The project called Joined-Up Holidays was born of an idea formed by three people who all worked in different sectors of Health and Social Care. These three individuals recognised the acute shortage of good quality respite and holiday placements available for disabled and disadvantaged people. After several informal meetings together and some initial research the group decided to launch a new charity to address this problem using Paradise Farm at Woodland as our base. The owners had recently obtained planning permission to convert a cow byre on the premises to a single story dwelling and the byre was located in a pleasant rural location within Woodland village with 7 acres of land. This provided an opportunity to build a fully accessible wheelchair friendly site with farm based activities for people who may find it difficult to access holidays or respite. It has long been recognised that animals and nature have therapeutic effects on people and the founding members of Joined-Up Holidays wanted to offer these opportunities to disadvantaged children and adults. It is also intended that the project will provide local jobs and volunteering opportunities as well as training, personal development and practical education about nature, the food chain, wildlife and the environment. 

On Thursday 24th August 2006 a group of 5 people met for the first time and agreed to act as directors of the company to be called Joined-Up Holidays and to later become trustees of the charity of the same name. Over the next 18 months the group met 9 times.  By February 2008 the barn conversion at Paradise Farm was two thirds completed, the building was watertight with new walls and the roof complete and all 24 windows installed. 1st fix electrics and joinery were complete but the kitchen and bathrooms had not been installed, there was no plumbing, insulation, plastering or finished floors but considerable progress had been made in spite of the bad weather. A mining survey with implications for the building foundations had been completed, problems about the sewage and water supply were resolved and a bat habitat survey was undertaken satisfactorily by English Nature.

Every effort was made to ensure the house is as environmentally friendly as possible by using recycled and local materials. Apart from new corner stones and window sills/heads – which came from a local quarry - no additional stone was used in the construction of the building. The stone was recycled from redundant buildings and damaged walls on the site. Extra insulation was used in the walls, floors and roof space, water savings fittings are used in all the bathroms, a log buring fire was installed in the living room and low energy lighting used throughout the building. An energy survey was completed in August 2007 with the help of Alternative Energy Supplies which concluded the site would be an excellent location for a small wind turbine. As well as supplying some of our own electricity needs this turbine would be connected to the National Grid and enable us to sell electricity back to the suppliers. The planning application for the wind turbine was submitted to Teesdale District Council in January 2008. The site was also identified as suitable for a ground source heat pump which will be connected to the underfloor heating pipes at a later date.

The planned completion date for the house was May/June 2008, while outside several old outbuildings had been demolished and replaced by 3 new stables and a tack room. The remaining 2 stables, hay shed, kennels and additional animal housing will be completed at a later date, together with a natural pond, landscaping, tree and hedge planting, a “wild” garden, bird and bat boxes, a wildflower meadow and bird feeding stations.  

Below are some “before and after” photographs of the cow byre which give an idea of the scale of the work undertaken.

These photographs show the condition of the building before the building conversion was done. It had been used as a cow shed, milking palour, calf house and storage space for over 50 years. The west end had originally been 2 storeys but the top storey had to be removed when it became unsafe in 2001. The roadside boundary is marked by the white stones on the ground in the "before" photos and was replaced with a new dry stone wall.

A westerly view of the newly built barn conversion at Paradise Farm,
Woodland, May 2007.

The eastley view - the barn was increased in size by 68% with the addition of the northern wing which contains the living room, office and kitchen. The original part of the byre was converted into 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 ensuite) and an entrance/utility room with separate toilet and boiler room. The barn changed shape from roughly a “T” shape to an “H” shape during this process.

During the time the building work was taking place the trustees of Joined-Up Holidays successfully applied for a research and development grant of £1500 from the Scarman Trust in Sunderland. The trustees visited several other charities and holiday business in the area and gained valuable advice and information about the task ahead of them. These included a visit to the Daisy Chain at Stockton which is a new charity offering respite care for autistic children and a course in Equine Therapy in Scotland which helps children and adults with behavioural difficulties.

