(a)

this had been a challenging year with the introduction of several changes in the way the Park operated; this included developing the overall visitor attraction by expanding the programme of events and introducing a variety of commercial tenants in the Barrow Centre and across the Park;

(b)

new operators for both the Stables Café and Orangery Restaurant had brought an element of commercial stability and consumer confidence to the Park;

(c)

the efforts of the staff and volunteers in assisting the delivery of a wide package of initiatives needed to be acknowledged together with the enthusiasm and experience of staff;

(d)

a larger programme of events had been established which included -

?

Green Man;

?

Smugglers Market;

(e)

other events which had taken place included -

?

Kings Troop;

?

celebration of 25 years of Landrover;

?

Holiday of My Lifetime (BBC episode);

(f)

future events would include -

?

Home and Garden;

?

National Scouts Camp;

?

international conference hosted by Plymouth College of Art and Design;

(g)

new lettings included -

?

the Cremyll Shop had been let to an external commercial operator;

?

a Blacksmith was currently occupying unit 2 of the  Barrow Centre whilst works progressed to accommodate him within the Blacksmith unit;

?

the use of the old barn and poly tunnel for a garden centre;

?

the use of vacant office space within the House for use as the head office for the Silvanus Trust;

(h)

the  Friends of Mount Edgcumbe had focussed on providing major projects for the benefit of the Park, which included proposals for -

?

the creation of a ‘Friends Garden Area’ adjacent to the fire station with the possibility of a new sculpture to commemorate 500 years of Mount Edgcumbe;

?

the renovation of historic statues around the Park;

?

expansion of the play area;

?

provision of lighting to light up the Folly structure;

(i)

current initiatives being reviewed included -

?

vehicles;

?

waste;

?

staff resources;

?

purchase of land train;

?

Cremyll Lodge holiday let;

(j)

in order to comply with the Small Bodies Audit Report a risk assessment for the operation of the Park would be required; several management reviews were currently taking place to evaluate risks; a final report would be drafted once the individual assessments had been completed.

(k)

consideration would be given to providing residents of the Rame Peninusula with ‘concession’ parking as an acknowledgement of the inconvenience caused with the major events being held at the Park;

(l)

no permanent members of staff had been effected with the recent letting of the Cremyll Shop to an external operator; Pertemps staff had been employed to work within the shop on a temporary/seasonal basis in line with Plymouth City Council’s pay structure;

(m)

a brief was being developed for the proposal to create a Friends Garden Area which linked the Friends of Mount Edgcumbe with the Cultural Board;

(n)

it would not be possible to use the land train on the highway; the intention was to use it to take visitors from the bottom of the Park to the Barrow Centre, etc; future sites would be considered such as the Deer Park;

(o)

TV campaigns would run to promote all major events including the 500 anniversary of Mount Edgcumbe;

(p)

water transport links on the Tamar estuary would be explored including connectivity to the Royal William Yard;

(q)

Cornwall Council were currently assessing the storm damage which had affected the Cremyll Quay, slip way, entrance to the lower lodge and the sea walls; engineers were currently costing a scheme in conjunction with South West Water; work would be undertaken to look at funding streams for the scheme; an undertaking was given to provide an update report to the next Joint Committee meeting.