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New drive to 'supercharge' Northamptonshire tourism

Martin HeathBBC News, Northamptonshire
News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC Lambs in hay in a stall surrounded by metal railingsKate Bradbrook/BBC
Chester House Estate hopes more people could visit its animals if the strategy is a success

A new strategy has been launched to "supercharge" a county's tourism industry.

Organisers say they hope to raise the profile of Northamptonshire, which is "undersold nationally and internationally".

The strategy will involve local councils and the private sector.

The county currently receives 18 million visits a year and it will take a year to set up the body that will spearhead the drive to attract more.

News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC Daniel Lister - short dark hair, wearing a grey jacket and tieKate Bradbrook/BBC
Daniel Lister of West Northamptonshire Council said the strategy would put the county "back on the map"

Launching the strategy, Daniel Lister, cabinet member for economic development at Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council, said: "This is about putting Northamptonshire back on the map for tourism.

"I think we're undersold nationally and internationally. There's nowhere else that has so many great stately homes, the best Saxon church, the best Norman church; we've got battlefields that changed the course of history."

News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC Helen Howell - long blonde hair and glasses wearing a dark cardiganKate Bradbrook/BBC
Helen Howell of North Northamptonshire Council said tourism in Northamptonshire had stagnated recently

Helen Howell, executive member for tourism at Tory-run North Northamptonshire Council, said: "Tourism has stagnated a bit in our county, compared with our neighbours.

"Maybe we haven't shouted loudly enough and that's where this new strategy comes into play."

A Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), involving the public and private sectors, is being established to lead efforts to raise the county's profile.

News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC Chester House - a three-storey Northamptonshire stone manor house with gravel path and benches in frontKate Bradbrook/BBC
The Chester House Estate has only been open for two years but gets about 200,000 visitors a year

One of Northamptonshire's newest tourist attractions is the Chester House Estate, near Wellingborough, which opened two years ago.

Jack Pishhorn, from Chester House, said: "We have over 200,000 visitors every year, but on our database we can see where people are coming from and they're very much coming from the likes of Corby, Kettering, Northampton.

"What we want to do is get people coming into the county and spending money, and what we've got to do now is sell Northamptonshire and assets like Chester House as a place and a reason to come here.

News imageKate Bradbrook/BBC Jack Pishhorn with very short dark beard and glasses sitting on a straw bale in a marqueeKate Bradbrook/BBC
Jack Pishhorn of Chester House hopes the strategy will bring better marketing and infrastructure

"I'm really hoping the strategy will bring a lot of investment in terms of marketing but also help us with that much-needed infrastructure we need in terms of better rail networks, bus routes, accessible footpaths connecting up visitor attractions."

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