Economic Intelligence Gathering Report - St Helens · Economic Intelligence Gathering Report Final...

Economic Intelligence Gathering Report

Economic Intelligence Gathering Report

Final Draft Final Draft

9th May 2012 9

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Prepared for: Prepared for: St Helens Council St Helens Council

th May 2012

St Helens Council — Economic Intelligence Gathering

ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE GATHERING

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REVISION SCHEDULE

Rev Date Details Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by

1 30-03-2012 First draft Claire Lawless

Fran Topazio

Anita Longworth Claire Lawless

Technical Director

2 02-05-2012 Final Draft Claire Lawless

Fran Topazio


Technical Director

3 09-05-2012 With final amends Claire Lawless

Fran Topazio


Technical Director

URS Brunel House 54 Princess Street Manchester M1 6HS



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Limitations

URS Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“URS”) has prepared this Report for the sole use of St Helens Council (“Client”) in accordance with the Agreement under which our services were performed (03106248). No other warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the professional advice included in this Report or any other services provided by URS. This Report is confidential and may not be disclosed by the Client nor relied upon by any other party without the prior and express written agreement of URS.

The conclusions and recommendations contained in this Report are based upon information provided by others and upon the assumption that all relevant information has been provided by those parties from whom it has been requested and that such information is accurate. Information obtained by URS has not been independently verified by URS, unless otherwise stated in the Report.

The methodology adopted and the sources of information used by URS in providing its services are outlined in this Report. The work described in this Report was undertaken between 6th February 2012 and 30th March 2012 and is based on the conditions encountered and the information available during the said period of time. The scope of this Report and the services are accordingly factually limited by these circumstances.

Where assessments of works or costs identified in this Report are made, such assessments are based upon the information available at the time and where appropriate are subject to further investigations or information which may become available.

URS disclaim any undertaking or obligation to advise any person of any change in any matter affecting the Report, which may come or be brought to URS’ attention after the date of the Report.

Certain statements made in the Report that are not historical facts may constitute estimates, projections or other forward-looking statements and even though they are based on reasonable assumptions as of the date of the Report, such forward-looking statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results predicted. URS specifically does not guarantee or warrant any estimate or projections contained in this Report.

Where field investigations are carried out, these have been restricted to a level of detail required to meet the stated objectives of the services. The results of any measurements taken may vary spatially or with time and further confirmatory measurements should be made after any significant delay in issuing this Report.

Copyright

© This Report is the copyright of URS Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited. Any unauthorised reproduction or usage by any person other than the addressee is strictly prohibited.



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1 ................................................... 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTABLE OF CONTENTS 2 ......................................... 6 INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT3 ..................................................... 11 BASELINE POSITION4 ........................................... 16 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES5 ................................................ 24 ECONOMIC POTENTIAL6 .................... 27 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS7 ........................ 31 APPENDIX 1 – LIST OF CONSULTEES8 ..... 32 APPENDIX 2 – SURVEY: SAMPLE AND RESULTS9 ............. 43 APPENDIX 3 – VISITOR NUMBERS METHOD10 ..................... 45 APPENDIX 4 – POSITIONING EXERCISE



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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction: In February 2012, St Helens Council and partners1 appointed URS Infrastructure and Environment Ltd to gather economic intelligence to support the development of an Area Action Plan for Bold Forest Park in St Helens. URS were also commissioned to undertake community engagement with resident and business communities and findings are presented in a separate report.

Method: URS conducted a site audit to measure current visitor numbers, and surveyed park users to derive a profile of users and use patterns. We reviewed case study examples of successful Forest Parks elsewhere and drew on existing relevant studies. We also conducted interviews with five existing businesses and five potential inward investors.

Baseline, potential and benchmarks: Our analysis showed that Bold Forest Park is a significant environmental, heritage and cultural asset which is well used by the community but it is currently under exploited in terms of its economic potential. A site audit and visitor survey showed that number of visitors was high, but spend per visit was low and duration of visit was low when compared with other examples. Also that awareness among non users was low, although accessibility and interest was high.

Table 1 below shows the headline results of our analysis, providing:

A baseline assessment estimating the economic contribution based on existing visitor numbers and visitor spend in the current year (2012);

A projected economic potential of Bold Forest Park in five years assuming development takes place within the next two years; and

An appropriate benchmark which includes the average visitor numbers, jobs created and GVA from seven existing case studies (highlighted in the full report).

Table 1: Baseline, projected and benchmark positions

Visitor

numbers Net jobs GVA (£) per annum

Bold Forest Park (2012) 200,683 2.1 £69,652

Bold Forest Park (2017)2 306,641 27 £910,270

Average of seven case studies 222,143 19 £1,289,351

Source: URS calculations 2012

1 The Mersey Forest, St Helens Chamber of Commerce and Bold Parish Council 2 Specified year of 2017 assumes a 2 year lead in period and 3 year impact period (i.e. 5 years from now). This projection is additional to the 2012 position. (Excludes construction).



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Informing Delivery: Previous studies3 have all pointed to the viability of Bold Forest Park for exciting outdoor leisure pursuits. Our work supports this, but we have undertaken more detailed market positioning work, case studies and surveys of the target audience. Overall this shows that a range of new facilities could increase length of stay and spend of existing users, as well as attract new users from outside the immediate area.

Survey evidence was used to derive a proposed mix of uses which informed the estimated economic impact above. We assume the wider infrastructure will also develop and cater for needs of visitors.

Table 2: Proposed mix of uses

Activities Facilities Events Walking/ running/ cycling Adventure play Public art trail (the Dream) Boating/ canoeing Cycle hire

Café Toilets Litter and dog bins Improved pathways,

signage and connectivity

Family fun days Educational events

An alternative mix of uses could be introduced and sustained into the longer term when the Forest Park becomes more established as a destination. Our suggested approach is to develop the existing offer and build a critical mass by prioritising the features identified above. In the short term (0-5 years), focus on maximising impact from the existing market and develop the offer further as opportunities/ interest from investors emerge into the long term (5 years +).

3 Crease Report, Blue Sail report, Gillespies, Adapting the Landscape, St Helens Urban Fringe Action Plan



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2 INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT

In February 2012, St Helens Council and partners4 appointed URS Infrastructure and Environment Ltd to gather economic intelligence to support the development of an Area Action Plan for Bold Forest Park in St Helens. URS were also commissioned to undertake community engagement with resident and business communities and findings are presented in a separate report.

2.1 Bold Forest Park

The study relates to several large areas of land south of St Helens that in the last 15 years have been landscaped and planted as community woodland. Much of the land has been reclaimed from coal-mining, the area being extended more recently by the addition of farmland. The site stretches across the M62 motorway which joins Liverpool and Manchester and is easily accessible from the Junction 7. The boundary for Bold Forest Park is presented in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Map of Bold Forest Park

4 The Mersey Forest, St Helens Chamber of Commerce and Bold Parish Council



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Source: St Helens Council

2.2 Policy and local context

St. Helens Council have produced their Core Strategy and following consultation submitted a revised version in January 2012 which is currently undergoing public examination. The Core Strategy identified the need for an Area Action Plan (AAP) for the proposed Bold Forest Park. Wider local policies support the Bold Forest Park proposal, for example:

The City Growth Strategy aims to make St Helens a “vibrant modern place for enterprise and regional location of choice”. The strategy has 4 themes. Policy C1:42 of the Physical Transformation theme outlined plans for the creation of a major new recreational attraction aiming to attract 100,000 additional visitors a year.

The St Helens Plan (2012-2015) aims to create greener neighbourhoods, healthier lifestyles and access to employment opportunities.

The Mersey Forest Plan is currently being refreshed and due to be published in late 2012. Its earlier version (2001) provided a long term vision for regeneration of Merseyside and North Cheshire to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits.



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St Helens Urban Fringe Action Plan (2006) aimed to provide a framework for maximising benefits of open spaces for health, education, regeneration and recreation.

Previous studies have highlighted the viability of Bold Forest Park as a location for exciting outdoor pursuits.

The Blue Sail report (2009) examines the opportunities to increase active use of the Bold Forest area. The report positioned Bold Forest Park as ‘soft adventure’ including a range of safe but demanding activities aimed at beginners and dabblers, young family groups, other young people and youth and community groups. It suggests key strengths of Bold Forest Park are the potential to provide both long and short routes, interesting but not too demanding and highly accessible. It emphasises the need for essential visitor infrastructure and a variety of activities: walking, orienteering, running, cycling, mountain boarding, adventure play, low ropes/ assault course, laser games, angling, golf, motor sports, conservation, archery, allotments, horse riding and possible camping/ caravanning/ accommodation and other sports pitches.

The Crease report (2006) identified the study area as Colliers Moss and Sutton Manor and aimed to identify their potential as a future visitor destination. The study identified Bold Forest Park as having the potential to host activities such as; educational visits; equestrian activity; cycling, canoeing, skateboarding, walking and fishing. A brief marketing plan suggested youth groups and young families should be targeted and marketing should be aimed at a local, sub-regional, regional and possibly national level.

The Town in the Forest Concept Gillespies report (2006) provided a vision to transform the Borough’s urban fringe into a rich mixture of open space and mixed land use set within an attractive, leafy landscape framework. Key objectives included transforming the image of St Helens to make it more attractive to investors and visitors; to improve quality of life of residents and encourage community participation along with supporting and developing opportunities to enrich biodiversity and the green resource. It highlighted the Forest Park as a key project.

Please note that previous studies should be treated with some caution, give the economic climate has changed considerably since the publication of these reports. However, physical attributes of land have not changed considerably.

2.3 Where we are now

The policy context supports the need for a visitor destination in St Helens to maximise the green spaces in the borough. Previous studies report that it is feasible for Bold Forest Park to provide a wide range of outdoor activities, and have highlighted the costs of investing in some key facilities and improvements that would be required. Future development of the park will require investment from both the public and private sector. However some key evidence gaps needed to be filled to support discussions with potential private sector partners moving forwards. This includes:

Current visitor numbers, uses and visitor profile;



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The market context including current and future trends;

What has been achieved elsewhere;

What visitors want from the park (activities, facilities and events);

What existing businesses think of the proposition; and

What types of economic activity could be realistically achieved.

