"Martin Cooke has provided invaluable assistance and support to Bournemouth Borough Council in the development of the Hengistbury Head Visitor Centre project. His knowledge and experience of the Heritage Lottery Fund application process was a key factor in our successful application for funding. We are delighted to have appointed Martin to continue to assist the Council and its partners in the delivery of the project through to 2013 and the Centre's opening."

Stuart Clarke

Conservation and Countryside Manager

Bournemouth Borough Council

Hengistbury Head is a nationally and internationally renowned landmark in respect of its ecology, archaeology and geology. It covers an area of approximately 162 hectares and is situated at the eastern-most point of the Borough of Bournemouth. It is an integral part of the Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that includes the estuarine harbour and Stanpit Marsh LNR in the Borough of Christchurch. As a whole, the Harbour complex forms a unique landscape that is a haven for both people and wildlife in an otherwise predominantly urban setting.

The site attracts approximately 1 million visitors a year and the site managers, Bournemouth Borough Council have long had aspirations for the development of a visitor centre on the site. With the achievement of a Heritage Lottery Fund round 1 pass in June 2009 the project to convert an existing Victorian barn on site to the new centre is now progressing.

Heritage & Leisure management, following their assistance in the re-submission of the HLF round 1 bid, were appointed to provide project development and activity planning services for the round 2 development stage of the project. In September 2011 the decision from HLF was announced with £432,000 being awarded. All funding is now in place for the project to proceed and H&L have been appointed to provide Project Advisor services for the implementation stage.   Further information on Hengistbury Head can be found at http://www.hengistburyhead.org