Staycation boost for Warwickshire attractions

TWO of Warwickshire’s top tourist attractions enjoyed the busiest August bank holiday weekend in history because of the recession.

Staycationing, or holidaying at home, has sparked a huge surge in visitors to ­historical properties across ­the country, with English Heritage reporting a 28 per cent increase in visitors to its properties in the first three weeks of August.

The organisation, which looks after and promotes a number of England’s historical properties, said overall visitor numbers are up by more than a quarter since April in comparison to last year.

The newly-created Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth Castle – originally created for Queen Elizabeth I by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester – resulted in double the number of visitors this summer compared to last.

And Warwick Castle is among medieval sites across Britain which have experienced a revival, which has been
partly put down to Merlin mania sweeping the country following the BBC television series.

Around £1million has been spent on a new dungeon attraction at the castle.
Visitors to the medieval dungeon are greeted by fake blood, while guides demonstrate how prisoners used to have their tongues ripped out.

Sue Kemp, general manager of the castle, said it’s seen double digit growth.

She added: “We’re making the most of it as inevitably the markets will change and people will start going abroad again.”

Warwickshire’s attractions are also seeing an increasing number of visitors from a variety of different countries.

Elliott Frisby, of VisitBritain, said: “For the first six months of this year overall visitors were down nine per cent because the recession badly hit business tourism but holiday visitors are holding up well and are up four per cent.”

Visitors from Austria are up 55 per cent, Germany 44 per cent, France 24 per cent and Portugal 23 per cent.

Mr Frisby added: “They are not just travelling to London but all over the UK to historical ­properties.”

Energy firm jobs under threat

JOBS at the National Grid in Warwick could be under threat, with unions fearing hundreds of cuts as part of plans to save millions of pounds.

National Grid has written to the GMB union saying it is reviewing its shared services operations in the UK, and has to find a minimum saving of £7 million by 2010/11 at its Warwick, Northampton and Newcastle sites.

And in its letter to the union, the firm said that the savings would involve job losses.

GMB said options put forward by National Grid as part of the review include consulting on redundancies and outsourcing work to another contractor.

Gary Smith, GMB National Secretary for energy, said: “This is a shameful example of corporate
greed that a hugely profitable UK business is threatening to sack loyal and dedicated staff. Hundreds of jobs are at risk at these three locations.

“This is despite recording profits of £3billion, and guaranteeing large bonuses to directors, and an eight per cent return to shareholders. Despite the profitability of National Grid, unions and staff have been working to identify savings to help secure jobs.

“Over £3 million in savings have been identified, and although the process has not yet been completed, senior management have now indicated that this will not be enough, and jobs will go.”

The letter comes as members of the GMB and Unison at the firm’s site in Newcastle upon Tyne announced plans to stage a 24-hour strike on Friday, after voting in favour of industrial action over plans to outsource work – which the unions believe will lead to job losses at the firm’s offices in Warwick and Northampton.

It is expected that more than 180 workers will rally in the city centre to voice their opposition to the company’s plans.

Mike Jeram, national officer of Unison, said: “Unison members have sent a very clear message to the company.

“When the company says they have not made a decision on the future of the Newcastle operation, their employees do not believe them.

“This is a tremendous vote in favour of industrial action, and it is time for the company to seriously start negotiating.”

A National Grid spokesman said: “We have a duty to make sure we are delivering our services to customers as efficiently and effectively as possible. Therefore we have been reviewing our internal support services right across the company.

“We have always said that National Grid has shared services functions at Northampton and Warwick which are subject to this review. But this is just one department, and the review of shared services does not
affect the majority of staff working at those sites.

“We recognise that these are sensitive times for employees, and we are supporting our staff in every way we can. No final decision has yet been made about the way forward. We have not taken any decisions to outsource any services, or close any location.”

Rail station for Kenilworth moves closer

A NEW railway station in Kenilworth could be up and running in just thee years after the official signing of the deal to approve plans took place this week.

The old Kenilworth station closed in 1965 but the town’s population has since grown by 40 per cent, with commuters having to drive to Warwick, Coventry or Leamington to catch a train.