This report addresses each of these information requirements.

2.4 Research objectives

Taking into account the context and previous work undertaken to date, St Helens Council and its partners required a greater understanding of the visitor and business expectation to create an investment proposition. Through a review of the brief and discussion with St Helens Council, four research objectives were clarified:

Establish the baseline position;

Define the (market) opportunity;

Highlight the economic potential of the site; and

How to progress: actions and next steps.

2.5 Research method

URS was appointed in February 2012 to gather economic intelligence needed in relation to the four objectives above. The research study included the following tasks:

A review of existing relevant literature and gathering evidence from case studies elsewhere;

Telephone consultations with 12 businesses including 5 existing businesses within Bold Forest Park and 7 businesses who are potential inward investors. (A list of consultees is provided in Appendix 1);

A survey of users and non users of Bold Forest Park, which was undertaken in Bold Forest Park as well as distributed online which secured over 157 responses (67 were face to face, the remainder were online). (Survey method, sample and survey results are provided in Appendix 2);

An audit of site users which provided data to extrapolate visitor numbers. (The method is provided in Appendix 3); and



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An overall positioning exercise which explored suitability of key opportunities based on findings from the intelligence gathering exercise, previous studies and other evidence. (The matrix is provided in Appendix 4).

2.6 Report structure

The remainder of this report is set out as follows:

Section 2 sets out the baseline position, current users, uses and use patterns and derives current economic value from this;

Section 3 covers market context, market opportunities and market potential and demand for different uses;

Section 4 quantifies the economic potential of the site based on a proposed mix of uses;

Section 5 sets out conclusions and next steps; and

There are four appendices:

– Appendix 1 – List of consultees;

– Appendix 2 – Survey method, sample and survey results;

– Appendix 3 – Method for collecting visitor numbers; and

– Appendix 4 – Matrix from positioning exercise.



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3 BASELINE POSITION

Bold Forest Park includes a series of open spaces which are already well used by the local community for a variety of uses. This section sets out the number of users, uses and patterns of use and derives current economic impact of Bold Forest Park measured by Gross Value Added (GVA).

3.1 Current visitor numbers

An audit involving observations across the seven sites was undertaken between February and March 2012 to measure visitor numbers. The methodology is described in Appendix 3. The raw data from the site audits was used to extrapolate annual visitor numbers taking into account seasonal use patterns identified in the survey and also cross referenced with data collected by people counters installed at Sutton Manor. (See Appendix 3 for locations of people counters). From this analysis, we estimate that the park receives a total of 200,683 visits per annum. A breakdown of visitor numbers by site is presented in Table 3 below:

Table 3: Number of visits per site

Site Total

visits pa Features/ other uses

Wheatacre 31,755 A Community Woodland with trees and meadows, paths and wildlife

Sutton Manor 68,985 The Dream installation, viewing points across Mersey Valley –inc Runcorn Bridge and Fiddlers Ferry, some interpretation

Clockface Country Park

43,691 Developing woodlands, footpath networks, meadow areas and a fishing pond

Griffin Wood 21,079 A newly created community woodland

Colliers Moss Common

16,863 A diverse landscape with water features (including lagoons, streams, wetland areas and a fishery), artworks, seating areas and an amphitheatre

Maypole 10,646 A developing woodland with trees and meadows, paths and wildlife

Brickfields 7,665 A community woodland currently under development

Total 200,683* (Taken from The Mersey Forest)

Source: URS site audit (2012) * do not sum due to rounding



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3.2 Uses, users and use patterns

The Visitor Survey asked visitors about use patterns including frequency of use by season, purpose of visit, spend during visit, group size, duration of visit, mode of transport used, and where they had travelled from (by collecting post codes). It also gathered key demographic data on visitors. The survey received 157 responses in total, 67 were collected face to face on site and the remainder were collected through the online survey.

The results of the survey are presented in Appendix 1 and key headline findings are presented below.

The results showed the most commonly cited purpose of visit was to walk the dog (55%) followed closely by walking (43%). However, a wide variety of other uses were also identified through the survey, site audits and anecdotal feedback from consultations, for example, organised health walks, bird watching, (illegal) quad biking, orienteering, photography, organised community activities such as tree planting and making bird boxes and observing wildlife. We also observed a number of organised school group visits. Use types have been profiled against visitor numbers in Table 4 below:

Table 4: Number of visits by use type (rounded up)

Primary purpose of visit Number %

Dog walking 110,375 55%

Walking 86,293 43%

Visiting The Dream (as % of all visitors) 36,123 18%

Visiting The Dream (as % Sutton Manor visitors) (12,417) (18%)

Cycling 26,089 13%

Fishing 20,068 10%

Other 26,089 13%

Source: URS calculations (2012)

In addition to these uses identified above there is also:

Adjacent Mersey Valley Golf Course estimated to receive 35,000 visits per annum (Source: Mersey Valley Golf Course).

Five livery yards/ horse riding schools (no data on visitor numbers).

Bold Garden Centre and Aquatics Centre (no data on visitor numbers).



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Visits to Bold Forest Park tend to be relatively short. Over 64% of visitors spent between 1-2 hours in Bold Forest Park. Frequency of use was high, with around half of users visiting a couple of times per week in both summer and winter (51% and 47% respectively).

Demographic information showed that existing users are broadly representative of the local St Helens population, with the following differences identified:

Slightly more male visitors than female;

Under representation of 16-24 age group, although this could be heavily influenced by the survey method; and

Slightly above average numbers of employed people and below average numbers of unemployed people.

58% of users travelled by car, and 33% walked suggesting a significant proportion of users are very local. The small remainder used public transport, a motorbike, cycled or ran. The survey asked for the respondents postcode which showed 79.2% were from the local area (postcodes WA5, WA7, WA8 and WA9), 14.1% were from elsewhere within the postcode area of WA and 6.6% were from beyond the local area (mainly from Liverpool and Manchester postcodes).

Average visitor spend was calculated at £1.41 per visit per group based on the survey results. The overwhelming majority (81%) reported that they didn’t spend anything on their visit. Anecdotal feedback from the site survey showed that low spend per visit and short length of time spent in the park was explained by a lack of things to do and spend money on.

Anecdotal feedback suggested that Bold Forest Park is predominantly used by local people to walk their dogs and the findings of the survey tend to support this. This explains the high frequency of many walkers with little variation in frequency between seasons. Anecdotal feedback from the on-site survey included people who said they visited twice a day to walk their dogs.

The evidence also shows that there is a smaller but notable number of self motivated people already travelling from outside the immediate area to participate in a diverse range of activities, suggesting a potential untapped demand for facilities and activities in Bold Forest Park.

We asked non users for the reasons why they chose not to use Bold Forest Park. 63% of non users specified that their reason for not using the park was due to lack of awareness of these open spaces. Experience from elsewhere shows that a lack of awareness is an easier challenge to address through marketing and PR than a negative perception of a destination.

3.3 Existing business stock

Bold Forest Park is home to a number of businesses and employees who contribute to the local economy. Data supplied by St Helens Chamber of Commerce shows that there are currently 126 businesses located within the Bold Forest Park boundary, employing 1212 people. We have applied a multiplier to show net effect (measured by GVA) on the local



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economy. This shows that Bold Forest Park in its current capacity generates over £57m per annum to the local economy.

The majority of this existing business stock is located within Bold Forest Park due to availability of suitable premises and employment land. The majority of businesses do not attract visitors to Bold Forest Park and their business activity or productivity may not be significantly affected by the AAP. (Based on a review of businesses by sector and anecdotal feedback from business consultations).

There is however a small number of businesses within the existing stock which could benefit from the Bold Forest Park concept and could contribute to its offer. These businesses have been separated and defined as the Leisure and Tourism Sector. This includes retail (relevant to tourism), cafes, bars, pubs, restaurants, hotels, sporting activities and some professional services relevant to leisure.

Table 5 below shows the economic value of existing business stock in Bold Forest Park by Broad Industrial Group using 2007 Standard Industrial Classification (SICs) and shows the value of Leisure and Tourism Sector businesses in the park. This also includes a small number of leisure and tourism businesses who sit very close to the boundary of the park (including Mersey Valley Golf Club, Bold Health Garden Centre, The Griffin Inn and two Premier Inn Hotels and Bold Heath Equestrian Centre). There are also likely to be a wider number of businesses who sit outside of the immediate boundary who could benefit from or contribute to Bold Forest Park. Table 5: Bold Forest Park GVA (existing businesses)

Sector (SIC 2007) No.

businessesGross jobs

Net jobs GVA (£)

Agriculture (A) 7 19 25 897,542 Manufacturing (C) 11 144 187 6,802,427 Construction (F) 11 69 90 3,259,496 Wholesale; retail; repair of motor vehicles; and transport and storage (G, H) 27 279 363 13,179,703Accommodation & food service activities (I) 16 194 252 9,164,381 Information and Communication (J) 2 21 27 36,338 Financial and other professional activities (K,L,M) 8 24 31 1,133,738 Public sector services (P,Q,O) 18 345 449 16,297,482Other services (N,R,S) 25 117 152 5,526,972 Leisure and tourism sector 28 250 325 11,809,769Total 126 1212 1578 57,253,762

Source: URS calculations (2012) and data provided by St Helens Chamber of Commerce



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Whilst this data provides useful context and baseline, we would argue that it is not appropriate for use as a baseline against which to measure future economic growth created by Bold Forest Park, for the reasons stated above. A more appropriate baseline measure would be to derive economic contribution from tourism spend.

