Kingfisher Barn Q&A

As autumn and winter approach, we want to let you know the seasonal opening hours for our community cafés and visitor centre.

As in previous years, our cafés will have reduced opening throughout the autumn and winter, and opening times will be earlier in line with daylight hours – this includes Alexandra Park Café, Redhill Park Café, and Winton Park Café.

As last year, Boscombe Chine Gardens Café and mini golf will close during the winter months.

Based on past visitor numbers coupled with seasonal flooding, we will also alter the opening times at Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre for the autumn/ winter season, including a period of closure.

Autumn and winter opening hours for Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre are detailed below.

• 30 Sept – 22 Dec: Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 – 16:00
• Open Monday 28 Oct – Sunday 3 Nov (Half Term), 10:00 – 16:00
• Closed from 23 Dec until April 2025.

The Kingfisher Barn volunteer gardening club held outdoors at the site will run throughout, and maintenance of the area will remain with BCP Council. We will use the winter period to plan for the installation of raised vegetable beds to go alongside the new outdoor classroom, as well as future events and activities.

All four of our community cafés and Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre will reopen seven days a week for the summer season from April 2025.

Q&A

Due to this being the first year that we have altered the opening times at Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre, we have provided some additional information to help explain our decisions:

Why are you closing Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre over winter?  Due to regular winter flooding from the adjacent River Stour resulting in the inability for people to access the footpath, we know that visitor numbers to Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre are significantly reduced in the colder, wetter months. We commonly have days when we receive no visitors whatsoever. Unfortunately, the heating, lighting, etc still have to be paid, along with staff, meaning we are running it at a loss for much of the year.

So what’s the bottom line?  Being a charity, we have to adhere to charity law and other regulations which state we may not make a financial loss. We are reliant on donations from members of the public and on grants from Trusts and from local companies, and we have clear rules that we must be prudent about how we use those donations. As with all UK registered charities, we are regulated and open to scrutiny from the Charities Commission and from the Fundraising Regulator.

Will the toilets be open?  No, similarly to our community cafés, the toilets located inside Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre cannot be accessed whilst the centre is closed. Although we understand that most people who use the Visitor Centre in the winter months live locally, we do recognise that toilet access – especially for those with young children, disabilities, etc. – is really important. The aim of our publicising the new opening times at our cafes and visitor centre (via social media, our website, local media, etc) is so that people are given advanced notice and can plan their walks and park visits accordingly.

Who will keep the area clean?  Maintenance of the area (along with all the other parks mentioned above) will remain with BCP Council.

Why can’t volunteers keep the Visitor Centre open instead of staff?  Our charity couldn’t achieve all that it does without our wonderful 200+ volunteers. Legally, however, we cannot impose requirements on volunteers around opening days and times. For insurance purposes, whilst open a member of staff must be on site at all times. There are also other legal and regulatory considerations, such as health and safety requirements, first aid training, risk management, etc., that cannot legally be managed solely by volunteers.

Why were people not consulted?  As explained, the charity was required to make this financial decision. However, we recognise that we have disappointed some of our volunteers and those who visit the Stour Valley, for which we are truly sorry.

Why doesn’t BCP Council run it over winter instead of The Parks Foundation?  As per BCP Council’s medium term financial plan, funding for Kingfisher Barn has been removed as part of their progress towards delivering a sustainable balanced budget.

I want to use the outdoor classroom – can I still do so when you’re closed?  No, due to health and safety issues with the pond, the outdoor classroom is inaccessible until April 2025. However, if you would like to book private use of Kingfisher Barn, the outdoor classroom, or one of our other cafés for a community event, activity, company meeting, etc., please contact Dan Dean, our Area Trading Manager, to discuss your request: dan@parksfoundation.org.uk

Published September 2024