Council leaders to consider funding for Winnie-the-Pooh centenary
A conservation charity could receive half-a-million pounds of council funding for a series of events to mark the 100-year anniversary of Winnie the Pooh
A conservation charity could be set to receive half-a-million pounds of council funding to support a programme of events to mark the 100-year anniversary of Winnie the Pooh.
On Wednesday, September 3, Wealden District Council’s cabinet is set to decide whether to provide up to £450,000 to The Ashdown Forest Foundation (TAFF), in order to aid the registered charity in holding a series of events to mark the beloved character’s centenary.
With the real-life Ashdown Forest serving as inspiration for Pooh creator A. A. Milne’s 100 Acre Wood, both the council and charity hope to use the occasion as a way to both drive tourism and to ensure the forest is safeguarded for future generations.
In a report to cabinet, a council spokesman said: “The council has been engaged in positive discussions with TAFF and the wider group for over three years. Having provided funding in 2025 to develop the programme and commission a delivery team, the project is moving to a phase where our formal support and funding are essential to ensure that the project can be delivered.
“This project is of national cultural significance, aligning a landmark year in the A. A. Milne history alongside linking Hundred Acre Wood to Ashdown Forest. Resonating with audiences across the UK for the future.”
The spokesman added:“Making this commitment to funding at this stage, will enable TAFF and the council to work with Arts Council England to leverage in further significant funding.
“This landmark series of events will also encompass the launch of a Hundred Acre Membership scheme – a huge fundraising opportunity for the forest for next year, and for years to come ensuring the longer-term sustainability of Ashdown Forest.”
Part of the project is expected to include an installation, which would transform the forest’s visitor centre into a life-sized pop-up book. The cabinet report notes how this installation is intended to drive visitors to come to a ‘safe’ part of the forest without negative environmental impacts.
There are also plans to establish new walking trails, which would be designed to avoid protected sites and keep visitors on an official footpath. These educational walks will be signposted with illustrations of the original characters.
In their report, officers note how the £450,000 would be pulled from earmarked reserves and paid in arrears. Officers note it would be a large amount of funding to be awarded “to what is considered a relatively small organisation, but say the
The report reads: “Without this level of funding centenary celebrations will go ahead nationally without profiling TAFF or the region’s importance to these influential local stories. The ability to realise an ambition holistic regional offer with multiple benefits is key to this project.
“Without the funding there would likely be a significant loss of earmarked match funding from wider national and regional stakeholders, meaning the ability to realise a holistic regional offer with multiple benefits would be lost. The opportunity to open up the forest to new-to-nature people would also be lost, meaning health and wellbeing benefits for all would also not be realised.
“In addition, it would also risk delivering short-term but disruptive impacts on the local community, causing lasting harm to the forest’s unique ecosystem, and missing a vital opportunity to create a meaningful legacy for both the forest and the wider cultural sector and economy across the district.”
Officers go on to say lower levels of funding were considered, but discounted as it would have presented challenges for TAFF’s other funding bids.
The report adds: “This level of funding will give confidence to other potential funders, including ACE, that the event will be well managed and that further contributions will only enhance the celebrations.”