As we draw toward the end of a very difficult year, a few reflections…
At the end of March we had to pause our business for 10 weeks, following Government guidelines. We had the obvious concerns about what this would do to our Social Enterprise and when/ how would we recover from this unseen virus. We also started to think about what help we could offer to others in a less fortunate position and we were able to use our vehicles to help our local church deliver food boxes to isolating and vulnerable people in the community.
We were able to re-open to the public in June. We were surpised at how busy we were, not only in collecting waste timber from our clients but also with retail sales of timber to people that were still furloughed and were completing summer DIY projects. Hand sanitiser, social distancing and a big, open barn allowed us to maintain a safe environment for our customers.
We have still been able to support local community projects in providing free or ‘at cost’ timber. One exciting development is The Kiln at Burgess Hill. The intention is for this to become community space workshops covering woodwork and leather work amongst others. We look forward to this opening in 2021.
As we move in to 2021 and Tier 4 is in effect, we will still be able to operate our waste timber collection service – working with our construction and manufacturing clients in a safe environment. Our barn will remain open Sunday to Friday 10-4pm, as the selling of building supplies is permitted in the Govt. guidelines. As previously, hand sanitiser, masks and social distancing will be in effect.