3.4 Economic impact from tourism spend

We estimate that the public open spaces in Bold Forest Park support 2.1 FTE jobs and generates £69,652 GVA per annum for the St Helens economy based on current use and spend patterns. This has been assessed using data from the Site Audit (revealing 200,683 visitors) and the Visitor Survey (which showed an average spend of £1.41 per group per visit, and an average group size of 2.6). An existing ‘cost per job’ benchmark was used to derive gross jobs created from visitor spend5. A multiplier effect was then applied to gross jobs to derive net jobs. The multiplier was applied to account for indirect and induced economic effects, for example people employed also spend part of their income locally and employers generate economic effects through their supply chain. Average GVA per tourism job was then applied to net jobs to derive overall GVA. Findings are presented in Table 6 below.

Table 6: Bold Forest Park GVA (tourism contribution)

Visitor

numbers6

Average group size7

Visitor spend8

Gross jobs9

Net jobs10 GVA pa11

Tourism spend

200,683 2.6 £108,485 1.6 2.1 £69,652


In conclusion, spend from current visitors is low and time spent at the site is short. It appears that the existing leisure and tourism related businesses in Bold Forest Park are largely supported by consumer spend from existing local residents (with the exception of a few businesses). Feedback from existing businesses in consultations also supported this. This suggests that there is room for additional businesses to support growing visitor numbers.

5 Estimated at £66,000 of visitor spend to create one Financing and Ecotourism, Ospreys in the Lake District as a Case Study, Paul Morling, Economist, RSPB 6 URS site Audit 2012 7 URS Visitor Survey 2012 8 Based on spend per visit per group URS Visitor Survey 2012 9 Cost per job created estimated at £66,000 of visitor spend to create one FTE job Financing and Ecotourism, Ospreys in the Lake District as a Case Study, Paul Morling, Economist, RSPB 10 Multiplier effect of 1.25 based on benchmarks from BIS Occasional Paper No.1 Additionality October 2009 11 STEAM data GVA per tourism Job £33,900 per annum



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4 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Bold Forest Park represents a significant environmental, cultural and heritage asset on St Helens urban fringe. The baseline assessment shows that this asset is currently under exploited in terms of its wealth generating potential. There is already some basis for a commercial leisure and tourism offer which is largely supported by local residents consumer spend.

Previous studies undertaken for St Helens point to the opportunities for various sectors, predominantly focused on the outdoor leisure sector. And a wider range of studies show the show the wealth generating potential of green infrastructure.

4.1 Geographical positioning

Bold Forest Park is situated between Liverpool and Manchester and straddles the M62 motorway. The target population defined for Bold Forest Park is defined at the 2 million people living within a 30 minute drive of Bold Forest Park. This covers a significant proportion of the North West Region and covers parts of the sub-regions of Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside. These residents already have access to some major national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, illustrated in Figure 2. Key features that separate Bold Forest Park are:

Close and fast connectivity with major cities of Liverpool and Manchester and towns of St Helens, Warrington, Runcorn, Widnes;

Highly accessible from the motorway network and Manchester – Liverpool railway; and

Provides a mixture of sites, routes, and interests which would be suitable for all levels. Figure 2: National Parks and AONB serving target population

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4.2 Market context and positioning

4.2.1 Outdoor leisure sector North West

The NWDA Outdoor Adventure Sector Report (2010) found that the region’s natural environment supports a wide range of businesses that offer goods and services that are linked to the outdoors. Outdoor sports help contribute to the wider tourism economy and in some cases outdoor activities have become tourism sectors in their own right, for example, cycling.

Research by SkillsActive (2010) found that the UK active leisure, learning and well-being sector currently employs around 663,300 people, representing 2% of the UK workforce. More of the workforce work part-time (47%) and often work is seasonal. It is also estimated that the sector has 1.9 million volunteers within the sector in England.

The NWDA study identified 484 ‘Outdoor Activity’ businesses operating within the North West, employing 2,665 people and generating a GVA contribution of £44 million. 91% of businesses in this sector were micro businesses employing 15 employees or less.

Long term forecasts on the outdoor activity centre that were undertaken in 2004 indicate that employment across the sector will grow by 21% over the period to 2014. However this data should be treated with some caution, give the economic climate has changed since publication of this data.

4.2.2 Demand for outdoor leisure

Wider evidence shows that there is a general trend towards increased activity in outdoor activity in the North West, key evidence on participation and participants includes:

The NWDA Outdoor Adventure Sector Report (2010) shows that the participation in the majority of outdoor sports has consistently grown. Other key findings in the NWDA sector analysis include:

o Increasing demand for sports holidays and adventure activities including mountain biking, kite surfing, rock climbing, canoeing and kayaking.

o Sailing, walking, water sports, active/adventurous outdoor pursuits including hand-gliding, rock climbing and horse-riding as the most popular outdoor activities.

o The majority of extreme sport enthusiasts fall into the 15-24 year of age category.

o Twice as many men as women said they were likely to take part in certain outdoor activities.

o Affluence as well as young people are important determinants of demand for outdoor activities in the North West.



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o Outdoor education is seen as a key component of the outdoor adventure sector (NWDA).

The Active People Survey (2006) found that the most popular outdoor activities in the North West are walking, cycling and running.

Overall it appears that there is an increased trend towards outdoor activity in the North West and this is reflected in both a growing supply (i.e. the business base reflected in the NWDA Sector study) and demand (i.e. participants reflected in the relevant participation data).

4.2.3 Other comparable provision

Bold Forest Park will complement other comparable provision in the region. Figure 3 taken from the NWDAs Adapting the Landscape Study (2009) shows existing natural features and green recreation in the North West. There are also other local recreation facilities such as Sherdley Park serving the same target audience.

4.2.4 Commercial interest and existing opportunities

Commercial interest in the park from existing businesses and potential inward investors was overall very positive. A list of consultees is provided in Appendix 1, and key feedback is highlighted below. Existing local businesses we spoke to were interested in how they could contribute to the local offer and have already taken some steps to invest. Examples include:

A planning application to be submitted to St Helens Council for overnight accommodation, an approved application for a 150 seat café/ restaurant and an approved application for a 40 space car park extension from Mersey Valley Golf Course;

A grant application to be submitted to St Helens Council for support to convert vacant rooms and the Clock Face Pub and Restaurant into 7 rooms for overnight accommodation.

This suggests that local businesses are receiving some signals that there is a potential opportunity and show that they are willing to invest. Feedback from potential inward investors was also positive. Key messages included:

Interest by way of a planning application to St Helens Council for paintballing from Bedlam Paintballing who have facilities all over the country. They usually require around 8 acres with a mixture of field and woodland.

Adventure 21 are keen to find new sites around the Manchester/ Liverpool corridor and are interested in what Bold Forest has to offer. They believe it would make a suitable location for leisure activities due to the close proximity to the motorway network and the vast amount of land available. They require locations with a suitable accommodation offer.

Starbucks’ branches have been successful in rural locations but these tend to all be franchises run either by individuals, existing business owners or the local authority.



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There are currently 10 Starbucks’ that are located within Centre Parks’ complexes which prove to be successful. They tend to require around 1,500 sqft and outdoor seating.

Inward investors we spoke to tended to look for places which had good visibility, accessibility passing trade and close to competition. Some other retailers we spoke to, such as Booths (a food retailer which tends to locate in rural and market towns) and Snow and Rock an outdoor pursuits retailer reported that the location would not necessarily be suitable for them, because they felt it would be too out of town and not enough passing trade.

All of the businesses we spoke to felt that they were able to look after their own interests and did not have any specific business support needs.

4.2.5 Positioning

We developed a long (although not exhaustive) list of potential activities that could be supported by Bold Forest Park, drawing on previous studies, and evidence collected so far from business consultations and the survey, and assessed each one in turn against the following criteria:

Relevance to local policy drivers and agendas;

Existing provision and level of participation in the activity, both currently onsite and the wider trend;

Community support and interest;

Commercialisation and willingness to pay for activities;

Demand for such activities (based on the survey and wider evidence);

Current supply and competition; and

Appropriateness to the site.

The information was recorded in a matrix, included in Appendix 3, and used to develop a shorter list of potential activities which could be tested with current and potential users through the survey.

4.3 Target audience

The potential target population for Bold Forest Park is defined as the 2 million people living within a 30 minute drive radius (Blue Sail report 2009). This is a very wide and diverse population, covering 21 local authority districts. It estimated that Bold Forest Park could generate between 100,000 to 120,000 visits per year. Recommendations for the target audience of Bold Forest Park include:

Extreme sports are most popular amongst the upper socio-economic groups.



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Young adults aged 16-24 and 25-35 year olds that have disposable income to spend on leisure activities;

Young families that live within 20 minutes of Bold Forest Park;

Local walkers – will tend to be an older audience; and

Local businesses – corporate events/ team building.

4.4 Visitors needs from Bold Forest Park

Previous studies have emphasised the need for visitor ‘infrastructure’ including parking, visitor centres, a café, toilets and other facilities. Our survey asked people about their needs and requirements against the headings of facilities, activities and events. The results ranked in order of those most commonly selected are presented in Table 7 below.

Table 7: Visitor needs

Facilities Activities Events

Toilets (71%)

Cafe (70%)

Litter and dog bins (63%)

Improved pathways, signage and connectivity (55%)

Visitor centre (44%)

Educational facilities (38%)

More car parking (29%)

Allotment areas/ community orchards (20%)

Shops/ retail (14%)

Camping and caravanning facilities (14%)

Other accommodation (2%)

Walking/ running/ cycling routes (76%)

Public art trail linked to the Dream (40%)

Adventure play area (39%)

Cycle hire (30%)

Boating/ canoeing (29%)

Climbing/climbing walls (29%)

Fishing (28%)

Assault course (24%)

Orienteering (20%)

BMX/ mountain bike tracks (20%)

Horse riding (20%)

Paintballing (15%)

Skate (board) facilities (9%)

Family fun days (58%)

Educational events (56%)

Organised health walks (48%)

Sports events (41%)

Shows/plays (38%)

Gig/concerts (35%)

Outdoor cinema (33%)

Agricultural shows (26%)



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Quad biking (7%)

Whilst not covered by the survey, a strong message to come from both the survey and consultation was the need for interpretation activities which build on the local culture and heritage and tell the story of the local area.

