WISH YOU WERE THERE? FAMILY SET FOR LIFE ON REMOTE ISLAND

Derby Telegraph 27^th June 2013

Belper, Derbyshire

Sarah, Tim and daughter Lucy

St. Helena

Location map

A FAMILY have swapped life in landlocked Derbyshire to live and work on one of the most remote islands in the world.

Tim and Sarah Troman, along with their two-year-old daughter, Lucy, have left behind their Belper home and are on their way to Saint Helena - a British territory in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa.

They are moving there because Sarah has secured a job as capital programme manager, overseeing projects that improve the island’s infrastructure.

At present, the island is only accessible by boat and one of the projects she will work on is the creation of an airstrip.

In the past, Sarah has been involved with regeneration projects in Derby through her work with now defunct regeneration company Derby Cityscape.

The Tromans have already started their journey to the island, where they will be joining a population of just over 4,200 people.

But because Saint Helena has no airport, they have had to travel on an RAF flight to Ascension Island - another remote British territory island in the South Atlantic.

From there, the family will take a boat trip on HMS St. Helena{15} to their final destination.

Once there, they will live on the island for two years, which means Tim and Susan have both had to quit their jobs back in Derbyshire.

Sarah worked for Derby City Council and Tim was sales director of Alfreton-based manufacturing firm Amberol.

Sarah said: “It was sad to say goodbye to everybody. I enjoyed my time working in regeneration in Derby.”

“I hope when we next come back for a visit lots of projects will be completed or well under way.”

“It feels pretty strange to leave but now that most of our stuff is on a container ship headed for Cape Town, there’s no going back!”

Before embarking on the trip, Tim, who was Amberol’s first employee when he joined the firm in 1983, said he would miss his colleagues.

He said: “While the Saint Helena project is a fantastic opportunity, I will miss the staff at Amberol who have become friends as well as colleagues. They are like extended family.”

Amberol’s marketing director, John Williamson, said: “We were sorry to see Tim go after so many years.”

“He has played a crucial role in the company’s growth. We wish him and his family all the best in this exciting new phase of his life.”

Tim will be spending his time on Saint Helena looking after daughter Lucy, while Sarah works on the 47-square-mile island.

Discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena is perhaps most famous for being home to Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile in the 19^th century.

Because of the island’s remoteness, the Tromans will keep in touch with friends and family via the internet.

Tim has started a blog called Tim’s Just Like Living In Paradise, where he has so far been describing life on Ascension Island and posting pictures.

In one of his most recent posts, Tim wrote: “The first thing that hits you is the heat but I guess we will get used to that.”

“The island initially doesn’t look that attractive but as you spend more time wandering around it is quite beautiful and the beaches are stunning, although the sea is not safe to swim in due to the strong currents.”

“The overriding factor here is just how friendly everyone is. Literally you spend all day waving at complete strangers.”

ATLANTIC STAR AIRLINES PLOTS CAPE TOWN - ST. HELENA - EUROPE FROM 2016

ch-aviations 12^th June 2013

Atlantic Star Airlines is a start-up founded by three ex-British Airways pilots with plans to begin flights from the British Overseas Territory of St. Helena, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, to the United Kingdom using a B757-200 WIN. According to their business plan, flights will initially operate once weekly routed Cape Town - Saint Helena - Southern Europe - London with an additional first sector from Johannesburg O.R. Tambo to be added once demand has picked up. Thereafter, frequencies will be increased to “two or three” flights per week. Operations will only begin once the airport on St. Helena, still under construction, is completed and certified in early 2016.

More information at www.atlantic-star-airlines.com.

ST. HELENA AIRPORT TO OPEN FEBRUARY 2016; ON LINE SURVEY TO ASSESS TRAVEL POTENTIAL

Merco Press 28^th May 2013

Image of St. Helena’s planned new airport bulding

Matt Joshua of ‘The Journey Tourism’ has been commissioned by Enterprise St. Helena to assess visitor potential for the island.

“An important part of this is assessing the potential level of travel by Saints living on the island and living overseas.”

Matt hopes that St. Helenians living in the Falklands will take the time to complete a survey online atwww.surveymonkey.com/s/SaintsOverseas in order to assess that travel.

