STAFF at Cumbria Wildlife Trust are preparing to move out of cramped offices near Windermere into a new dedicated headquarters on the outskirts of Kendal, reports Victoria Clark.

Next week, the trust's 20 staff will pack up the offices at the Lake District National Park Authority visitor centre at Brockhole and relocate up the road to new premises off the Crook Road near the Plumgarths roundabout.

Trust director Peter Bullard said staff were extremely excited about the move.

He said it heralded a new era for the charity, which this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

The new centre, which has been converted from five holiday apartments, will have offices and meeting rooms, with plenty of space for staff, trustees, volunteers and members.

It will also have a reception area where members of the public can pop into to find out about the trust, its work and events.

Mr Bullard said the new headquarters had plenty of space for parking, and was easy to get to, so he hoped people would be encouraged to make a visit.

The property also has the benefit of being set in its own grounds, which trust staff are keen use for events and educational visits.

"Everyone's really looking forward to it," said Mr Bullard.

"There will just be so much more space for staff and volunteers who come in to help.

"It's going to be a new era for the trust."

As previously reported in the Gazette, the trust has rented office space at Brockhole for the last six years, but as the number of staff grew, space became increasingly cramped and a search was started to find new headquarters.

Mr Bullard said for a long time there was nothing suitable in the right size or in the

preferred location in or around Kendal until the Plumgarths building came on the market earlier in the year.

Once planning permission for the change of use was secured, work began on some minor alterations in time for the move, which starts next Monday.

Mr Bullard said an opening ceremony would be held early in the New Year.