Another key theme was concerns raised about security, vandalism and antisocial behaviour. Anecdotally, some respondents to the survey felt that it wasn’t worth investing in the area because anything new would be damaged. People also raised concerns around some illegal activity in the park which they felt needed to be addressed. This should be considered as a key theme for any development proposals moving forward.



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Market Potential: Key Messages

Bold Forest Park provides a significant leisure offer within the local and regional context and its close proximity to the M62 make it accessible from those travelling beyond the region.

The outdoor leisure sector is a growing market. (Although caution should be taken when considering previous reports due to the change in economic climate).

Interest from the outdoor leisure companies interviewed was positive, although some sectors felt it would not be suitable for their business (i.e. outdoor retail, rural food retail).

Interest from existing local businesses was positive – and some businesses are already taking steps to invest locally.

The park is accessible to a large market with a mixed demographic, who are interested in the offer and show that demand exists for the proposal.



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5 ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

The report so far shows that there is untapped demand and wealth generating potential that could be unlocked from this environmental, cultural and heritage asset. It also shows that there is a variety of potential uses that the park could support given the wider local and regional context and position. Two previous studies have projected visitor numbers and from this, the economic potential of Bold Forest Park:

The St Helens Urban Fringe Action Plan (2006) estimates the Forest Park will attract 100,000 new visitors, generate 15 new jobs and bring £3m of GVA to St Helens. (Although this relates to a much broader study area).

The Blue Sail report (2009) estimates potential visitor numbers to Bold Forest Park as between 100,000 and 125,000 per annum (in 3 years of development).

However, previous estimates either referred to a different study area or did not take into account market data on Forest Parks so further refinement was needed to test visitor numbers in relation to identified activities at Bold Forest Park. This section estimates the economic potential of Bold Forest Park based on precedents and market intelligence from elsewhere and a proposed mix of uses.

5.1 Precedents from elsewhere

Existing and well developed Forest Park precedents from elsewhere demonstrate what can be achieved in terms of visitor numbers and economic value, as well as the different sectors they can support. We have gathered evidence from existing literature as well as our own experience to demonstrate the wealth generating potential of relevant precedents. This is presented in Table 8 on the next page.



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Table 8: Economic value generated from relevant precedents

Example Size of

site Set up costs

Visitor Numbers

FTE Jobs

GVA pa (£)

Saltholme Visitor Centre, Middlesbrough

380 ha £7,000,000 100,000 17 £1,000,000

Ospreys, Dodd Wood1, Lake District

103 ha £500,000 100,000 11 £420,000

Dalby Forest2, Pickering 3440 ha £4,300,000 100,000 20 £855,460

Sherwood Forest3, Nottinghamshire

423 ha £5,200,000 200,000 20 £2,400,000

Delamere Forest, Cheshire

950 ha Not known 750,000 25 £1,000,000

Brockholes Visitor Centre4, Lancashire

106 ha £8,567,606 250,000 26 £2,750,000

Old Moor5, Dearne Valley 100 ha £3,450,000 55,000 12 £600,000

Bold Forest Park6 253 ha £80,0007 200,683 2.1 £69,652

Sources: 1. Financing and Ecotourism, RSPB and Natural Economy Northwest, June 2008 2. http://www.yorkshireforward.org.uk/media-centre/our-success-stories/Dalby-Forest 3.http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/LOemail/wider_newsdetail1.cfm?codeID=174453&CFID=18686787&CFTOKEN=85255353 and Newark and Sherwood District Council - Planning and Licensing Committee - 21st August 2007 4. Brockholes Nature reserve Media pack - Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Economic Impact of Brockholes, Regeneris 5. Delivering Regeneration through Environmental Improvement, Environment Agency 6. URS survey and calculations 2012 – based on visitor spend, not reflecting existing business stock 7. Countryside Agency investment in woodlands and interpretation, referenced in various sources

Care should be taken when analysing case studies. Each example shares some comparable features with Bold Forest Park, but could vary in terms of scale, assets, user profiles and location. It would be impossible to find a direct comparator. However, when comparing Bold Forest Park against a diverse range of other precedents, it further emphasises the untapped wealth generating potential of the asset. Bold Forest Park has more existing visitors per annum than other examples cited, but generates significantly less in terms of GVA.

5.2 Short – medium term economic impact based on proposed mix of uses

We have projected the economic potential of Bold Forest Park taking into account both existing visitors and additional new visitors which could be generated based on a proposed mix of activities, facilities and events. The proposed mix is based on:

Identified demand from the survey12;

12

The survey asked 155 people (both existing users and non users) to highlight all activities, facilities and events they would like to see at Bold Forest Park, and we

asked them to rank their top three and specify which activities they would be willing to pay for.

http://www.yorkshireforward.org.uk/media-centre/our-success-stories/Dalby-Forest

http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/LOemail/wider_newsdetail1.cfm?codeID=174453&CFID=18686787&CFTOKEN=85255353

http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/LOemail/wider_newsdetail1.cfm?codeID=174453&CFID=18686787&CFTOKEN=85255353



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Relevant case studies and market intelligence from elsewhere13; and

Activities, facilities and events which have been identified as feasible from wider previous studies.14

Bold Forest Park currently attracts over 200,000 visits per annum. Although they spend very little (estimated at £1.41 per group). We estimate that the additional facilities set out in Table 9 below would encourage some of the existing 200,000 visitors to stay longer and spend more per visit (increasing on average to £3.20). The Visitor Survey showed that 70% of users rated a café in their top 3 requirements. This estimation draws on benchmarks from Delamere Forest and takes into account the significant proportion of high frequency users who spend no money and would still continue to use the park on this basis.

Facilities in themselves however, are not likely to attract significant new visitors. Additional activities and events (along side facilities) could generate 135,543 additional new visitors per annum (who would also spend money in the café and other local places), so totalling more than 300,000 visits per annum.

This would create 27 tourism related jobs, generating a total of £0.9m (rounded) of GVA. We suggest this is a fairly conservative estimate based on what could be achieved in the short term and in the current economic climate (i.e. 1-3 years following development).

Table 9: Estimated additional visitors and GVA

Additional

Visitors

Additional Visitor Income

Net Jobs (FTE)

GVA (£)

Activities: Attract more visitors Walking/ running/ cycling routes 60,204 £808,544 8.6 £290,847 Adventure play area 20,469 £179,108 2.6 £88,169 Public art trail linked to the Dream 9,031 £25,195 1.0 £32,805 Boating/ canoeing 10,034 £150,511 2.6 £89,753

Cycle hire 3,010 £42,504 1.9 £62,772

Facilities: Visitors stay longer Cafe £642,179 9.6 £325,968 Toilets £0 0.0 £0 Litter and dog bins £0 0.0 £0 Improved pathways, signage & connectivity 200683 £0 0.0 £0

Events: More visitors (less frequent) Family fun days 1,605 £11,238 0.3 £9,978

Educational events 1,605 £11,238 0.3 £9,978 Totals 306,643 £1,870,517 27 £910,270


13 Used to consider appropriate complementary mixes, levels of visitor numbers attracted and typical spend by type of activity.

14 Crease Report (2006), Blue Sail report (2009) and URS positioning exercise (2012)



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5.3 Longer term economic impact

An alternative mix of uses could be introduced and sustained into the longer term when the Forest Park becomes more established as a destination, with a developed product and brand. Our suggested approach is to develop the existing offer and build a critical mass by prioritising the features identified above. In the short term (0-5 years), focus on maximising impact from the existing market and develop the offer further as opportunities/ interest from investors emerge into the long term (5 years +).

5.4 Other opportunities

As noted earlier, existing leisure and tourism provision is largely supported by existing residents consumer spend. Existing provision is likely to appeal to some visitors and these existing businesses will benefit from increased visitor numbers. We also assume that there is a need for additional provision to support growing demand, and this could be an opportunity to diversify the market offer.

There could be an option to generate accommodation based on existing businesses who would like to supply this offer. This has not been included in the above estimation since there is little evidence from the survey of demand for overnight accommodation, and other facilities were rated more highly.

There could be opportunities in the environmental sector, but through the course of the study have been considered as a longer term possibility due to a lack of knowledge of aspirations of existing land owners and lack of capacity in existing green infrastructure.

Economic potential: Key messages

Bold Forest Park could potentially create up to 27 additional tourism jobs.

And create £0.9m additional GVA per annum based on a cautious assessment within 3-5 years of development.

Other wider economic benefits could include catalysing investment and regeneration from other local businesses and inward investors, raise image and profile of the area.

Redevelopment could improve community cohesion and reduce anti-social behaviour.



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6 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Conclusions

Overview: Bold Forest Park represents a significant environmental, cultural and heritage asset which is currently well used by the local community but is under exploited in terms of its wealth generating potential.

Baseline uses and user profile: We estimate there to be approximately 200,000 visitors to key sites in Bold Forest Park. Findings suggest the park is used most commonly for dog walking which probably accounts for a large proportion of the high frequency visitors, followed by walking and cycling. There are also significant numbers attracted by the Dream. Anecdotal evidence suggested there was potential to generate income from the large number of existing visitors as well as generating an income from new visitors.

Baseline economic impact: Bold Forest Park currently represents over £57m of GVA. But this is largely existing business stock located here due to availability of land and premises and not linked to a Forest Park offer. Of this, around £12m (rounded) could be attributed to a leisure and tourism sector, although is largely supported by existing resident consumer spend. Currently visitor spend is low (£1.41 per group per visit) and creating an annual GVA of £70k (rounded).

Proposed mix of uses: The survey showed that there was a demand for a variety of activities, events and essential visitor infrastructure. Based on the survey, precedents from elsewhere and the positioning exercise we have prioritised the following facilities, activities and events for the short term development of the park and on which the economic potential is based. Whilst not covered by the survey, a strong message to come from both the survey and consultation was the need for interpretation activities which build on the local culture and heritage tell the story of the local area.