According to the Falklands 2012 census almost 420 St. Helenians are living in the Islands, two thirds of them at the Mount Pleasant complex.

As one of the leading communities in the Falklands, Saint Helenians celebrated their day last week with a reception held at Government House in Stanley.

Acting Governor Sandra Tyler-Haywood welcomed everyone to the event which celebrated the anniversary of the discovery of their island home more than 500 years ago.

Mrs Tyler-Haywood said it was fair to say that while the Falklands and St. Helena enjoyed very different climates, the islands do have much in common.

The reception was, she said, an opportunity to celebrate the common bonds that the Falklands and St. Helena have, not just as UK Overseas Territories but also as island people.

The St. Helena airport is under construction since early 2012 and is scheduled to open in February 2016, by which time the RMS Saint Helena, the only regular ship to call at St. Helena, will be retired.

A total amount of £201.5 million has been funded by the British government for design and construction of the airport which will be carried out by South African engineering group Basil Read (Pty) Ltd. Additional funds of up to £10 million in shared risk contingency, and £35.1 million for ten years of operation by South-African airport operator Lanseria Airport have also been granted by the UK Government.

The airport will be the largest single investment ever made in the island.

Saint Helena has a known history of over 500 years since its recorded discovery by the Portuguese in 1502.

Claiming to be Britain’s second oldest colony, it is one of the most isolated islands in the world and was for several centuries of vital strategic importance to ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. For several centuries, the British used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon Bonaparte.

Most historical accounts state the island was discovered on May 21, 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, on his voyage home from India, and that he named it Santa Helena after Helena of Constantinople.

OPERATION ST. HELENA: THE TABLE HAS LANDED...

napoleon.org 24^th May 2013

“Operation St. Helena” was marked this week by a newsworthy event. After a long journey by boat and road, thirty pieces of furniture from Longwood House have arrived at Château de Bois-Préau, where they will be taken care of by a team of specialists as part of the restoration process. Amongst the historic pieces are a billiard table, Napoleon’s globes, a dining table and console tables. We can’t show you anything but the boxes that these treasures are kept in; like the in the Little Prince, you’ll have to imagine what they contain until 28 May, when unpacking will start. The restoration, to be followed by an exhibition running in 2016, probably at the Musée de l’Armée, was made possible thanks to the generosity of nearly 2,000 donors to Operation St. Helena, initiated by the Domaines nationaux de St Hélène, the Fondation Napoléon, the French Foreign Ministry and the Souvenir Napoléonien. It’s still possible to make a contribution online. Sixty pieces of furniture related to Napoleon’s exile remain on St. Helena. They however are to be restored in situ on the island. The government of St. Helena is making a substantial donation of £80,000 for this. As a result a French restoration specialist can go to the island to train young apprentices there. We should congratulate Michel Dancoisne-Martineau, curator of the Domaines and the honorary French consul, who has been the lynchpin of all of the work, negotiations, transfers, journeys and a hundred other things beside.

Thierry Lentz, Director of the Fondation Napoléon

ANOTHER PHOTO OF ST. HELENA FROM SPACE

Cmdr Chris Hadfield, one of the astronauts on the International Space Station, snapped this shot of St. Helena and posted it on Twitter.

(Thanks to St. Helena Online for alerting us to the image.)

Our comment:

Given the importance to St. Helena of fishing we think maybe this image should become part of the national flag.

WORKING LIVES: MY MASTER PLAN FOR HOUSING ON THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA

The Guardian 19^th March 2013

St. Helena is like an atom, packing an awful lot more in it that you’d think. You can drive from France to Scotland via St Paul’s Cathedral in about half an hour. For £20 you can go deep sea fishing and keep as many 100kg (15st 2lb) tuna as you can land. I’ve seen dolphins leaping in the sea off the coast, humpback whales berthing off Jamestown and whalesharks swimming alongside boats.

St. Helena, part of the British overseas territory and off the south west coast of Africa, is home to the world’s rarest tree and the oldest Anglican church south of the equator. More confusingly, the most popular music genre here is country and western. Membership of the remotest golf club in the world costs £24 a year including all green fees, and I can watch most Southampton FC games via a South African TV link.

