Since the project began two years ago, the Trust managing the project has identified more that could be done to enhance the tourism appeal of the Pumping Station, as well as creating new educational resources. These improvements will include engineering works to restore parts of the beam engines, the creation of better café facilities, new play equipment, the development of new teaching resources and a better equipped teaching area.

 

GNP has offered £100k to undertake these new improvements.

 

 

A Destination Management System (DMS) is an integrated computer system that uses information stored in a large database and adds functionality such as online bookings.

 

For tourism businesses, this means that business information and sales can be managed online. For the holidaymaker or visitor, this creates a virtual ‘one stop shop’, where accommodation, attractions, tickets, merchandise, etc across the county can be purchased.

 

Nottinghamshire’s DMS is being purchased from Marketing Birmingham Ltd and is presently under development using market leading software from WorldNet.

Notts LSC have compiled a 2-year, 6-point skills action plan which focuses upon those issues identified as most important by independent research with businesses across the sector (including hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs, sport/leisure facilities, entertainment venues and visitor attractions).

 

The LSC and Notts County Council have each set aside £80k for the delivery of the programme over the next 2 years.

 

Funding from the GNP of £25k p/a this year and next will enable the employment of a co-ordinator to ensure the delivery of action plan. The co-ordinator works on 6 strands of activity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branding and marketing is identified as the first key strand of the emda Tourism Strategy (2003) prepared by Locum Destination Consulting.

 

It recommends that we focus on brands that have the most appeal to visitors, because they either have “iconic” status already or are capable of achieving it.

 

Both Nottingham and Sherwood Forest are identified as such brands for the region.

 

The strategy then is to “attract and disperse” – to use the iconic brands to bring people to the region and once here persuade them to visit less well-known destinations in the vicinity.

 

Guided by Experience Nottinghamshire’s Image and Branding Panel, a new visual identity for Nottingham(shire) will be developed. The visual identity will subsequently be used in an integrated communications campaign, providing a promotional umbrella and a sense of place.

 

This project will build on this year’s work to begin the development of the brand. Purple Circle were appointed and will be consulting with key stakeholders to build up commitment and a sound basis on which to refine and test the brand.

 

The GNP contribution to the project is £50k. 

 

Recent emda research showed the extent to which events and festivals are an important part of the tourism offer in the East Midlands.

 

It highlighted that there was strong potential for increasing the visitor spend generated in the local economy through better marketing and branding.

 

The regional tourism strategy highlights the need to encourage events and festivals and to programme them effectively to avoid clashes and build attractive clusters of events.

 

The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire tourism strategy also recommended as a high priority that a specific Events co-ordination group be established to prepare a quality programme of cultural events, agree “highlights” with optimum timing to spread the season, and to collaborate on marketing and event evaluation.

 

Experience Nottinghamshire as the Destination Management Partnership for the county is the natural lead on such activity but it requires additional staffing in order to take on the role.

 

GNP funding of £26k p/a this year and next will contribute to the costs of employing an Events and Branding Manager to take forward this work. Joanna Morrison has been appointed to the post. 

Lakeside – the University of Nottingham’s public arts centre – has rapidly established itself as a cultural asset for Nottingham offering a high quality diverse programme of professional visiting artists, innovative projects and commissions. In its first three years of operation, Lakeside has attracted almost half a million visitors and now needs to expand.

 

The GNP has granted £100k towards the £1m extension of the D H Lawrence Pavilion. It will offer a new performing arts workshop, a separate visual arts workshop, a multi-purpose space, and a corporate entertainment and training space. The extension will provide facilities for an artist-in-residence, which creates new opportunities for emerging artists to display their work and for established artists to lead masterclasses and workshops from which teachers, artists, and individual members of the community may benefit.

 

The new Pavilion will enable Lakeside to offer a year-round programme of participatory events and training opportunities, underlining Lakeside’s commitment to the arts as a powerful tool for personal development, and an important element of lifelong learning.  Lakeside works with early years, children and young people including special needs groups, but also with adults, including older people and people with disabilities.