GETTING
COVID
SECURE
Martin Fullard meets
the first venue to join the
Covid-19 effort, and explores
what others are doing ahead
of reopening
n February 2020, Kents Hill Park
Training and Conference Centre in
Milton Keynes became the first
UK events venue to be employed
in the fight against Covid-19. Kents
Hill Park, which is part of The Venue
Collection, was used by the
government to quarantine around
150 British citizens and their families
who were flown from Wuhan City in
China back to the UK.
“We received confirmation on the
Wednesday night and had three
days to get the venue ready for the
guests’ arrival early Sunday
morning,” explains Joanne Barratt,
MD of The Venue Collection. “We
quickly created a plan, incorporating
procedures for informing existing
clients and finding them alterative
venues, communication with venue
staff and a detailed focus on the
27
customer
Venues
journey through
the site. We planned in great detail
for every eventuality to ensure that
we were prepared for all possible
scenarios.”
The site was chosen because it
was close to Milton Keynes
University Hospital, offered
appropriate and secure
accommodation and other facilities
for the families; Kents Hill Park has
over 300 bedrooms, so each family
was able to have their own
self-contained living area. There
were some practical considerations;
each family needed their own small
kitchen area, so 80 fridges and 80
microwaves were sourced in 24
hours.
Kents Hill Park comprises four
separate but interconnected
buildings which meant it offered the
ideal layout to create a ‘Green Zone’
and a ‘Red Zone’ to the site. “NHS
staff came on site on the Friday and
operated the Red Zone (where the
guests were in quarantine), while
our employees were only allowed in
the Green Zone and therefore didn’t
have any direct contact with
guests,” said Barratt. “Being part of
Compass Group UK & Ireland
helped enormously; we worked very
closely with Mark Armstrong who is
health and safety director for
Compass and his experience and
knowledge was invaluable.”
“We have a duty of care to protect
our employees, and they were
amazing,” continues Barratt, “there
was no obligation or pressure for
them to work; everyone who was
there had chosen to do so. They
coped brilliantly and even gave
guests heart shaped cookies for
Valentine’s Day, celebrated a
birthday with cake and balloons and
sourced infant formula for a
three-month-old baby. Once
restrictions had lifted a little, they
set up a games room, outdoor
activities including a trampoline and
an open kitchen with a wider range
of meals.”
The Kents Hill Park team worked
with the guests to ensure their stay
was the best it could be: “Our
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