Warwickshire - Welcome to the Countryside

We ran the Warwickshire Welcome to the Countryside development and marketing RDPE Programme for Warwickshire County Council. Over the 18-month life of the project we worked on product development activities for cycling, food and drink and events. Our work included producing Food in Festivals, a toolkit designed to help organisers integrate local food into any event.

We also facilitated a successful Meet the Buyers, matching regional food producers with Warwickshire attractions, working closely with National Trust properties and Heart of England Fine Foods. The event developed new local business partnerships and has generated c.£10,000 sales for regional food producers so far.

One North East: NORTH EAST TOURISM BUSINESS TOOLKIT

Blue Sail managed this online resource (here) for tourism businesses for One North East for 2.5 years to October 2011. We were responsible for editing and content management, and for the day-to-day running of the site, updating, editing and creating new content and researching and writing news stories.

As well as the general management and administration of the Toolkit, we scoped and delivered an overhaul of the content in year 1, and a major re-design of the Toolkit in year 2 of the contract. We also developed and ran a business-to-business Twitter feed (with over 1,000 followers) to enhance industry engagement.

East Norfolk Tourism Project: Development Activities Plan

As part of our work on the Coastal Pathfinder Programme in North Norfolk, we prepared a Development Activities Plan (DAP) to help ensure the visitor experience delivered on its marketing promise. The DAP makes recommendations on a joined up approach to signing and interpretation, the accommodation offer, developing the potential of local food and drink and making more of events and festivals.

Recommendations include setting up a business loan scheme (to be launched in April 2011), developing a food cluster and developing themed podcasts. In our Tourism Marketing Toolkit we include a workbook that encourages businesses to review their facilities against the needs of their priority markets - a first step to identifying gaps and planning improvements.

Kirklees: development of the visitor economy

We were asked to research and recommend actions that would make significant contributions to the development of the visitor economy in the rural area of Kirklees which includes the Holme and Colne Valleys, the small market towns of Holmfirth and Marsden, and is part of Pennine Yorkshire.

We worked with tourism and creative businesses and partner organisations like National Trust and Peak District National Park, to explore the future direction of tourism in the area. We assessed the options which emerged in terms of the strength of the offer in the market place and how practicable they would be to deliver. We recommended three development opportunities - an outdoor activity centre, a network of walking routes and creative learning holidays - and produced an implementation plan for each.

Options Review: Tatton Park

Blue Sail has been supporting the senior management team at Tatton Park over an extended period to review its vision and forward development options for the estate.Cheshire East Council manages the property and is prepared to invest in its attractions and visitor services to make it more self-reliant financially in the longer term.

Blue Sail has been undertaking studies and leading workshops to enable managers to find the best investment opportunities to match changing market expectations.

resort Development: Sankey Valley Resort

At Sankey Valley in Warrington our brief was to create a destination and ‘resort’ - developing the linear valley park within which Gulliver’s World children’s theme park operates. Working with Gillespies the landscape consultants we developed options and finally a masterplan for the park including overnight accommodation to encourage longer stays.

We were able to test out ideas and find solutions with the supported of a business-minded Council and a private sector operator willing and able to invest. Elements of the scheme now have planning permission and development is imminent.

feasibility study: Ingersley Centre – a training and study centre

On the edge of the Peak District there are plans to turn redundant farm buildings into a residential study and training centre.

Blue Sail has supported a charitable development trust to secure Stage 1 HLF funding for a feasibility study and is now working with architects, planners and local colleges to turn the concept into reality and secure a Stage 2 HLF grant.

Business Development: Cheshire Gardens

Gardens that open to the public, large or small, public or private, have to find ways to generate extra revenue. Admission fees alone are unlikely to sustain them. So Blue Sail has been working with a group of ten Gardens in Cheshire, at the request of Visit Chester and Cheshire, to identify secondary income opportunities and to take the practical steps to make them happen.

It's been great to work with creative and committed people on everything from catering and plant sales to popular events and wedding venues.

FOREDOWN TOWER: Brighton & Hove

Brighton & Hove City Council asked Blue Sail to assess the performance and potential of the Foredown Tower - a historic landmark on the edge of the city and the South Downs - as a visitor attraction. Following a product and market analysis, we concluded that - to continue as a visitor attraction - the Tower would need substantial increases in both capital and revenue funding.

But, even with increased funding, its size and setting would severely limit the scale and nature of its operation as an attraction, and its income-generating potential. So we made outline recommendations for a change of use to a community facility, setting out potential funding options and next steps.

south downs national park

Blue Sail has been working with the South Downs Joint Committee, ahead of the area's official designation as England's newest National Park. We have designed and delivered a series of workshops for businesses in and around the South Downs, as part of the European-funded Collabor8 project.

The project aims to encourage businesses to work in "clusters" together on a range of topics - from product and skills development to branding and marketing.

Review of the River Parrett Trail in Somerset and Dorset

A Trail that follows the river from source to mouth, emerging from the Dorset hills, crossing the Somerset Levels and Moors and finally along the broad estuary to the sea: this is the product developed over a decade with European and other public funding.

Our clients wanted an objective review of the Trail's use and its value to the economy and the community. We examined the role it now plays, consulting with businesses, partner organisations and Trail users, and developed ways to take the Trail project forward and to connect it with other features of the visitor offer in Somerset.

NANTCLWYD HOUSE

We prepared a market assessment, capital development options and new audience opportunities for one of the most remarkable buildings in North Wales - the earliest timber-framed town house so far identified in the Principality - and now a heritage attraction.

Salford West Developing The Tourism Offer

Salford has thrown off its Coronation Street image with the development of the Quays as a busy destination with a distinct cultural profile. Now Blue Sail has been advising the City Council on how to realise the potential of the rest of Salford - a large geographical area with both rural and urban features. Our practical Action Plan is a guide for investment that focuses on investment opportunities where clusters of activity can be developed.

Our study identified potential markets, perceptions and expectations, assisted by primary research by QA Research. We took into account the potential World Heritage Site centring around the Bridgewater Canal, Britain's first commercial canal. We examined the potential for active leisure - horse-riding, off-road cycling, walking and watersports and made recommendations for urban centre improvements to improve visitor spend.

VISITOR ECONOMY ANALYSIS FOR OLYMPICS BOROUGH

Blue Sail provided the London Borough of Newham with baseline information about the current visitor offer - quantity, quality, locations and clusters - and an early assessment of the opportunities ahead (including - but not exclusively - those presented by the 2012 Games), taking into account market trends, forecasts and regeneration plans.

Newham already welcomes millions of visitors a year. It stretches from Stratford and the Olympic Park in the north to the Thames Barrier in the south, and includes London City Airport (LCA), international exhibition & conference centre ExCeL, Green Street's ethnic shops and restaurants, and West Ham's Upton Park.