THING OF THE WEEK
FRIENDLY MONSTER… Who doesn’t love the Gruffalo? Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s’s book quickly became a family favourite when it was first published in 1999 and has since sold 13.5 million copies. Merlin Entertainments today opens its £2.3m Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse on Blackpool Promenade featuring play and adventure around six stories. Bookings can be made online.
Chris Peacock and Vic Stewart. Credit: LCCC
OWZAT… As Emirates Old Trafford gears up to welcome the Ashes in late July, preparations at the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club are continuing. This month’s AGM saw new faces added to the club board – Lexington director Chris Peacock becomes non-executive director for member services and communication; and Alchemist bar and restaurant group CFO Vic Stewart takes up the post of honorary treasurer. Now all we need is some fine weather and an irresistible display of Bazball by the England team for the tourists from Australia.
Credit: Gareth Jones
ON SONG… Liverpool proved to be the perfect pick for Eurovision, as we all knew it would. In fact, visitor numbers far exceeded forecasts made by tourist bosses and retail managers. Some 500,000 people visited Liverpool during the two weeks of the popular music festival. Liverpool ONE saw footfall up more than 30% on the same week in May 2022, adding nearly £20m from Eurovision fans to its tills. According to analysis by CACI, countries of origin with the most visitors were Switzerland, US, Uzbekistan(!), Netherlands and Ireland. Domestic tourists also made their mark, with the average drive time to Liverpool increasing by 27% to 90 minutes, significantly out-performing the 39-minute average for UK cities.
Luge district. Credit: planning docs
THIN ICE… Plans for a 350m outdoor toboggan track at Blaze Fell near Armathwaite in North Cumbria have been de-luged with complaints. The proposals, which have been skating around since 2021 and include an 8,600 sq ft visitor centre, attracted more than 20 objectors to the first meeting of the Eden locality board for Westmorland and Furness Council this week. Armed with a petition signed by 1,000 protestors, theobjectors described the luge as a “blot on a beautiful landscape”. Set to go to committee later this year, will the unique scheme’s possibility to attract tourism prevail?
Hungry business. Credit: UKREiiF
GOOD GREiiF… The street food alley at the UKREiiF property convention in Leeds was a great idea. From spicy chickpea curries to freshly-made pizzas, there was something to satisfy all tastes and stain all shirts. MIPIM could really learn something here – imagine a food truck selling rosé and escargots. At next year’s UKREiiF, however, attendees will be hoping something can be to avoid a repeat of the long queues that built up as traders faced stampeding planning consultants and investment agents each lunchtime. Some opted to swerve the queues, heading further afield to nearby supermarkets for a quick meal deal between meetings. Even this plan wasn’t foolproof. Such was the popularity of the second edition of UKREiiF, often all that was left on the shelves come 2pm was a humble ‘Just Ham’.
Yay! Credit: ICE NW
N-ICE…To the Midland Manchester for a sparkling evening among the smartest engineers in the region for the ICE North West Civil Engineering Awards 2023. Regional chair Stephen O’Malley, chief executive of Civic Engineers, gave a typically thought-provoking and inspiring opening speech to focus minds in the room on the challenges facing the engineering community as it grapples with ever-emerging “systems of systems” to make the world a safer and less climate-negative place. Judging by the high standard of projects celebrated during the evening, there is hope – all we need are more clients that share the vision. Well done to each of the winners and indeed everyone nominated this year.