The island faces a lot of social challenges. New social homes are needed for both households on the waiting list and those being rehoused to make way for hotels. Capital investment in public services has not been matched by the funding to maintain them, so the hospital, schools, roads, utilities, prison and fire service are all competing with housing for reduced funding.

Local people are sceptical; they want fewer strategies and more results. So where to start?

I decided to begin with an Audit Commission-style review, which is a discipline I’d recommend to anyone starting a senior management job in housing. With social rents reflecting current incomes at around £18 a week, there has been little money for repairs and tenancy management. Resident consultation is still in its infancy.

Homes which were once fit for purpose now fall well below modern standards. One in 10 public sector homes lacks an inside toilet and none have a piped hot water supply. Most roofs are made of asbestos and are starting to fail. I’ve met stoic elderly tenants who have few complaints about homes where the bathroom and kitchen is on the other side of the courtyard and where outside toilets are around the corner.

We now have a list of 20 improvements for the housing management service. We have also set a new national minimum housing standard, started the first ever tenant consultation exercise, secured urgent funding to stop me having nightmares about fire safety, and found help for finance staff responsible for tackling rent arrears.

The most popular way to introduce yourself is not necessarily to increase rents by £1, but we need to generate income without hammering those on the margins of employment. It’s not just about rents; it’s about welfare benefits too.

We’ve commissioned master plans and land surveys for the three largest development sites. I have launched an international design competition for homes that are healthier and greener than traditional properties. There have been enquiries from all around the world, and it’s been worth for the publicity for the island alone.

The first new home for the island’s donkeys - a pretty solid structure with a concrete base and recycled steel columns and will have spectacular views from the fields above Lemon Valley. Basil Reed, the airport builders, built it as a goodwill gesture to the island.

We still have a long way to go to deliver real results through housing. The housing service remains fragmented and the island has no true housing market. Performance and project management is in its infancy, building costs are high and international investors won’t show their hand until the airport opens.

I’ve only been here four months so far but there’s a lot to do.

Andy Crowe is housing executive for the government of St. Helena. A more in depth account of his experiences can be found at solenthousing.co.uk while details of the design competition and the first St. Helena housing newsletter can be viewed the Government of St. Helena website.

MANTIS TO DEVELOP NEW HOTEL ON SAINT HELENA, ISLAND IN SOUTH ATLANTIC

Luxury Travel Magazine 22^nd February 2013

Mantis, a collection of privately owned boutique hotels and eco escapes around the world, announces its latest project will be the development of a five star hotel on the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean.

As one of the most remote places in the world, more than 1,200 miles from the nearest major landmass and with its rich flora and fauna, the island certainly fits with Mantis’ mantra of “unearthing the exceptional”.

A team of six from Mantis, including founder and chairman Adrian Gardiner, visited the island in January of this year and identified Ladder Hill Fort as the location for the five star hotel, which will have 45 bedrooms, including 10 self-catering units, a restaurant, spa and fitness facilities.

Mantis aims to commence construction towards the end 2013 and opening the hotel in 2015. The island, which is currently accessed by the last commercially operating U.K. Royal Mail Ship, will be opening its own airport in January 2016.

A major priority for the project will be the restoration of the fort, ensuring it is sensitive to its history, the environment and the local community, something which Mantis has experience with from the 2011 refurbishment of 16^th century country house hotel, Ellenborough Park, Cheltenham.

In addition to its development knowledge, Mantis will also be bringing its hospitality, education and conservation experience to the island. A special focus will be put on supporting the local community and the natural environment. The 47 square miles island has a population of 4,257.

Gardiner said “Saint Helena is unique - the waters that surround it, the forest, the potential for the hospitality industry - and I am hugely excited for our brand to be involved in this major tourism development for the island. The Mantis philosophy is unearthing the exceptional and Saint Helena is no doubt one of the exceptional. We plan to add value wherever we can to make the tourism industry on this island a success, drawing on our own experience, from supporting the island’s marketing plans to training its community and championing conservation work, an issue very close to my heart.”

More information about Mantis can be found at www.mantiscollection.com