Hi Ally,
After experimenting with the toolset on the Beta Cluster for the last
couple of weeks, I’m getting close to uploading content onto Commons proper
This is wonderful to hear. I had a quick look at our images on the Beta Cluster, this looks good.
but still don’t have access to the toolset there. Could I therefore be given access?
You may request access on < https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Bureaucrats%27_noticeboard%3E. Please provide a short rationale of why you need it and what you are planning to do. Folks there might ask you some precisions but nothing daunting :)