Table 10: Proposed mix of uses Activities Facilities Events Walking/ running/ cycling Adventure play Public art trail (the Dream) Boating/ canoeing Cycle hire

Café Toilets Litter and dog bins Improved pathways,

signage and connectivity

Family fun days Educational events

Economic potential: Prospects for the outdoor leisure economy appear to be optimistic. We estimate that within 1-3 years of development, the park could generate £0.9 m GVA to the local economy and support 27 jobs. An alternative mix of uses could be sustained into the longer term when the Forest Park becomes more established as a destination and generating further economic impacts.



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Table 11: Baseline, projected and benchmark positions

Visitor

numbers Net jobs

GVA (£) per annum

Bold Forest Park (2012) 200,683 2.1 £69,652

Bold Forest Park (2017)15 306,641 27 £910,270

Average of seven case studies 222,143 19 £1,289,351

Source: URS calculations 2012

Image and perceptions: Awareness of the Dream across the North West is likely to be high, given its location and visibility from the motorway means that 35 million vehicles pass by every year. There has also been some media coverage surrounding the installation. (E.g. launch event on the BBC’s The One Show). Anecdotal feedback gathered through this study suggests that people who are aware of The Dream are not aware that there is any other activity to do here. People responding to the survey who had not visited Bold Forest Park cited a lack of awareness as the most common reason for not visiting. So in conclusion it appears that awareness of the Dream is likely to be high, but awareness of Bold Forest Park is low (outside of St Helens). The Dream installation could be a key anchor in attracting people to Bold Forest Park. 18% of people who visited Bold Forest Park cited ‘to visit The Dream’ as their primary reason to visit. This equates to over 12,000 visits to Sutton Manor (when apportioning 18% to 68,985 visits per annum). It should be noted that a lack of perception of Bold Forest Park is easier to address than a poor perception. An opportunity exists to raise awareness and profile of Bold Forest Park, building on The Dream, but profile raising activities should be in line with proposals as they develop.

6.2 Recommendations and next steps

Economic intelligence could be used to set out floor space requirements for key facilities and this could be zoned and incorporated into the existing site uses. The Blue Sail report provides some recommendations on zoning.

A strategy and business plan would be a useful next step in order to:

– Draw on baseline data collected through this report;

– Set vision and objectives for the parks ongoing development;

– An action plan highlighting actions needed to make investment happen;

– Set out construction and operational costs;

– Identify revenue streams and funding opportunities;

– Highlight roles, responsibilities, management and other governance arrangements.

15 Specified year of 2017 assumes a 2 year lead in period and 3 year impact period (i.e. 5 years from now). This projection is additional to the 2012 position. (Excludes construction).



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A more detailed site assessment would be useful to identify and consolidate existing knowledge on the current land uses within the site, ownership patterns, wider local planning policy aspirations, size/ scale, features, opportunities and constraints, access, services and utilities, ecology, topography, and therefore setting out what would be acceptable and suitable on each land parcel. This would need to draw on the work of Blue Sail and URS.

This together with the economic intelligence could be used to inform development briefs for key sites. This should include recommendations on design principles and themes, for example, crime, vandalism, security and antisocial behaviour.

Some feedback so far suggests people would like the park to remain as it is. Some resistance to change may be limited to a small few, but this should be carefully managed to ensure support from the local community. We expect this feedback will be further tested through the wider community consultation.



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7 APPENDIX 1 – LIST OF CONSULTEES

7.1 List of Existing businesses contacted

Business Contact Name Sector

Clock Face Hotel Emily Melbourne Public house

Northfield Riding Centre Helen Shone Riding centre & livery yard

Creativity Defined Greg Hay-Moulder Recording studios, retail of music equipment / post production

New Bold Coffee Shop and Deli

Louise Moon Food and Drink

Mersey Valley Golf and Country Club

Roger Bush Leisure

7.2 List of Potential Inward Investors

Business Contact Sector

Bedlam John Rock Leisure (paintballing)

Forest Holidays Richard Palmer Accommodation

Starbucks Estates team Food and Drink

Booths Supermarket Estates team Retail

Subway Estates team Food and Drink

Adventure 21 MD Leisure

Snow and Rock’s Planning Consultant John Saddler Retail



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8 APPENDIX 2 – SURVEY: SAMPLE AND RESULTS QUESTION 1

Have you used any of the following open spaces; Brickfields, Colliers Moss, Clock Face, Sutton Manor, Wheatacre, Maypole and Griffin Wood?

Answer Options Response Percent

Response Count

Yes 80.6% 125 No 19.4% 30

answered question 155 skipped question 2

QUESTION 2

On your last visit how did you get there? (Please select one option which most applies).

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

By car 58.1% 68 Walked 33.3% 39 Cycled 6.0% 7 By bus 1.7% 2 By train 0.0% 0 Other 0.9% 1 Other (please specify) 5

answered question 117skipped question 40

Other (please specify) - Verbatim

Motorbike Car Share Is parking still available at the pub? I still find signposting very poor to the site and I still don’t like that

the official parking of the King Georges Park inadequate due to the crossing of a very busy main road to gain access to the site.

Taxi I ran

QUESTION 3



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On your last visit, including yourself how big was your group size? (Please select one option which most applies).


Response Count

1 39.8% 47 2 34.7% 41 3 10.2% 12 4 4.2% 5 5 0.8% 1 6+ 10.2% 12


QESTION 4

How often do you use this area or any of the other open spaces identified above? (Please specify frequency of use for both Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter).

Answer Options

Spring/Summer Autumn/Winter Response Count

Frequently (a couple of times a week)

60 54 61

Occasionally (a couple of times a month)

24 19 28

Infrequently (a couple of times a year)

22 20 28

Rarely (less than once a year)

11 7 14


QUESTION 5

On your last visit how much time did you spend there? (Please select one option which most applies).



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Response Count

Less than one hour 20.3% 24

1-2 hours 64.4% 76 3-4 hours 8.5% 10 4 hours + 6.8% 8


QUESTION 6

On your last visit, what did you primarily use this open space for (or any of the other open spaces identified above)? (Please select all that apply).

Answer Options Response Percent Response Count

Walking 45.6% 52 Dog walking 55.3% 63 Organised health walks

0.9% 1

Running 6.1% 7 Cycling 13.2% 15 Horse riding 0.0% 0 Fishing 9.6% 11 Visit the Dream sculpture

18.4% 21

Other (please specify) 15 answered question 114

skipped question 43 Other (please specify) - Verbatim

Go to play area with grandchildren Photography Bring kids I used to take a group on health walks Relaxation, observing wildlife Orienteering event - schools league Newt tracking by photography Made bird boxes with Mersey Forest Foraging On my last visit there my party were disgusted and dismayed that the graffiti that they saw on their

last visit (4 months ago) was still in situ. The lights were broken and parts of the sculpture had been damaged. Do you honestly think this would happen at the Angel of the North?



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Wheelchair cruising Kids Educational With kids Tree planting

QUESTION 7 What other activities or sites did you see whilst in the area? - Verbatim

Biking None Fishing, dog walking, cycling, horse riding, walking. Other people were walking and cycling (There were also youths on trials bikes) Cycling. The really awful underpass at the m62, had turn back as it was un-passable very disappointing. Sherdley Park, St Helens Have also walked, listened for birds, photographed wildlife, had scavenger hunts Fishing, walking, dog walking, cycling Walking, fishing and dog walking None. Sherdley Park. None, there isn’t really much there at the moment Visited all the sites on my long run Cycling None Walking, fishing, orienteering. Bold Heath Garden Centre and World of Glass but it was closed

QUESTION 8

On your last visit, how much money did you and your group spend? (Including travel costs, parking, food and drink bought from local outlets, and any other money spent as a result of coming to the area). (Please select one option which most applies).


Response Count

I didn't spend anything

81.0% 94

Less than £5 8.6% 10 Between £5 and £11 6.9% 8



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Between £11 and £15

0.0% 0

Between £16 and £20

2.6% 3

More than £20 0.9% 1 answered question 116

skipped question 41 QUESTION 9

Why don't you use the open spaces identified? (Select one option that most applies).


Response Count

Not accessible to me/ too far away 18.5% 5

Unaware of these open spaces

63.0% 17

There are better alternatives nearby

11.1% 3

Aware of the open space but no appealing facilities

3.7% 1

Fear of personal safety

3.7% 1



Proximity to home

Never thought about using them

QUESTION 10

What activities would you most like to see available within Bold Forest Park? For each option, specify if this would be of interest, if you would be willing to pay to participate and then highlight your top 3 activities.



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Answer Options Select all that apply

Select which you would be willing

to pay for

Select your top 3

Response Count

Walking/ running/ cycling routes

101 5 80 101

Public art trail linked to the Dream

54 5 30 56

Cycle hire 40 30 22 43 Quad biking 9 10 5 12 BMX/ mountain bike tracks

25 7 14 28

Skate (board) facilities 12 3 4 12

Fishing 38 18 22 39 Boating/ canoeing

38 32 23 41

Horse riding 25 12 14 26 Orienteering 27 8 9 28 Assault course 32 17 12 34 Paintballing 19 19 7 22 Climbing/climbing walls 38 16 19 38

Adventure play area

52 6 35 52



Leave it as it is. Keep it secluded. Don't change Security Checks Live music Music Event Observation Platform for telescopes for planets and stars Quiet activities - Picnic Areas with bins Mountain bike trails /BMX pump track on Sutton Manor Disabled access - I can't easily push a wheelchair up to the dream More sport facilities, i.e. basketball and tennis course



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After visiting Yorkshire Sculpture Park I believe this should be a role model of what St Helens should aspire to. Some of things mentioned above (paintballing/assault course/BMX etc) would cheapen the site.

