Castle commitment fortifies Chamber's mission to move forward together
"We have to work together to make Warwick, the town and the castle attractive. If the destination of Warwick as a whole is appealing, then people will want to come and come back and stay overnight."
‘Let’s move forward together,’ was the unanimous message when businesses gathered for a meeting at the invitation of Warwick Castle earlier this month.
Liam Bartlett, general manager at Warwick Castle, invited Warwick Chamber of Trade to hold its November meeting in the Great Hall at the Castle.
The invitation underlined Liam’s, and the Castle’s, commitment to integrate with all other businesses in Warwick to maximise the town’s tourist appeal and tackle the challenges of 2023, not least the struggle to recruit in the hospitality sector.
The Castle, owned by Merlin Entertainments, receives 750,000 visitors a year and is one of the UK’s most enduringly popular attractions. However, with an annual outlay of around £500,000 in heritage restoration alone, it requires careful management to remain profitable – and is far from immune to the challenges which face smaller businesses in the town.
“There are a lot of common factors,” Liam said. “Recruitment, for example - it is just as hard for us to recruit 50 staff for our performance teams as it is for a smaller bar or restaurant to recruit the personnel they need. All of us in hospitality share that challenge and there are some easy wins for us where we can support each other with that. For example, at the Castle we are good at training and supporting people who can then go off and do other jobs.
“For us to integrate with the town is probably the most important factor for us, going forward. As a single attraction, it’s impossible to grow in isolation. We have to work together to make Warwick, the town and the castle attractive. If the destination of Warwick as a whole is appealing, then people will want to come and come back and stay overnight.
“I was really happy to host the meeting and it was great that so many businesses attended. Hopefully it is the start of a really strong relationship where everyone understands that we are very much part of the town.”
That commitment from the Castle is very much appreciated by the Chamber of Trade which works constantly to promote the town for all its businesses.
“We are looking to create a business community that can support each other,” said chairman Sue Butcher. “We are grateful for all the support we receive from Warwickshire County Council and Warwick Town Council and now that Warwick Castle wants to be deeply involved is a huge plus. It was a great meeting hosted by Lian and with the involvement of big attractions like the Castle, the Racecourse and the Lord Leycester Hospital, as a Chamber we are rejuvenated.
“We are so lucky to have these assets on our doorstep and we really need to make the most of them.”
The meeting followed on from a very well-attended and productive stakeholder workshop hosted by Warwickshire County Council's Towns Network team in early October. The session was held at the newly renovated Lord Leycester hospital and saw 55 local stakeholders get together to talk all things Warwick.
Aaron Corsi, Warwickshire County Council's Lead Commissioner for Place, Projects and Partnerships, said: "The County Council warmly welcomes the collective approach being taken by the businesses of Warwick and will support them in every way we can. There was a really positive vibe to the stakeholder workshop with an open and honest discussion about the towns strengths weaknesses and any barriers to change.
"The objective is to create a shared understanding and plan of action to make Warwick even more welcoming and attractive to both residents locally and visitors from further afield and by working together we can definitely make that happen."