Dream celebration at England’s Northwest Tourism Awards

THE tourism industry across the region is celebrating on Thursday, 30 September 2010, after the seventh annual England’s Northwest Tourism Awards took place in Manchester last night.

Organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the 2010 England’s Northwest Tourism Awards once again celebrated the best of the region’s tourism sector, providing a showcase for industry best-practice and top-quality tourism businesses in Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region and Cheshire.

St Helen’s Dream was awarded the Public Space Award, while The Beatles Story was ‘Highly Commended’ in the Large Visitor Attraction category.

Host for the evening Felicity Goodey, Chair of Tourism in England’s Northwest was also honoured with a special recognition prize, awarded by NWDA Chair, Robert Hough.

A total of 16 accolades were presented to winners from across the region. In addition to receiving a prestigious title, regional winners will also have the opportunity to represent the Northwest in the national awards, organised by VisitEngland in 2011.

The winners are:-

► Bed & Breakfast Number 43, Arnside, Cumbria

► Holiday Park Woodclose Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria

► Self Catering The Old Shippon at Mellor, Lancashire

► Taste of England's Northwest The Cottage in the Wood, Keswick, Cumbria

► Tourism for All Chill Factore, Trafford, Manchester

► Tourist Information Centre Morecambe Visitor Information Centre, Lancashire

► Tourism Experience Cumbrian Heavy Horses, Millom, Cumbria

► Small Visitor Attraction Chester Heritage Tours, Chester, Cheshire

► Large Visitor Attraction Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

► Excellence in Customer Service Sandcastle Waterpark Team, Blackpool, Lancashire

► Sustainable Tourism Award Clough Bottom Farm Cottages, Clitheroe, Lancashire

► Public Space Award Dream, St Helens, Liverpool City Region

► Tourism Event Manchester International Festival, Manchester

► Business Tourism Manchester Central Convention Complex, Manchester

► Small Hotel Overwater Hall, near Keswick, Cumbria

► Large Hotel The Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Manchester

Six judges’ commendations were also handed out on the night, in recognition of the exceptionally high standards in a number of the award categories.

Felicity Goodey, Chair of Tourism England’s Northwest, said:- “It just gets better and better. Each year we celebrate some of the best of our many outstanding businesses which, together, have established the Northwest as one of the most popular visitor destinations in the country. We are used to them going on to win national awards and I have every confidence that last night’s winners will be the ones to beat at the next National finals. The region owes them a big ‘thankyou’. Its their vision backed up by hard work, training and investment which have built tourism into one of this region’s most important industries.”

Nick Brooks-Sykes, Director of Tourism at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) added:- “This event has been very special and all our winners should be very proud of their achievements. Tourism in England’s Northwest is marked by a quality and passion that will continue in the future, making the region a destination of choice. Congratulations also to Felicity Goodey, who was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award. Felicity’s dedication and leadership has transformed the region’s visitor economy into a multi-billion pound industry, marked by world-class destinations that continue to draw in thousands of visitors every year.”

Streamlined Service to Spur Investment

LIVERPOOL City Council is introducing a new business-friendly service to deal with planning applications.  The changes follow a review of procedures and service standards in the Planning service and are aimed at ensuring those who want to invest in the city have clear advice and quick access to the service.

Councillor Joe Anderson, the Leader of Liverpool City Council said:- “I have listened to business leaders who tell me that there are ways in which we can operate so the specific needs of business are met to ensure we build on the successes of the past few years. We want to work with business to help bring investment and jobs to the city. We have to create the right conditions for businesses to start up and to thrive and as part of this we have looked at how our Planning Services can better engage with them. So we have introduced a pre-application service to help streamline the planning process and ensure a consistently high quality of service. Of course, the changes we are making do not mean we just say yes to every application. We need to have good quality design and appropriate developments. But, it can actually help business and if they are told at an early stage that their application will not be supported it can save them a lot of time and resources. What we are trying to do is to react to what businesses are telling us and provide a service with clear standards for both existing Liverpool companies and those who wish to invest in the city.”

Although some other authorities levy a charge to businesses for their pre-application process, the city council has made the decision to offer this enhanced service free of charge in a further attempt to support business in the city.

Among the changes which will take place are:-

► Three Business Champions have been appointed in the Planning Service. They will provide a first point of contact for business enquiries and feedback, and be able to point enquirers to the right place for advice

► Clearer guidance and information for business on the Planning pages on the city council’s website, including a dedicated point of access, with information tailored to business need. It also signposts other relevant services and partners to provide easy access for available information relating to planning, development and investing in the city.

► A pre-application procedure which sets out a clear and consistent set of service standards and guidance to resolve any issues and prevent delays before the submission of a full planning application.

► As part of this process, business enquiries will be allocated a dedicated case officer and the application will be dealt with through a “development team” approach.

► The pre-application process will be evaluated after six months with feedback from the business community

Nick Kavanagh, City Council Director of Regeneration, said:- “These changes will improve access to the planning team and ensure issues are dealt with quickly and consistently. The improvements to the pre-application process will enhance the service for businesses and ensure that problems can be resolved at a much earlier stage.”

These moves have been welcomed by members of the city’s business community.

Gary Szilagy, Partner, Grantley Lowe LLP Chartered Surveyors said:- “Having recently gained substantial heritage funding thanks to invaluable support and guidance from the City Council’s Development Control and Conservation team, the proposals to give businesses and agents dedicated and prompt access to pre-application planning advice is great news for the success and growth of our city. Being able to phone directly or meet during the feasibility stages are clearly the most efficient ways to develop the right scheme and avoid lengthy consultations or resubmissions. I hope these simple, forward thinking steps will continue to set Liverpool apart as a world-leading city for investment and commerce"

This is just one of the steps the city council is taking to improve the way is works with the business community. It will also see focus groups being held to listen to their views on the way forward and a programme of consultation with representatives from businesses aimed at publishing a mutually developed Service Charter for Business in the New Year.

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