Wheelchair routes (inc people with dodgy knees and tickers) Security/Policing None Nature Walks Resurface paths and better drainage Animals First visit Somewhere near Dream to get a drink Car parking, I would come more often and take guests if there was more car parking. What is very

annoying is that car parks are often present but are locked or barricaded. QUESTION 11

What facilities would you most like to see in Bold Forest Park? For each option, specify if this would be of interest, if you would be willing to pay to participate and then highlight your top 3 facilities.


Select which you would be willing to

pay for Select your top 3 Response Count

Educational facilities 54 12 34 54 Allotment areas/ community orchards

28 12 14 28

Camping and caravanning facilities

18 13 9 19

Other accommodation 3 2 1 3

Visitor centre 61 10 31 61 Shops/ retail 20 9 10 20 Improved pathways, signage and connectivity

76 2 37 77

More car parking 41 12 17 41 Toilets 97 16 62 98 Cafe 95 47 62 97 Litter and dog bins 87 2 48 88 Other (please specify) 37




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Other (please specify) - Verbatim

Area left for nature Go Ape Park benches and tables. disabled access Policing of the dream and for dog fouling Policing and Bike Riders Drainage on Pathways Policing / Wardens Keep it as it is. Benches Public Art Info boards Local History/Heritage Info Cafe at Sutton Manor Dogs should be on a lead when near the fishing pond Ensure dogs are on leads. Live music Big potential for mountain bike trails at Sutton Manor which would bring more visitors and money to

the area We have a pub at the bottom of dream that needs to be brought on board. Lots of things that you

have stated above the pub could provide. I find it unbelievable that there is a facility that is under-utilised to the extent that the Smithy Manor is.

One way system for dog walkers Smoking bins Better disability access Keep it wild. Kids destroy all that is provided. Info boards, benches/seats, Wheelchair accessible paths More benches Mobile cafe. More benches More seats/benches. Information boards Rain shelters; grips on slippy bridges Bridle paths. Better bridge surface maintenance – slippy Bridle paths Bridal paths. Better policing and security. Litter picking Car park Good paths / signage Map dispenser Security/policing; view point signs More benches Car parking

QUESTION 12

What events would you most like to see being held within Bold Forest Park? For each option, specify if this would be of interest, if you would be willing to pay to participate and then highlight your top 3



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events.


Select which you would be willing to

pay for

Select your top 3

Response Count

Educational events 74 18 47 74 Family fun days 75 29 56 76 Sports events 54 17 32 54 Gig/concerts 46 33 36 48 Outdoor cinema 44 35 36 45 Shows/plays 48 31 28 48 Organised health walks 62 10 37 62

Agricultural shows 35 14 11 35 Other (please specify) 26


Other (Please specify) - Verbatim

Tour guides Heritage Dream walks Mining/heritage plays Keep it as it is Nature walks Photography group Fishing events x3 Cycling Definitely not gigs and concerts too near residential areas Mountain bike riders in Merseyside have to drive miles to go riding. There is a great opportunity to

create a biking location in St Helens. See Lee Quarry in Bacup as an example of what can be achieved. http://adrenaline-gateway.co.uk/LeeQuarry.aspx

I would love to see cultural events on the park, but again we have a world class sculpture and a unique marketing opportunity yet we are calling the park the 'Bold Forrest Park' and not the 'Dream Park'. We should be building on the identity, not diluting it.

Wildlife and local history tours Nature Walks x 10



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Survey results of users of Bold Forest Park - Demographics Number % Females 52 41.9Males 62 50.0

Unknown 10 8.1

Number % St

Helens 16-24 5 4.0 15.4 25-34 20 16.1 13.8 35-44 22 17.7 17.2 45-54 22 17.7 17 55-64 26 21.0 15.7 65+ 19 15.3 21

Unknown 10 8.1 Na

Number % St

Helens White 110 88.7 98.8 Black 0 0.0 0.1 Asian 0 0.0 0.4 Other 0 0.0 0.7

Unknown 14 11.3 98.8

Number % St Helens

Employed 73 58.9 68.4 Unemployed 13 10.5 8.3 Student 6 4.8 4 Retired 25 20.2 20.5

Unknown 7 5.6 Na

Number % Couple without children 38 30.6Family with children 44 35.5Single occupancy 25 20.2

Unknown 17 13.7



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Demographic of all survey respondents

Characteristic Survey St Helens North West Source

Number % % % White 130 96.3 98.8 94.4 Black 1 0.7 0.1 0.6 Asian 3 2.2 0.4 3.4

Ethnicity

Other 1 1.2 0.7 1.5

Census 2001

16-24 10 7.3 15.4 16.7 25-34 25 18.2 13.8 14.9 35-44 29 21.2 17.2 16.6 45-54 25 18.2 17 16.8 55-64 29 21.2 15.7 14.6

Age

65+ 19 13.9 21 20.3

Mid-year population estimates 2010

Male 73 53.7 48.8 49.3 Female 63 46.3 51.2 50.7 Gender

Unknown 11 Mid-year population

estimates 2010 Student 6 4.4 4 3.8

Employed Full-time/ Part time 88 65.2 67.4 68.4 Unemployed 13 9.6 8.4 8.3 Employment

status Retired 28 20.7 20.5 19.4 Annual Population

Survey 2011 Yes 17 12.7 22.1 22.5

Disability No 117 87.3 77.9 77.5 Annual Population

Survey 2011



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9 APPENDIX 3 – VISITOR NUMBERS METHOD

Visitor numbers were derived from data collected during the Site Audit. The Site Audit included observing each of the seven sites over specified time period over different days. A total of 24 observations were made over five days. This included a mixture of week and weekend days, different times of day, mixed weather conditions, although broadly typical for the time of year.

Our approach was defined by three factors, the timescales for the study, availability of resources and drawing on examples and precedents from elsewhere (e.g. Sport England and Department for Transport WebTAG guidance).

The total number recorded at each location was used to estimate on average how many people visited each location on one particular day. We assumed that areas of open space were used on average for 10 hours a day throughout the year. We assessed variance in frequency of use between seasons using data from the survey – this showed an average 10% higher frequency during spring and summer.

People counters have already been installed on the Sutton Manor site at the locations highlighted in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4: People counters at Sutton Manor

Source: St Helens Council

Data already collected for The Dream site which ran over the months between February and September was used to sense check our approach and findings were broadly consistent.



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We multiplied the number of day visitors estimated, by the number of days in a year (365) along with applying 10% uplift to half of this to take into account higher visits over the spring and summer months.

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gani

sed

tour

etc

Impr

oved

si

gnag

e an

d fa

cilit

ies

will

in

crea

se

dem

and

A n

umbe

r of

ot

her

wal

king

lo

catio

n ac

ross

the

Mer

sey

For

est a

rea

and

Del

amer

e fo

rest

Idea

l loc

atio

n fo

r lo

cal d

og

wal

kers

and

ot

hers

se

ekin

g ex

erci

se

Hea

lth

bene

fits

and

com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on

Del

amer

e

Cyc

ling

rout

es

Pro

mot

es

sust

aina

ble

use

of th

e pa

rk

Alre

ady

a nu

mbe

r of

ro

utes

av

aila

ble

33,3

27 (

13%

)

Unl

ikel

y to

be

will

ing

to p

ay

unle

ss a

or

gani

sed

tour

etc

Cyc

ling

is

gene

ratin

g ne

arly

£3b

n a

year

for

the

UK

ec

onom

y,

acco

rdin

g to

a

repo

rt b

y th

e Lo

ndon

Sch

ool

of E

cono

mic

s (S

ourc

e: B

BC

)

A n

umbe

r of

ot

her

wal

king

lo

catio

n ac

ross

the

Mer

sey

For

est a

rea

and

Del

amer

e fo

rest

The

re a

re

alre

ady

path

way

s in

pl

ace

Hea

lth

bene

fits

Impr

oved

cyc

le

rout

es in

Boo

tle

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

46

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Run

ning

P

rom

otes

su

stai

nabl

e us

e of

the

park

Alre

ady

a nu

mbe

r of

ro

utes

av

aila

ble

4.77

%

part

icip

ate

d an

d it

is

an

incr

easi

ng

spor

t

Unl

ikel

y to

be

will

ing

to p

ay

unle

ss a

or

gani

sed

tour

etc

A n

umbe

r of

w

alki

ng

rout

es a

nd

gym

faci

litie

s in

nea

rby

St

Hel

ens

The

re a

re

alre

ady

path

way

s in

pl

ace

Hea

lth

bene

fits

Cyc

le h

ire

Pro

mot

es

sust

aina

ble

use

of th

e pa

rk

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly n

ot

avai

labl

e

Cur

rent

ly

no fa

cilit

y bu

t use

rs

do u

se

the

park

s cy

cle

path

s

Use

rs a

re

likel

y to

ex

pect

to

pay

for

cycl

e hi

re

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

but

surv

ey r

esul

ts

show

dem

and

Nea

rest

cyc

le

hire

faci

lity

is

St H

elen

s

Alre

ady

a nu

mbe

r of

cy

cle

rout

es

for

user

s to

us

e

Hea

lth

bene

fits

and

ma

kes

the

park

m

ore

acc

essi

bl

e

Del

amer

e

Pub

lic a

rt tr

ail

Bui

lds

on

prof

ile r

aisi

ng

activ

ities

of S

t H

elen

s

The

Dre

am

46,2

07 (

18%

)

Unl

ikel

y to

be

will

ing

to p

ay

unle

ss a

or

gani

sed

tour

etc

Pub

lic a

rt w

ill

lead

to

incr

ease

d vi

sito

r nu

mbe

rs

and

an

incr

ease

of

dem

and

on

asso

ciat

ed

faci

litie

s.

