THE PRINCE OF WALES WILL UNDERTAKE ENGAGEMENTS IN NEWQUAY
FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 2020
Engagement 1
The Prince of Wales, Patron, Campaign for Wool, will visit Celtic Sheepskin & Co. Ltd. to mark the firm’s 30th anniversary.
His Royal Highness will tour the Celtic Sheepskin & Co. Ltd. warehouse, meeting staff members as they explain the production process of their slippers from raw sheepskin to finished item ready for sale. The Prince will then join a small reception for longstanding employees, company stakeholders and representatives from the Campaign for Wool in the shop. Before departing, His Royal Highness will unveil a plaque to mark the company’s 30th anniversary.
Nick and Kath Whitworth started Celtic Sheepskin & Co. Ltd. 30 years ago as a small boot-making business, with just seven pairs in stock, teaching themselves how to sew. The manufacturing side of the business is still at the heart of its operations and the wide range of sheepskin boots, slippers and accessories are still made by hand in the factory in Newquay.
The company passionately believes in maintaining British manufacture, enabling them to employ local people that may otherwise find it difficult to find work in the winter months in Cornwall, while shipping to customers in over 60 countries. Celtic & Co. employs 52 permanent staff and achieved £8.9m turnover at year end Jan 2020.
In recognition of international growth in recent years, the company was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2018 for International Trade.
Sustainability has always been at the heart of the business and as pioneers of the slow fashion movement, Celtic & Co. only ever create styles that will stand the test of time both in quality and design. Only sustainable materials such as wool, sheepskin and linen are used to create these products.
Engagement 2
The Prince of Wales will attend a reception to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cornish based charity Surfers Against Sewage and officially open the Nansledan development’s new school.
Surfers Against Sewage
Cornwall based charity Surfers Against Sewage was founded in May 1990 in response to chronic and widespread sewage pollution of the UK coastline. At that time, only a quarter of UK beaches would have passed the minimum bathing water standards now in place. Today over 98% of UK beaches pass these standards, benefitting the ocean, beaches and everyone that enjoys the country’s coastline for surfing, swimming, sailing and recreation. Surfers Against Sewage works with over 100,000 community volunteers around the UK, protecting our beaches for the future. The charity founded the Plastic Free Community movement, now active in 650 locations nationwide, and the Plastic Free Schools initiative which will reach 1.3 million school children in 2020. The charity will be rolling out an ambitious programme of marine conservation in 2020, and setting out a vision for the decade ahead, tackling issues including plastic pollution, climate change, habitat loss and water pollution.
In 2015, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall joined Surfers Against Sewage in its Ocean Plastic Awareness Day at Fistral Beach in Newquay. In 2018 Their Royal Highnesses visited the Surfers Against Sewage headquarters at Wheal Kitty, St Agnes for a follow up event promoting the solutions to plastic pollution, which highlighted just how much progress is being made across society by individuals, communities and businesses.
Skol Nansledan
The two-form entry, 14-classroom Nansledan School (‘Skol Nansledan’ in Cornish) opened its doors to its first intake of pupils in September 2019. Operated by the Aspire Academy Trust, its mission is to provide an outstanding education that ensures all pupils can reach their greatest potential and live by life’s highest values. The innovative STEAM curriculum is built around the principles of active discovery and experiential learning, using Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points.
Originally established as a single academy trust in 2010, the Aspire Academy Trust now comprises 28 primary academies across Cornwall, from Carbis Bay in the West to Bude in the North East. Each academy proudly retains its own identity and sense of place in the local community but as a member of the Aspire family, better provision, richer resources, higher standards and exceptional learning experiences can be ensured for all.
Nansledan
Nansledan is a 540-acre extension to the coastal town of Newquay on the north coast of Cornwall in South West England. The name is Cornish for ‘broad valley’. The development embodies the principles of architecture and urban planning championed by HRH The Prince of Wales.
It is being led by the Duchy of Cornwall, which owns most of the land that will make up Nansledan. The Duchy is a private estate established in 1337 which funds the public, charitable and private activities of The Prince of Wales and his family. The Prince has long been concerned with the quality of the natural and built environment, urging a return to sustainable human-scale development that is land-efficient, uses low-carbon materials and is less car dependant. His vision is to plan connected urban centres where mixed-income housing, shops, offices and leisure facilities combine so that daily needs can be met within walkable neighbourhoods.
To date, 344 homes have been completed in Nansledan. Over time, it will evolve into a community of more than 4,000 homes supporting a similar number of jobs through its own High Street and public facilities, helping to meet the future needs of Newquay in a complementary and sustainable way.