While the building work was taking place other trustees helped to write the Staff Manual, the Health and Safety Policy and several other policies and procedures which would be needed for the launch of the charity. Joined-Up Holidays was registered at Companies House on 1st February 2007 as a company limited by guarantee. The group completed a business plan, including financial projections, with the help of Wear Valley Enterprise agency and the charity 2D from Crook, by June 2007. After some delays the bank account for Joined-Up Holidays was opened at the Co-operative Bank, Skelmersdale on 4th September 2007 in line with the trustee’s policies about ethical trading. In November 2007 the trustees submitted an application to the Charity Commission - again with the help of 2D charity which supports and advises other community and charitable groups in the North of England. 

In the 18 months between our inaugural meeting of August 2006 and February 2008 Joined-Up Holidays had evolved from a vague idea to a physical reality with it’s own shape and form. After this robust start to our project, the trustees of Joined-Up Holidays were keen to build on our successes. The building work on the conversion of the cow byre at Paradise Farm, Woodland made good progress in the months between February and June 2008. The plumbing, 2nd fix electrics and joinery, bathrooms, kitchen, under-floor heating, fireplace with wood burning stove and polished concrete floors were all installed during that time. Extra insulation was used in the walls, floors and ceilings to reduce heating costs and the plastering, decorating and cleaning were all completed. The architects certificate and building regulations completion certificate were issued in June 2008.

New paths and ramps have been built outside, new dry stone walls and fencing helped to designate the garden and other boundaries and some landscaping has been completed. The natural pond was built and fenced for safety although further planting of trees, shrubs, seeds etc will continue over the next 2 years to help the pond mature. A third stable was built and some temporary kennels erected, compost systems for animal, kitchen and garden waste were installed. The “wild” garden was planted with native hedging and trees. Several bird feeding tables and nest boxes were installed around the property. A log pile of rotting wood was built in a corner between the wild garden and the new pond to encourage birds and wildlife such as rabbits, frogs and hedgehogs to make full use of all three.

 
In April 2008 two of the trustees went on a research visit to The Calvert Trust at Keilder, Northumberland as they offer specialist holidays and respite care for disabled people. The trip was very informative and gave an insight to the activities on offer there. By May 2008 the planning application for the wind turbine had been approved and the trustees began the search for funders for this project.

In June 2008 an application for £10K of funding for start up costs was submitted to Awards For All which is part of the Big Lottery Fund and this was approved in August.  The trustees agreed to use this for office equipment, books and games, brochures and stationary, white goods and kitchen equipment, bedding, towels linen etc, safety equipment and protective clothing for the visitors and staff. The Awards for All funding meant that Joined_up Holidays now had enough money in the bank to re-apply to the Charity Commission for registration. The Commission had also asked us to address some conflict of interest issues between Joined-Up Holidays and the Gardner’s interests in the property at Woodland. These issues were resolved to the satisfaction of the Charity Commission and the trustees held an extraordinary general meeting in November to amend the stated objects of Joined-Up Holidays as requested by the Commission.
 
In November we were successful in receiving 50% of the funding needed for the wind turbine and applications to Scottish Power Green Energy Trust are being made for the remaining funding required. The erection of the wind turbine and display unit  will greatly reduce the energy costs and carbon footprint of our organisation, as well as offering an excellent educational tool for visitors, staff and volunteers. Also in 2009 the group made a successful applications to the North East England Investment Centre for funding for a new website, branding, logo, letterheads and business cards with the help of Business Link. NEEIC has also asssisted us with funding for legal expenses and computerised accounts training. The Co-operative Bank Community Direct Fund has also awarded us £1000 towards the costs of establishing a sensory garden for our visitors to enjoy.

Significant progress has been made in the last 18 months towards our goal of opening a farm based respite and holiday centre for people with special needs. The main building is complete and work is continuing on the gardens, outhouses and animal housing.  The trustees have been successful in obtaining start up funds and help from other organisations such as Awards for All, 2D and Business Link. The charity registration was confirmed in December 2009 and this will allow us to apply for funding to cover our core costs in the first years and thus recruit staff and volunteers to the project. 2010 will be the year to consolidate our plans and to concentrate on raising funds to cover our core costs in the first year, also to complete the landscaping, gardens and facilities we need in place for our visitors. Plans are progressing for our launch/open day in April 2011, although it is intended we will be able to appoint staff before this date, and all the trustees are looking forward to seeing our first visitors arrive and enjoy their stay with us.