A

re a

roun

d T

he D

ream

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

of

fer

Ang

el o

f the

N

orth

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

47

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

BM

X/

Mou

ntai

n bi

ke tr

acks

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

offe

r N

o pr

ovis

ion

avai

labl

e

curr

ently

no

pa

rtic

ipat

ion

Use

rs m

ay

be w

illin

g to

pay

de

pend

ing

on le

vel o

f pr

ovis

ion

prov

ided

The

re is

the

natio

nal B

MX

ce

ntre

in

Man

ches

ter

whi

ch a

ttrac

ts

BM

X u

sers

fr

om a

roun

d th

e co

untr

y

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

of

fer;

he

alth

be

nefit

s

Fis

hing

Fis

hing

is

curr

ently

av

aila

ble

at

Col

liers

Mos

s C

omm

on

(Nor

th)

and

the

lake

at

Clo

ck F

ace

Cou

ntry

Par

k

25,6

71 (

10%

)

Unc

lear

on

nu

mbe

rs

curr

ently

us

ing

the

park

for

fishi

ng

May

pr

ovid

e op

port

uniti

es fo

r

fishe

ries

to

char

ge

Con

tinue

s to

be

one

of th

e la

rges

t act

ive

part

icip

atio

n sp

ort i

n th

e U

K

Mer

sey

Val

ley

Gol

f C

lub

Exi

stin

g lo

catio

n pr

ovid

e id

eal

loca

tion

to

deve

lop

fishi

ng

activ

ity

Com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on,

cont

ribut

es to

the

tour

ism

of

fer

The

New

F

ores

t

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

48

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Can

oein

g

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

0.11

%

part

icip

ate

once

a

wee

kly

curr

ently

no

t av

aila

ble

Use

rs

wou

ld

expe

ct to

pa

y to

hire

eq

uipm

ent

etc

AP

S 5

in

dica

tes

part

icip

atio

n in

sp

ort i

s in

crea

sing

Fac

ilitie

s av

aila

ble

at

Tay

lor

Par

k in

St H

elen

s

Lake

at

Clo

ckfa

ce

ma

kes

suita

ble

loca

tion

Con

trib

utes

to th

e to

uris

m

offe

r,

com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on

For

est o

f Dea

n

Boa

t hire

C

ontr

ibut

es to

to

uris

m o

ffer

Cur

rent

ly n

o ex

istin

g pr

ovis

ion

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

0.22

%

part

icip

ate

in s

ailin

g an

d 0.

9%

in r

owin

g

Use

rs

wou

ld

expe

ct to

pa

y fo

r bo

at h

ire

Incr

ease

d nu

mbe

rs o

f to

uris

ts v

isiti

ng

the

area

will

in

crea

se

dem

and

Fac

ilitie

s av

aila

ble

at

Tay

lor

Par

k in

St H

elen

s

Boa

t hire

w

ould

wor

k at

bo

th th

e C

ollie

rs M

oss

Com

mon

(n

orth

) si

te

and

the

lake

at

Clo

ck F

ace

Cou

ntry

Par

k

Attr

act

tour

ists

an

d fa

mili

es

Tay

lor

Par

k, S

t H

elen

s

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

49

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Qua

d bi

king

Red

uces

ant

i so

cial

be

havi

our

by

prov

idin

g a

regu

late

d pl

ace

to g

o qu

ad b

ikin

g

Illeg

al u

se

only

Unk

now

n nu

mbe

r us

ing

site

ill

egal

ly

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

Use

rs

wou

ld

expe

ct to

pa

y fo

r bo

at h

ire

The

re a

re

num

ber

of

quad

bik

ing

faci

litie

s w

ithin

M

erse

ysid

e

Pro

vide

s a

regu

late

d pl

aces

to

go q

uad

biki

ng in

S

t H

elen

s

Edu

catio

nal

faci

litie

s (e

.g.

wor

k ro

om,

exhi

bitio

n ce

ntre

)

Cur

rent

ly n

o fa

cilit

ies

to

acco

mm

odat

e sc

hool

ch

ildre

n

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Sut

ton

Moo

r ha

s se

en

scho

ol

trip

s ho

wev

er

they

hav

e be

en

limite

d du

e to

la

ck o

r fa

cilit

ies

Sch

ools

us

ually

ha

ve

fund

ing

to

supp

ort

scho

ol tr

ips

Cur

rent

ly a

lack

of

sim

ilar

faci

litie

s to

ca

ter

for

Mer

seys

ide

scho

ols.

N

eare

st fa

cilit

y is

in C

hesh

ire

Fac

ilitie

s av

aila

ble

at

Del

amer

e in

C

hesh

ire

A r

ange

of

wild

life

prov

ides

an

idea

l loc

atio

n fo

r sc

hool

ch

ildre

n

Edu

catio

nal,

com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on,

rais

e aw

aren

ess

Del

amer

e

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

50

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Adv

entu

re

play

are

a

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

Like

ly to

pa

y de

pend

ing

on w

hat i

s on

offe

r

A n

umbe

r of

la

rge

scal

e ad

vent

ure

play

are

as in

Li

verp

ool/M

anc

hest

er a

rea

Cur

rent

ly n

o fa

cilit

y an

d th

e op

en

spac

e pr

ovid

es

enou

gh

spac

e to

ca

ter

for

a pl

ay a

rea

Attr

acts

fa

mili

es

Chi

ldre

n’s

play

are

a

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Unl

ikel

y to

pa

y fo

r fa

cilit

y

Incr

ease

in

visi

tors

will

in

crea

se

dem

and

for

a ch

ild’s

pla

y ar

ea.

Num

ber

of

faci

litie

s av

aila

ble

acro

ss S

t H

elen

s

Spa

ce

avai

labl

e A

ttrac

ts

fam

ilies

Ass

ault

cour

se

N

o pr

ovis

ion

avai

labl

e

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

May

be

will

ing

to

pay

if of

ferin

g so

met

hing

un

ique

The

re is

as

saul

t co

urse

fa

cilit

ies

in

Ske

lmer

sdal

e

The

re is

sp

ace

avai

labl

e an

d no

t muc

h co

mpe

titio

n.

Attr

acts

vi

sito

rs o

r va

ryin

g ag

es

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

51

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Pai

ntba

lling

No

pain

tbal

ling

faci

lity

in S

t H

elen

s

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e in

St

Hel

ens

Yes

Cur

rent

ly n

o fa

cilit

y in

are

a an

d th

e ac

tivity

in

gro

win

g in

po

pula

rity.

No

pain

tbal

ling

faci

lity

curr

ently

av

aila

ble

in

St H

elen

s lo

cal

auth

ority

are

a

land

scap

e av

aila

ble

Attr

acts

bi

g gr

oups

to

the

area

Clim

bing

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

Yes

Act

ive

Peo

ple

Sur

vey

5 (2

010/

11)

indi

cate

d th

at

'mou

ntai

neer

ing'

was

one

of

only

four

spo

rts

to s

how

an

incr

ease

in

part

icip

atio

n

Clim

bing

fa

cilit

ies

avai

labl

e in

M

anch

este

r an

d W

idne

s of

ferin

g in

door

and

ou

tdoo

r fa

cilit

ies

Spa

ce

avai

labl

e an

d w

ould

co

ntrib

ute

to

over

all

leis

ure

offe

r

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

of

fer,

he

alth

be

nefit

s

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

52

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Allo

tmen

t ar

eas/

com

mu

nity

orc

hard

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

Yes

co

ntrib

utio

ns

wou

ld b

e ex

pect

ed

The

re a

re a

nu

mbe

r of

co

mm

unity

al

lotm

ent

proj

ects

in

the

Live

rpoo

l an

d M

erse

ysid

e ar

ea

Spa

ce

avai

labl

e an

d ea

sily

ac

cess

ible

by

loca

l co

mm

unity

Com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on

St H

elen

s C

omm

unity

A

llotm

ent

Sch

eme

Hor

se r

idin

g

The

re a

re a

nu

mbe

r of

ho

rse

ridin

g st

able

s in

cl

ose

prox

imity

of

Bol

d F

ores

t P

ark

Unk

now

n nu

mbe

r us

ing

the

site

fo

r ho

rse

ridin

g bu

t th

ere

are

two

hors

e rid

ing

faci

litie

s in

cl

ose

prox

imity

of

the

site

.

In 2

005

402,

000

part

icip

ant

s (o

vera

ll ad

ult

part

icip

ati

on r

ate

of

1%)

Yes

The

re is

a

ridin

g sc

hool

ju

st o

ut o

f the

pr

opos

ed

park

s bo

unda

ry.

Brid

lew

ays

in

plac

e an

d an

id

eal r

ural

lo

catio

n w

ith

near

by

faci

litie

s

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

of

fer

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

53

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Orie

ntee

ring

N

o pr

ovis

ion

avai

labl

e

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

la

rge

amou

nt

of la

nd

avai

labl

e

Hea

lth

bene

fits,

co

mm

uni

ty

cohe

sion

Fal

conr

y

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Fac

ility

cu

rren

tly

not

avai

labl

e

Yes

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

of

fer

Cam

ping

&

cara

vann

ing

faci

litie

s

Nea

rest

fa

cilit

y in

S

kelm

ersd

ale

whi

ch o

ffers

te

am b

uild

ing

faci

litie

s an

d a

cam

ping

ba

rn

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Cam

ping

an

d ca

rava

nni

ng h

as

beco

me

incr

easi

ngly

mor

e po

pula

r (I

nsig

ht

repo

rt)

