The commission of garden furniture to the local areas in the south west, must fit into strict economical and eco-friendly thresholds.  We have outlined below the proposed selections for the forthcoming contracts for outdoor furnishings, including park benches, stately homes furniture, and publicly owned pub gardens.

Sustainable Furniture Sources

The Winawood™ Garden Bench

Thankfully, early in 2014, we came across a supplier called Garden Centre Shopping UK, who supplied something called a Winawood™ garden bench, which looks very similar to the previous teak benches that were commissioned, but solves the issue of maintenance costs that we had with the previous set of benches.  These benches also give the appearance of real wood, with a built in grain effect which makes them look far more authentic, and allows them to fit into lots of contemporary, and traditional gardens and parks alike.

-> New article on Winawood furniture

Their range of all weather garden furniture is by far the best available on the internet in 2017, and we highly recommend them to all UK buyers looking for Winawood, or Majestique reclining furniture.

The video below is given for reference of the Winawood™ product only, and should not be considered glorification or promotion of the product in question.

Application Of This Furniture And The Appropriate Funding

Priced at roughly £209 for the 2 seater variety, and £239 for the 3 seater variety, the investment required for these large changes to the area required some initial support from local supporters.  One of the ways we funded the 50+ benches needed, was offering the opportunity to sponsor the benches for a fee, having a plaque engraved with the name of a loved one or friend.  This idea gained traction at one of the local Sunday gardening events in the area, and helped raise over £5000 for the project.

Future Development of Parks and Rural Public Areas

We are currently looking into whether it is viable to use the same material used for the furniture, for other functions on public footpaths and picnic areas.  The annual savings that could be had on from the reduction in weather damage to public furniture and footpath styles, could reach in excess of £3000, and so the initial investment would make a sizeable return in the long run.  However, for this change we would need another substantial donation, so into the new year we will be running a similar campaign to 2014.  If you would like to donate to the project, please contact us, on info@sw-ruralgateway.info.