£60 Million Tourism Concept could boost Kidderminster
Economy
As part of the ReWyre initiative, civic and
business leaders have been considering how Kidderminster can
capitalise on tourism.
Mark Moore, Chairman of ReWyre, said
“Through ReWyre, there is an established need
to better understand the future economic role of Kidderminster and
the wider district. The town has a lot to offer including an
enviable location at the gateway to the Severn Valley and Wyre
Forest. The local business leaders recognise the importance of
tourism and the need to further grow that offer as a means of
playing to the area’s strengths.”
There are plans afoot to promote the town as a
base for tourists with proposals now in place for two new chain
hotels within and around the town centre. These include
developments on land adjacent to the Watermill in Park Lane, and
the upper floors of Slingfield Mill at Weavers Wharf. These will
complement the town centre development of a Museum for Carpets
which looks set to open in 2012.
Talks are also underway to look at a major
project involving the area’s two biggest attractions. Proposals to
link the West Midland Safari and Leisure Park and the Severn Valley
Railway, which between them bring more than 750,000 visitors to the
area, are being considered.
Ivan Knezovich, Managing Director of the West
Midland Safari and Leisure Park, explained: “We are at the very
early developmental stages of planning but are actively considering
proposals for a 1,000 delegate conference centre with hotel,
water-park and direct link to Severn Valley Railway.”
He continued: “As a business we have to
compete with other similar attractions which have major planning
permissions in place. We want to do something truly unique to help
differentiate and strengthen the area and we think we have hit on
the right idea. Worcestershire does not have a major conference
centre and hotel venue of this kind.”
Speaking on behalf of ReWyre, Mark Moore said:
“As a group we thought it was important to set about identifying
possible projects that could define the future economy of the area.
By this we mean projects that could lead to further wealth and job
creation. As soon as we heard the proposition linking West Midland
Safari Park and Severn Valley Railway, we thought it worth
investigating further. Subject to appropriate environmental
mitigation, it seemed clear to us that this could be one of the
“economic landmark” projects for the area.”
Nick Ralls, General Manager of Severn Valley
Railway, confirmed: “The Severn Valley Railway is interested in
working with the Safari Park to examine the potential of this
concept further”.
Through the ReWyre Initiative, with strong
backing from the local business community, Wyre Forest District
Council and Destination Worcestershire teamed up with the Hereford
and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce to commission an economic
impact study to understand the wider economic benefits of the
proposed development. The findings, prepared by an expert team of
economists and tourism specialists, were recently presented to the
ReWyre Board.
The Economic Impact Study demonstrates that
the proposed additional attractions could be expected to lead to
the creation of 341 net additional jobs across Worcestershire, of
which 292 would be within Wyre Forest District. In addition
to new jobs created at the Safari Park site, there would be a
significant ripple effect across the various centres, attractions
and accommodation across the area. They look set to benefit from
the increase in visitors and average length of stay. It is
estimated that the net effect of all of this would be to create an
additional injection of more than £25million into the
Worcestershire economy every year.
International Planning expert, RPS, has been
appointed by the site owners to develop the plans for the site.
Nick Laister, Senior Director for RPS said: “It often goes with the
nature of these attractions that they are located in the
countryside near to major population centres and in this case
within the West Midlands Green Belt. We have seen many instances
where similarly located attractions have been granted planning
permission for on-site accommodation in recent years, including
within the West Midlands Green Belt.”
He continued: “We are following the
recommendations of a Planning Inspector who last year suggested
that a sustainable master plan be developed for the site. This will
guide our engagement in the next stages of consultation on the
Council’s plans for the development of the district.”
Councillor Julian Phillips, Wyre Forest
District Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Place
Shaping, explained: “The future planning context for the Safari
Park will be provided through the site specific documents of the
Local Development Framework which are now subject to public
consultation for 6 weeks from the 26th May 2011.
“Under the emerging plans, the developed part
of the Safari Park site would become a ‘Major Developed Site’ in
the Green Belt, which is in line with sites such as the former Lea
Castle Hospital. That will facilitate a limited number of scenarios
such as small scale infill development. However, major proposals of
the kind envisaged by the owners of the site will stand outside
this and would ultimately need to be considered as part of any
future planning application.”
The Safari Park confirmed that they do not
intend to submit a planning application for the time being in order
to allow time to develop a master plan in consultation and also to
better understand the Local Development Framework process.
To find out more about the Local Development
Framework Site Allocations an d Policies document please visit
http://www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/
or visit the roadshow that will be held at:
•
Saturday 28th May – Kidderminster Market – 10.00 am - 4.00pm
•
Saturday 4th June – Bewdley Museum – 10.30 am - 4.00 pm
•
Thursday 9th June – Rowland Hill Centre, Kidderminster – 11.00 am -
5.00 pm
•
Saturday 11th June – Former Lloyds Garage, Stourport-on-Severn –
11.00am - 5.00 pm
Alternatively email planning.policy@wyreforestdc.gov.uk
for more information.
Issued on - 23rd May 2011