Key overseas markets in Europe and the USA are set to be targeted as the Peak District and Derbyshire celebrates news that it is one of several tourist boards to win a share in a £40 million push to promote England to the world.

Tourism bosses at Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire are delighted to be among five leading destinations to successfully bid for £240,000 from a first-year pot of £6.5 million in national tourist board VisitEngland’s Discover England Fund (DEF).

The tourist board will work in close collaboration with colleagues at Visit Kent, Marketing Cheshire, Visit Essex and Visit Herts to develop a Gardens & Gourmet project showcasing each area’s outstanding gardens and first class culinary offer.

The first-year DEF funding will be complemented by a total of £85,000 in in-kind contributions and match funding from the five destination teams.

It will focus on both established markets such as Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands and the USA, as well as potential staying visitors from the UK, as part of VisitEngland’s strategy to ensure that England stays at the cutting edge of the competitive global tourism industry.

The main aim will be to create bookable packages for international tourists that will not only admit them to attractions, but will also feature insider tips, local recommendations and interactive media to give them a compelling and high-quality experience of the English countryside.

As well as playing a prominent role in the national offer, Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire will develop its own cluster of gardens and gourmet experiences, building on existing partnerships to involve leading attractions, places to stay and eat and personal recommendations and fresh perspectives from local ambassadors.

Research will be carried out from now until the end of March 2017, with a view to launching the packages next spring, in advance of the new RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2017, which will be staged from June 7 to 11.

Jo Dilley, Managing Director at Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, said:-

“This is great news for the area during VisitEngland’s Year of the English Garden, and also as we look forward to the launch of the first-ever RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, which will be the focal point for much of our activity,

“Like the other destinations involved, the Peak District and Derbyshire has an extremely strong gardens and food and drink offer, and this will give us the opportunity to develop strategies to market it more effectively and bring in more staying visitors from both the UK and around the world.

“We’ll also be incorporating one of our unique selling points – the ancient custom of Well Dressing, exclusive to the area – as an added bonus, and look forward to working with a range of partners to capitalise on both our individual and shared assets in an increasingly competitive global industry.”

The project is one of seven unveiled at the start of the three-year DEF campaign by VisitEngland to capitalise on England’s wide ranging assets – everything from golf and long distance walks to seafood and a self-guided activity app.

Competition for cash was fierce. Sally Balcombe, Chief Executive of VisitEngland said:-

“We had an exceptionally high number of submissions, far outweighing the allocated funding available. Following a rigorous applications process we are delighted to work closely with those excellent winners on building world-class bookable tourism products showcasing the best of England to international and domestic visitors.

“The destinations in this successful project feature outstanding gardens and local food and drink offers, which will give visitors a new, high-quality sensory experience of rural England.”

The D2N2 Growth Hub has been awarded £1.27million in European funding – guaranteeing its services to businesses in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has agreed to part-fund the D2N2 Growth Hub, with £1.27million from the £97m European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) allocation for the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (D2N2) area, to guarantee Growth Hub services until March 2019, and improve its offer to businesses in its area.

Part of the private sector-led D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership – which promotes economic growth and jobs creation in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – the Growth Hub was launched in December 2014. It works with partner organisations including local authorities, universities and businesses to provide free and impartial support and advice on training, growth and accessing funding to expand.

A recent survey of a sample 200 Growth Hub clients showed 88% (176) would recommend its services to a fellow business.

Since its creation, the D2N2 Growth Hub has:

• helped over 2,400 businesses to access free and impartial support and advice;
• run events and workshops – including with partner organisations – to inform businesses of its services;
• commissioned and managed the delivery of additional business support services, including a high growth business support programme;
• been ‘Highly Commended’ for the design and accessibility of its website (at www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk ).

The new funding agreement for the D2N2 Growth Hub will ensure that its core services – a dedicated phone line, business advisers, a bespoke website and network of business support providers – can provide an improved service to its customers.

It will provide a full time Growth Hub Manager to drive and co-ordinate the project, increased ability and capacity to handle a greater variety of business support enquiries, enhanced marketing and communications, and enable increased working with partner organisations. These will help the D2N2 Growth Hub to strengthen its connection to business support in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire by providing 4,000 businesses with the support they need between now and 2019 – assisting them to create jobs and grow.

Through some of the D2N2 LEP’s local authority partners – Derbyshire County, Nottinghamshire County, Nottingham City, High Peak Borough, Derbyshire Dales District and Chesterfield Borough councils – the core D2N2 Growth Hub service will be enhanced through a network of local business support advisers.

David Williams, Chair of the D2N2 Growth Hub’s Project Board, said:-

“The D2N2 Growth Hub continues to provide Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire businesses with support, advice and information.

“This new funding agreement builds upon our excellent track record, and the belief by Government in our commitment and ability to help the D2N2 business community grow and prosper.”

A planning application seeking permission to demolish the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre was approved by councillors at the end of August.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee decided the building, which closed at the end of December 2015, can be demolished, with landscaping of the site carried out until plans are developed for the future use of the land.

The existing building, in Boythorpe Road, has to be demolished because it is no longer economically viable to keep running due to not being energy efficient, not being up to modern environmental requirements and having high running costs.

As a result of the application going to the planning committee the public consultation on future use of the old site will now take place between Monday 12 September and Friday 21 October.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centre and visitor economy, said: “We are turning our attention to the future use of the site.

“We have been researching a whole range of potential options for the site and assessing whether they are viable from a planning perspective, as we need to protect the historic grade two star listing of the neighbouring park, by ensuring any future use is compatible with that leisure setting.

“In this time of cuts to council finances we also need to ensure that whatever goes on the site is either cost neutral or generates income for the council that can then be used to help towards the costs of running Queen’s Park and future improvements to that site.”

This week security fencing has been installed around part of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre building to address concerns about anti-social behaviour around the park. The fencing is designed to prevent vandalism or potential break-ins and is not related to the  demolition.

The former sports centre closed when the new £11.25 million Queen’s Park Sports Centre opened further down Boythorpe Road in January 2016 on the Queen’s Park Annexe site.