Yes

The

re is

an

appa

rent

sh

orta

ge o

f ca

mpi

ng a

nd

cara

vann

ing

faci

litie

s in

M

erse

ysid

e

Site

cou

ld b

e ap

prop

riate

fo

r a

smal

l ca

mpi

ng s

ite

suita

ble

to

supp

ort

scho

ol tr

ips

Con

trib

utes

to

tour

ism

of

fer

and

prov

ides

ad

ditio

nal

faci

litie

s

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

54

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Acc

omm

odat

ion

A

dd to

tour

ism

of

fer

Tw

o P

rem

ier

Inns

loca

ted

in c

lose

pr

oxim

ity o

f si

te

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Yes

Incr

ease

d le

isur

e op

port

unity

w

ould

in

crea

se

dem

and

for

over

nigh

t ac

com

mod

ati

on

Spa

ce

avai

labl

e an

d ea

sily

ac

cess

ible

du

e to

clo

se

prox

imity

to

mot

orw

ay

Con

trib

utes

to th

e to

uris

m

offe

r

Vis

itor

cent

re

N

o pr

ovis

ion

avai

labl

e

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

May

be

will

ing

to

pay

if of

ferin

g so

met

hing

un

ique

Incr

ease

d vi

sito

r nu

mbe

rs

wou

ld c

reat

e a

dem

and

for

such

a fa

cilit

y

S

pace

av

aila

ble

Pro

vide

s ad

ditio

nal

faci

litie

s co

ntrib

uti

ng to

the

tour

ism

of

ferin

g an

d en

cour

agin

g vi

sits

fr

om

fam

ilies

, sc

hool

s et

c

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

55

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Bus

ines

s un

its (

reta

il)

A n

umbe

r of

ne

arby

sho

ps

are

spre

ad

acro

ss th

e si

te b

ound

ary

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

No

Incr

ease

d vi

sito

r nu

mbe

rs

wou

ld c

reat

e a

dem

and

for

such

a fa

cilit

y

A n

umbe

r of

b

usi

ness

un

its

surr

ound

the

site

with

se

rve

the

loca

l co

mm

unity

Spa

ce

avai

labl

e

Pro

vide

s ad

ditio

nal

faci

litie

s fo

r vi

sito

rs o

f th

e fo

rest

Impr

oved

pa

thw

ays,

si

gnag

e an

d co

nnec

tivity

n/a

N

o

Nee

d to

im

prov

e w

alki

ng/c

yclin

g of

fer

Enc

oura

ges

w

alki

ng,

cycl

ing,

ho

rse

ridin

g an

d as

soci

ate

d ac

tiviti

es.

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

56

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Car

par

king

A n

umbe

r of

ca

r pa

rks

at

Clo

ckfa

ce

and

Sut

ton

Man

or

Tot

al n

umbe

r of

vis

itors

us

ing

the

car

park

s is

un

clea

r

P

ossi

bly

Incr

ease

d vi

sito

rs w

ill le

ad

to a

dem

and

for

car

park

ing

Nee

d fo

r m

ore

park

ing

as c

ar u

se to

th

e pa

rk is

2n

d m

ost

popu

lar

form

of

trav

el

Attr

acts

vi

sito

rs

from

fu

rthe

r af

ield

to

use

the

park

Toi

lets

No

but a

nu

mbe

r of

pu

bs w

ith

toile

ts

avai

labl

e

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Unl

ikel

y to

pa

y fo

r fa

cilit

y

Incr

ease

d vi

sito

rs w

ill le

ad

to a

dem

and

for

toile

t fac

ilitie

s.

A

nee

d fo

r m

ore

toile

t fa

cilit

ies

Pro

vide

s ad

ditio

nal

faci

litie

s fo

r vi

sito

rs

Caf

é

Bol

d C

offe

e sh

op is

lo

cate

d w

ithin

th

e bo

unda

ry

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

No

Incr

ease

d vi

sito

rs w

ill le

ad

to a

dem

and

for

a ca

fé.

Bol

d C

offe

e S

hop

curr

ently

un

der-

supp

lied

Pro

vide

s ad

ditio

nal

faci

litie

s fo

r vi

sito

rs

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

57

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Litte

r an

d do

g bi

ns

In

suffi

cien

t su

pply

n/

a

Cur

rent

ly th

ere

is a

und

er

supp

ly, a

n in

crea

se in

vi

sito

rs w

ill

incr

ease

this

de

man

d

Kee

ps

the

plac

e tid

y w

hich

co

ntrib

utes

to th

e to

uris

m

offe

r

Woo

dwas

te

prod

ucts

No

prov

isio

n av

aila

ble

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Enc

oura

ges

su

stai

bal

e us

e of

th

e pa

rk

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

58

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Chr

istm

as

tree

sal

es

N

o pr

ovis

ion

avai

labl

e

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

D

eman

d on

ly in

D

ecem

ber

The

re a

re

seve

ral l

arge

an

d in

depe

nden

t re

taile

rs

offe

ring

this

se

rvic

e in

St

Hel

ens

Cou

ld

prov

ide

a se

rvic

e fo

r lo

cal

com

mun

ity

Pro

vide

s a

bu

sine

ss

oppo

rtun

ity

for

the

park

and

en

cour

ages

vi

sito

rs to

th

e ar

ea

in w

inte

r m

onth

s

Del

amer

e

Eve

nts

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

59

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Spo

rt e

vent

s

Cur

rent

ly n

o sp

ortin

g ev

ents

take

pl

ace

in B

old

For

est

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Dep

endi

ng

on e

vent

s u

sers

w

ould

ex

pect

to

pay

or

mak

e a

cont

ribut

ion

Cou

ld b

e de

man

d fo

r sp

ort e

vent

s in

gr

owin

g sp

orts

e.

g fis

hing

and

cy

clin

g

A n

umbe

r of

sp

ort e

vent

s ar

e he

ld

acro

ss S

t H

elen

s an

d M

erse

ysid

e

Site

cou

ld

hold

fish

ing,

cr

oss

coun

try

com

petit

ions

et

c

Attr

acts

th

e w

ider

co

mm

uni

ty,

com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on,

prom

otes

sp

ortin

g ac

tivity

Gig

/con

cert

s

No

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Wou

ld

expe

ct to

pa

y

Out

door

gig

/ co

ncer

ts/

fest

ival

s be

com

ing

mor

e po

pula

r

Mu

sic

conc

erts

hel

d at

Del

amer

e F

ores

t

Larg

e am

ount

of

spac

e an

d ac

cess

ible

to

peop

le

trav

ellin

g fr

om b

eyon

d th

e lo

cal

area

.

Attr

acts

vi

sito

rs

(als

o co

uld

incr

ease

us

age

of

park

at

nigh

t)

Del

amer

e

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

60

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Pla

ys/s

how

s

No

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Wou

ld

expe

ct to

pa

y

Ope

n ai

r th

eatr

e pr

oduc

tions

ar

e ho

sted

in

near

by

Che

ster

.

Larg

e am

ount

of

spac

e an

d ac

cess

ible

to

peop

le

trav

ellin

g fr

om b

eyon

d th

e lo

cal

area

.

Attr

acts

vi

sito

rs

(als

o co

uld

incr

ease

us

age

of

park

at

nigh

t)

Out

door

ci

nem

a

No

Cur

rent

ly n

o pr

ovis

ion

on

site

Unk

now

n nu

mbe

r of

vi

sito

rs to

sp

inni

ngfi

eld

cine

ma

Wou

ld

expe

ct to

pa

y

Out

door

ci

nem

a fa

cilit

y in

S

pinn

ingf

ield

s in

M

anch

este

r

larg

e am

ount

of

ope

n sp

ace

and

easi

ly

acce

ssib

le

Attr

acts

vi

sito

rs

(als

o co

uld

incr

ease

us

age

of

park

at

nigh

t)

Spi

nnin

gfie

lds

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

61

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

A

pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

Evi

den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Agr

icul

tura

l sh

ows

N

o C

urre

ntly

no

prov

isio

n on

si

te

n/a

Yes

wou

ld

expe

ct to

m

ake

a co

ntrib

utio

n de

pend

ing

on s

ize

of

even

t.

larg

e am

ount

of

ope

n sp

ace

and

easi

ly

acce

ssib

le

Pro

vide

s a

reve

nue

gene

ratin

g op

port

uni

ty a

nd

incr

eas

es

visi

tor

num

bers

Far

mer

s M

arke

ts

N

o C

urre

ntly

no

prov

isio

n on

si

te

Ove

r 10

re

gula

r fa

rmer

s m

arke

t ta

ke p

lace

ac

ross

M

erse

ysid

e

Unl

ikel

y to

pa

y

Far

mer

s m

arke

ts h

ave

incr

ease

d in

po

pula

rity.

Cur

rent

ly a

m

arke

t on

the

last

Frid

ay o

f ev

ery

mon

th

held

in S

t H

elen

s.

Far

m la

nd o

n si

te

Rev

enue

ge

nera

ting

and

incr

eas

es

visi

tor

num

bers

St H

elen

s C

ounc

il —

Eco

nom

ic In

telli

genc

e G

athe

ring

EC

ON

OM

IC I

NT

ELL

IGE

NC

E

GA

TH

ER

ING

9th M

ay

2012

62

Act

ivit

ies

Rel

evan

ce t

o

po

licy

dri

vers

E

xist

ing

p

rovi

sio

n

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n

on

Sit

e

Cu

rren

t p

arti

cip

atio

n w

ider

Will

ing

nes

s to

pa

y D

eman

d &

g

row

th

Co

mp

etit

ion

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pp

rop

riat

en

ess

to s

ite

Ke

y b

enef

its

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den

ce o

f su

cces

s (c

ase

stu

die

s)

Com

mun

ity

even

ts

N

o C

urre

ntly

no

prov

isio

n on

si

te

U

nlik

ely

to

pay

Cou

ld

prov

ide

a m

eetin

g pl

ace

for

the

loca

l co

mm

unity

Com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on

Hea

lth w

alks

A n

umbe

r of

he

alth

wal

ks

take

pla

ce

orga

nise

d by

th

e P

CT

Infr

eque

nt

U

nlik

ely

to

pay

Hea

rt r

elat

ed

deat

hs h

ave

incr

ease

d an

d th

e P

CT

su

ppor

ted

such

sc

hem

es to

re

duce

s th

is.

Alre

ady

a nu

mbe

r of

w

alki

ng

rout

es to

ch

oose

from

Hea

lth

bene

fits

and

com

mun

ity

co

hesi

on

Economic Intelligence Gathering Report - St Helens · Economic Intelligence Gathering Report Final...

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