, a solicitor, who purchased the house in 1867. The house has even hosted royal visits, including Prince Henry who camped as an ordinary solider at the park in 1927, through to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II signs the Visitor Book in the Manor House de Morney room in November 1956 visited the house in 1956 a part of a tour of the then government-owned Hydraulics Research Station who occupied the site from 1951. This led to the creation of a water science cluster at Howbery Park which continues to develop today. Dating back to the 15th century Whilst embracing new technology to improve the park, today’s Estates Team also But Howbery Park and its Manor House can also boast a much longer and unique history. takes its responsibility to care for the 70 acre landscaped parkland and Grade II listed There is evidence that Howbery Park had a former Manor House as far back as the 15th Manor House very seriously. Many of the park’s mature trees are protected with tree century which Henry VII visited in 1489. Meeting rooms which can be booked in the preservation orders, and new planting ensures a healthy balance of trees will be present Manor House carry the names of various noblemen and political figures from its preserved across the park for the future. Bee hives producing the park’s own honey fascinating past. were introduced in 2016. Continued... 7 On-site activities include a family-friendly Bee Education Workshop. Sense of community Howbery Park places a real focus on maintaining a sense of community on the park with on-site activities and amenities such 7as free-to-use pool bikes, and allotments which were introduced in 2017 and which went on to win a Green Apple Award. There are also plenty of open spaces to practice team sports, or simply to enjoy a lunchtime walk, all helping to encourage a healthy work-life balance. Estates Manager Donna Bowles is proud of what has been achieved and is now looking ahead to the next chapter in Howbery Park’s story. “Much of the park’s success is down to the vision and enthusiasm of former Howbery Business Park Chief Executive, John Ormston, who oversaw the park’s development for many years.