A six-figure funding sum will be spent on projects designed to attract visitors, support businesses and boost skills in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
Enjoy Staffordshire has secured £300,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to deliver projects aimed at improving pride of place and increasing life chances in the local area.
It is part of a larger scheme with Visit Peak District, Derbyshire & Derby, which will also benefit the High Peak area.
The money, allocated by High Peak Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, will be spent on marketing activity and business support to grow the local visitor economy and promote the area’s unique outdoor offer.
The organisations – both official Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) – will work together to raise the profile of the two areas as quality destinations for walking and cycling.
They will work closely with stakeholders and partners to encourage tourism and deliver workshops and events that will benefit and upskill local businesses.
In Staffordshire, Leek, Cheadle and Biddulph will be the main towns promoted to visitors.
A marketing campaign will promote the great outdoors by highlighting local walking and cycling routes alongside great places to eat, drink, shop, visit and stay.
As well as increasing footfall and boosting overnight breaks, the campaign aims to support local high streets and encourage more visitors to arrive by public transport.
The funding, which runs until March next year, will also be used to support the Staffordshire Moorlands Walking Festival which takes place in late April-early May, and the launch of a new High Peak Walking and Cycling Festival which will take place in September.
The Staffordshire Moorlands strand of the project will also include consumer research with existing and potential visitors, the development of a new tourism website for the district and tailored support for local visitor economy businesses.
Charlotte Cain, Visitor Economy Partnership Development Manager at Enjoy Staffordshire, said: “UKSPF has given the opportunity for projects to come forward that will support the growth of the visitor economy – encouraging more to visit, stay longer, experience more and enable us to promote lesser-known locations and visitor assets.
“Working with neighbouring LVEPs to deliver larger campaigns that have greater impact and reach is very exciting. Working with Visit Peak District, Derbyshire & Derby, we are showing how LVEP functions across the country can work together to better support destinations and businesses. Our national partner at VisitEngland is supportive of collaborative working and we’re proud that this UKSPF project spans two counties.
“The creation of LVEPs nationally offers a promising avenue for inclusive economic development that considers the role of the high street. Connecting the dots between the high streets and our compelling visitor offer are strong foundations for place-making.”
The UKSPF is a central pillar of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda, aimed at building pride of place and reducing inequalities between communities via three investment priorities: communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
