Bench Sponsorship Policy

Sponsorship terms

Sponsored benches at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum cost £2,200. This includes a hand made Oak bench with brass plaque engraved with a message of your choice for a sponsorship period of 10 years.

Your bench sponsorship is treated as a donation to the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (The Friends) at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum (Registered Charity No. 293190). This donation covers the purchase of the bench and plaque including VAT, delivery, installation and engraving. Any remaining funds are used for the maintenance and repair costs during the 10-year guaranteed sponsorship period in addition to supporting the upkeep of Westonbirt Arboretum.

Bench sponsorship process and timings

Please complete the online bench enquiry form for your chosen bench as displayed on The Friends’ website, you will be asked to make the donation of £2,200 at this point. You will be contacted by The Friends to confirm your bench sponsorship and to provide the message for your plaque inscription. The bench will be made to order at this point. Once the message has been received, a plaque proof will be requested and you will have the opportunity to make any desired changes to your message. Only once you have confirmed that you are happy to proceed will the plaque inscription be ordered.

It can take 6-8 weeks for the bench to be made and delivered and a further 2 weeks for the plaque and bench to be installed in the arboretum (max. 10 weeks). You will be contacted by The Friends when the bench has been installed and is ready to visit, this will include a picture of the bench and map location.

If you have any queries or concerns about the process please contact The Friends via donations@fowa.org.uk or via the bench enquiry form on our website.

Waitlist

Occasionally, we will need to employ a waitlist if requests for bench sponsorship outnumber the number of benches that are available for sponsorship. Bench availability is reviewed on an annual basis and so it can take up to a year before we are able to release new bench spaces.

You can be added to our bench sponsorship waitlist by completing the bench enquiry form on The Friends’ website. We will confirm that you have been added to the waitlist and will use the email address provided to contact you should a bench become available. You can let us know a preferred location and we will do our best to match you, however, this cannot be guaranteed. We will contact people in order of the waitlist when benches become available.

Lifespan and repairs

Benches have a guaranteed lifespan at Westonbirt Arboretum for a minimum period of 10 years from the date of installation.

The site owners, Forestry England, are responsible for carrying out annual checks on benches and ensuring that the benches are safe for public use. The benches may not be cleaned, varnished or painted after installation and sponsors may not attempt to undertake maintenance themselves. Please inform a member of staff at the Welcome Building if repair work needs to be undertaken or contact The Friends via donations@fowa.org.uk.

At times, Forestry England may need to remove the bench to undertake minor repairs. Forestry England will alert The Friends should a bench need to be removed for any purpose. We, (The Friends) will endeavor to contact you via the contact information we hold for you should your bench need to be temporarily removed for maintenance. Your sponsorship period will not be extended if your bench is temporarily removed for this purpose, unless it is considered extenuating circumstances at the discretion of The Friends. The bench will be replaced in its original location once repaired.

We endeavour to maintain all benches to a high standard. If the bench is deemed to be beyond simple repair the bench will be replaced at cost to The Friends if it is within the 10-year minimum guarantee.

At the end of the sponsorship period and renewing sponsorship

At the end of the 10-year sponsorship period the bench will be removed. We will contact you prior to the end of the sponsorship period and offer you the opportunity to renew sponsorship of the bench at the standard cost of bench sponsorship applicable at that time. This will include a new bench and plaque and a further sponsorship period of 10 years.

You will also be offered the plaque from the previous bench which can be sent by post or arranged to be collected from the arboretum.

If we are unable to contact you or no response is received within 1 month of the sponsorship ending or you are no longer interested in continuing sponsorship, the bench location will become available for others to sponsor.

Sponsor contact information

It is the responsibility of the bench sponsor to update The Friends of changes to contact information e.g. email address, phone number and postal address. From time to time, we may need to contact you with information regarding your bench such as temporary removal for maintenance. We will attempt to contact you annually via email to prompt you to let us know of any changes to your contact information.

Bench specifics

All benches are made to order and are therefore non-refundable.

The style of the benches is fixed and supplied by our chosen supplier, benches of alternative styles or ‘donated’ benches cannot be accepted.

Each bench is unique, and the Oak timber is carefully selected for the best qualities however they may have natural blemishes, knots, discolouration, and other features.

The location of each bench is determined by the site owners, Forestry England. Depending on availability, you may have a choice of bench location at the time of making your donation and initiating bench sponsorship. Once the location has been chosen and agreed for your bench, you will not be able to have it moved to another location during the 10-year sponsorship period.

Forestry England reserves the right to move benches from time to time under exceptional circumstances. Forestry England will inform The Friends should a sponsored bench need to be moved for any purpose. We, (The Friends) will endeavor to contact you via the contact information we hold for you should your bench need to be temporarily moved. Your sponsorship period will not be extended if your bench is temporarily moved, unless it is considered extenuating circumstances at the discretion of The Friends.

Plaque and inscription

All plaques are made to order and are therefore non-refundable.

The style of the plaques and inscription font used is fixed and supplied by our chosen supplier, plaques of alternative styles cannot be accepted. Each plaque is numbered to easily identify the bench and its location, this cannot be removed.

The plaque inscription message can be personalized with x5 lines of 23 characters (115 characters in total).

Please take care when choosing your plaque messaging, the plaque will remain on the bench throughout your 10-year sponsorship period. You will be able to review a proof before committing to ordering the plaque. Once confirmation of the message has been received by the sponsor we will be unable to edit the message without incurring additional charges to the sponsor. The Friends reserve the right to refuse any unsuitable messaging.

The plaques are made of brass and as such weather over time to a dark patina. We provide a complimentary plaque cleaning kit at the Welcome Building should you wish to take care of your plaque. Please note we do not take responsibility for any discolouration of the bench or plaque that may naturally occur over time or when using a brass cleaner.

Commemorations & memorabilia

Please do not bring flowers, statues, vases, wreaths or other personal items to surround or decorate the bench. If any such items are attached to or placed near the benches they will be removed. You are not permitted to bring any external plant life or material into the arboretum, staff have the right to confiscate any such material for immediate incineration. Plant material could be harboring pests and diseases that can infect and damage the tree collection at the arboretum.