Archive for category: Local News

 

Council unveils plans to boost tourism

 

Plans to encourage more tourists to the borough and help the local economy to thrive have been unveiled by the Borough Council.

 

Priorities in the council’s new Tourism Strategy include attracting more overnight visitors, helping tourism businesses to reach a wider audience via social media and to help businesses make the most of smart technology.

 

The plans have been revealed as part of the borough council’s new Tourism Strategy, which has been published to coincide with English Tourism Week.

 

Residents across the borough and visitors coming to the area can already enjoy a thriving tourism industry, with renowned attractions including the Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre, Twycross Zoo, the Triumph Visitor Centre, and the towns of Hinckley and Market Bosworth.

 

Tourism is an important part of Hinckley and Bosworth’s economy, with the local area forming a unique offering which is steeped in rich history and heritage.

 

In 2022, the borough attracted 4.15m tourist days, which created £226m in the local economy and supported 2,281 jobs in the area.

 

Highlights of the area’s tourism industry include:

 

• More than 20 places to visit, including historic sites, areas of natural beauty and water attractions and parklands.
• 22 accommodation providers offering more than 1,600 bed spaces, as well as a growing number of privately managed Air BnBs.

 

• More than 160 pubs, restaurants, bars, tea rooms, coffee houses and farm shops, as well as a wide range of supporting facilities and services.

 

• Twycross Zoo, including the Zoo’s pioneering World Primate Centre. Twycross is dedicated to preserving threatened species whilst providing education and opportunities for study and wonder for visitors.

 

• Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre, an important landmark which commemorates a significant change in England’s history as the birthplace of the Tudor Dynasty. This has been given further prominence by the reinterment of King Richard III in Leicester.

 

• Hinckley & District Museum, which attracts visitors from across the country and overseas. Many visitors are those who are looking to find out more about their ancestral roots.

 

Councillor Mark Bools, Deputy Leader, said: “We are proud to have an extremely vibrant tourism sector in our borough. There is so much to do and see, and we want to help our tourism industry to thrive and grow even more in the coming years. We truly believe that there’s something for everyone to see and do here – whether you want to visit the renowned primate centre at Twycross Zoo, see the birthplace of Tudor England, or visit one of the many areas of natural beauty.

 

“Looking forward, there are several exciting new projects underway, all of which will be delivered in 2024. These include the exciting Bosworth 1485 sculpture trail, a Great Food Club trail called Taste the Place and additional short breaks opportunities. This new strategy will boost the borough’s visitor economy, enriching and expanding on the variety of business, leisure and hospitality opportunities we already have to offer.”

 

 

“I am also pleased to say that we have completed our first podcast focussing on the theme of travel and tourism – a very personal view of what I consider to be some of the highlights of the borough. I hope people will have a listen or watch via the council’s YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/_icY5y0ONGo).

 

For more information or to read the strategy, plus lots of information on local tourism visit www.richardiiicountry.com

The Memorial Hall have recently installed a new bench outside of the premises for parishioners to rest on whilst out on their walks, its a unique bench dedicated to those who lost their lives during the wars and the Heritage Room has been renamed the Lyne and Maurice Percival room in honour of the tireless work they have done for the Sheepy History Society over the years.

Community orchard planting update

The planting of the community orchard will take place on the morning of Thursday 21st March. During the day, the children from Sheepy School will carry out the planting of the trees starting from around 9.00am until around midday. Everyone is invited to come along to help with the planting or just to have a look and find out more about what’s involved.

The orchard will comprise ten fruit trees, including different varieties of apple, pear and other trees with edible fruits. At the start, the trees will be only about 1m (3-4 ft) high but over time will grow to a maximum height of 4m (14 ft). The young trees will have wooden stakes beside them to give them support and a ring of mulch at their base to provide nutrients and protection. A guard will also be placed around the base of the tree trunk. After the trees have been planted, more secure metal tree guards will be installed to give added protection to the trees. The installation of the guards will take place about a week after the tree planting.

Why are we having a community orchard? Parish Councils, Schools and other community groups are being encouraged to plant community orchards in public open spaces. The reason for this is that orchard trees offer benefits to the community and the environment. From a community perspective, the orchard offers educational opportunities, improved well-being, a chance to try a range of different fruits and social opportunities. For the environment, it helps protect our heritage varieties of fruit tree, increases biodiversity and contributes to tackling climate change.

A Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) is to be made for the following
location: Sheepy Road, Sibson, Sheepy (see weblink or scan QR code).

The purpose of the TTRO is to allow BT Openreach and their contractors to
facilitate access to their apparatus.

The TTRO will incorporate a temporary road closure.

The duration of the restriction is not anticipated to exceed a period of 3 days
commencing on the 7th May 2024.

A Press Release will be issued to confirm these details approximately two weeks
prior to the works commencing.

Weblink: https://one.network/?tm=GB137944921

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