The Land Trust invites expressions of interest for managing agent for Elba Park and Monkton Community Woodland

The Land Trust is tendering for a Management Agent at Elba Park and Monkton Community Woodland, with a new contract starting from April 2025.

Elba Park stands on the site of the former Lambton Coke Works. Coal mining on the site dates back to the 18th century and during its industrial life it has been a mine, a coke works, a tile works and a brick works. The Coke Works closed in the mid 1980’s and lay derelict for over 20 years.

The restoration led by the then Homes and Communities Agency lasted for seven years. During the restoration over 2 million cubic metres of soil was moved, the 52ha park was landscaped, 77,000 native trees were planted and over 3.7km of footpaths were created.

The park has been open to the public since October 2010. Since the park opened, the Land Trust and its managing partners have engaged with thousands of people from the local community. The park has become well used and is an important resource for schools, community groups and members of the public.

The site is located approximately 6 kilometres south west of Sunderland town centre. It is in a semi-rural location, surrounded by the villages of Shiney Row, Penshaw, Newbottle, Fencehouses and Burnmoor. To the north of the site, Chester Road (A183) is a main route into Sunderland and one of the access points to the park. The south of the site follows Herrington Burn and Sedgeletch Sewerage plant. The west of site is marked by the disused Leamside Railway line and the eastern boundary follows Blind Lane.

Monkton Community Woodland stands on a former coking works which ceased operation in 1990 and is located in South Tyneside to the south of Hebburn. One North East acquired the site in 1998 and through the National Coalfields Programme, funded and managed by English Partnerships, restored the site to a mixture of business uses and public open space.

The public open space element, which overlies in part the containment cells, was transferred to the Land Trust in 2004. The site now forms a community woodland of just under 10 hectares of mostly planted woodland, containing 32,000 native trees interspersed with woodland glades, along with 2.5km of footpath, which includes part of the Bowes Railway Path Regional Cycle Route. Since opening the community woodland has become a well-used open space and is an important resource for the local community.

It is bounded by Luke’s Lane to the east, to the west by Mill Lane, to the north by Monkton Lane and to the south by the Sunderland – Newcastle railway line. Monkton Business Park occupies much of the southern area of the old Cokeworks site and the community woodland forms a valuable green space within a busy business park. At the business park frontage a specially commissioned public art installation, a ‘hive’ structure, has been built into an ornate brick wall.

The Managing Partner should provide a named point of contact for the public for each site and has the following responsibilities:

• Deliver the requirements of the Site Management Plans
• Ensure the sites are well managed and maintained
• Manage their staff and recruit and support volunteers on the sites
• Procure goods and services for the sites
• Monitor quality and standards associated with all service delivery
• Develop, engage, consult and support Friend’s groups, user/interest groups and local communities to get involved in the parks
• Develop an events strategy and run an annual programme of events, working closely with the Land Trust communications team will be an essential part of this role
• Develop an education programme, liaising with schools and youth organisations etc. to ensure an appropriate fit for each site
• Respond to day-to-day enquiries and complaints from the public
• Work with partner organizations involved in the sites at a local and strategic level
• Ensure the health and safety of users and service providers, including addressing policy requirements such as accident reporting and monitoring
• Work within requirements of specified policies and regulations for example; Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection, Land Trust’s Health and Safety Policy and Communications Protocol
• Maintain comprehensive records including auditable financial records of income and expenditure
• Deliver, collect, collate and report on Land Trust’s Charitable Key Performance Indicators which are: to improve the health and wellbeing of the community, provide education and a learning resource, support economic prosperity, encourage community cohesion and enhance the natural environment.

The Managing Agent will be appointed through a 10-year termed Management Agreement, which will be the subject of an annual review.

Please confirm in writing by 10 January 2025 if you would be interested in submitting a tender for this contract by emailing iankendall@thelandtrust.org.uk with your interest, or if you have any further questions.

Please note the timescales for the tender submission listed below.

Tender Documentation dispatched 10 January 2025
Questions & clarifications by 20 January 2025
Tender Returns 5pm. 30 January 2025
Land Trust Committee approval of preferred tender Feb/March 2025
Appointment of Managing Agent 1 April 2025