Report · Breaking Minute
Image caption, The story of Robin Hood draws many tourists to Nottinghamshire By Peter Saull East Midlands political editor In her first interview as mayor of the East Midlands in May 2024, Labour's Claire Ward was asked for a "yardstick" against which voters should judge her at the next mayoral election. Her first response was that the region always seemed to "miss out" on public funding and she would put it "on the map". There have been wins and losses on that front.
Secondly, Ward promised to create a new body, Visit East Midlands, to harness Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire's potential as tourism destinations. At the scheme's launch this week she boldly claimed it would help to boost the two counties' visitor economies by £1bn over the next decade, but is that realistic? The area certainly has a lot to offer.
The Peak District would be many people's headline attraction, with its combination of breathtaking scenery and picture-postcard towns and villages. Derby boasts the Museum of Making, while Nottingham has Trent Bridge, arguably the most picturesque test cricket ground in England. Then there is Chatsworth House, Hardwick Hall, Sherwood Forest and Southwell Minster, to name but a few.
On the flip side, the loss of the Denby Pottery Village earlier this year was a major blow. Image caption, The Peak District is the area's best known attraction The mayor's office estimates that visitors to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire spend £5.48bn each year, supporting about 55,700 full-time equivalent jobs. One of the main ideas behind Visit East Midlands is to turn fleeting visits into longer stays, to maximise the economic benefit.
So you might watch a concert at Rock City in Nottingham and rather than heading home, you could have a meal out in a restaurant, spend the night in a hotel and ride the Heights of Abraham in Matlock the next day. There is already a "Visit Nottingham", a "Visit Derby" and a "Visit Derbyshire and the Peak District", prompting questions about whether a "Visit East Midlands" is really needed. Ward argues that by bringing together the existing tourism bodies, it will be easier to keep visitors in the area for longer.
Image caption, Hotels like the Buxton Crescent could benefit from a push to boost overnight stays The Visit East Midlands plan includes a target to increase overnight stays in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire from about eight million a year to 12 million a year by 2035. That would benefit the hospitality industry, but it would also boost the mayor's revenues, as she plans to introduce a levy of up to 5% on overnight stays in 2028. Ward points out that such a charge is a "common thing" across Europe and suggests the money could be used to improve local services and market the region to tourists.
However trade body UKHospitality has warned that the levy could put jobs at risk, while the Conservatives and Reform UK have called it a tax on holidays. There are also concerns it could cause an uneven playing field , with some surrounding areas not planning to levy an overnight charge. Some of those surrounding areas are part of what is generally considered the East Midlands, but because they are not in Claire Ward's patch of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, they are not covered by Visit East Midlands.
When gathering opinions on the initiative in Nottingham this week, I spoke to tourists who'd been to places such as Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire and Lincoln Cathedral on the same trip. They considered those attractions to be part of the East Midlands' tourism offering, but they are not part of Visit East Midlands' offering. Another area of concern with the scheme might come in the Peak District, where residents regularly complain that current levels of tourism are unsustainable.
Image caption, Wollaton Hall has been used as a film set Nevertheless, supporters of Visit East Midlands believe there is plenty of untapped potential in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. A 36-page strategic framework , external was published to explain how the whole area could feel the benefits from greater collaboration. The document highlights, for example, how several locations were used as sets for blockbuster films and TV series.
Chatsworth House featured as Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, while Wollaton Hall in Nottingham was used as Wayne Manor in The Dark Knight Rises. Image source, Reuters Image caption, Trent Bridge is one of several internationally renowned sports venues in the area Then there are the region's sporting venues, which are considered another major asset. Nottinghamshire's National Watersports Centre could host some events in a possible North of England Olympic games, assuming recent water quality issues can be resolved.
And with Andy Burnham recently floating the idea of a men's World Cup bid in 2042, what about a newly expanded City Ground hosting matches? Of course, these massive events are a long way off, and may never happen. You could say similar about Claire Ward's claim that Visit East Midlands will deliver a £1bn boost to the local economy by 2035.
Certainly, it will be difficult to quantify progress towards that target in time for the next East Midlands mayoral election, which is now just a year and a half away. Get in touch Tell us which stories we should cover in Nottingham
Source: BBC