It is hoped the station will be completed in 2012 after the official agreement was signed by Councillor Peter Barnes, chairman of Warwickshire County Council and Andy Parson, head of rail at John Laing, who successfully tendered for the work.

The official signing has been welcomed by councillors who say it will not only boost tourism and the economy but give residents more travel options.

Councillor Alan Cockburn (Con, Kenilworth St John’s) and environment portfolio holder for Warwickshire County Council said: “I’m thrilled about it.

“This will give residents a choice and will be very popular with commuters.

“There are 15,000 people of working age but only 5,000 jobs in Kenilworth. That means 10,000
people commute and the roads are often grid-locked.

“The station will be so near the town centre, it will help regenerate the town.”

Councillor John Whitehouse (Lib Dem, Kenilworth Abbey) said: “There will be two major benefits for Kenilworth – it will link the town to the outside world and also bring people in. English Heritage are very pleased, as it will encourage more people to come in to see the castle and to come in for work, leisure and entertainment reasons.”

John Laing was chosen by Shire Hall earlier in the year from a shortlist of two. Warwickshire County Council awarded a 20-year contract to
the infrastructure specialists as part of a larger project to improve rail services on the Nuneaton-to-Leamington line.

Mr Parson said: “Hopefully the station will be completed by October 2012.

“We’re very pleased to be working with Warwickshire County Council. It builds on our previous success when we built Coleshill Parkway station in 2007.”

Campaign group A Station for Kenilworth (ASK) has been calling for plans to be get the go-ahead for the last five years.

Spokesman Graham Hyde said: “This is a really important move in getting the project through to com-pletion. Having it finished in 2012 is more optimistic than I was hoping, I was expecting 2013 but if it can be down in 2012 that sounds good to me.

“We’re particularly happy that the preferred site is in the middle of town. A lot of new stations that are being built are parkway stations on the outskirts of towns which people have to drive to, which seems pointless.

“Having a station in the middle is a fantastic opportunity for people to walk to it. A large percentage of
the town would be able to walk to the station in ten minutes.

“It gives people another option to commute and will also encourage people to come into Kenilworth in the evening and sample the nightlife and restaurants.”

A third of mums-to-be in Warwickshire continue smoking throughout their pregnancy

ONE in three pregnant smokers are putting their unborn baby’s life at risk by failing to quit the
habit.

Between April 2008 and March 2009, 247 pregnant women across Warwickshire tried to give up smoking through the NHS.

But a report from NHS Stop Smoking Services found that just 41 percent of them successfully quit, with 35 per cent failing to give up the habit.

The rest of the results were unknown.

Smoking during pregnancy means a baby is more likely to be born prematurely, have a low birth weight, poor lung function and smaller organs.

Smoking also increases the chance of miscarriage and morning sickness.

Jane Wright, manager of NHS Warwickshire’s Stop Smoking Service, said: “We want to help women to stop smoking as early as possible in their pregnancy but to do this they need support and to be able to talk about it.

“NHS Warwickshire’s Stop Smoking Service provides friendly, confidential advice and can support mums-to-be throughout their quit attempt, including the availability of home visits as well as free nicotine-replacement products.

“Pregnant women who smoke must remember that their unborn child’s heart and lungs are going to be made to work much harder.”

Figures from NHS Stop Smoking Services also showed the number of women nationwide who managed to quit smoking during pregnancy fell by 12 per cent in a year.

Of the 18,928 pregnant women who set a date to quit last year, 8,641 – less than half – were successful. This compares with 9,817 out of 18,977 the year before.

Janet Fyle, the Royal College of Midwives’ professional policy advisor, said: “It is disappointing to see the figures going in the wrong direction.

“There is ample evidence on the impact of smoking on the health of the pregnant mother and child, and we advise all women who are pregnant or trying to conceive to do their best to give up smoking.”

Despite the disappointing figures, Warwickshire Stop Smoking Service said it is continuing to see good results from people using its programme.

Last year 6,438 people set a quit date with the service. Of these, 3,280 were still non-smokers four weeks later.

In total, £74million was spent by NHS Stop Smoking Services last year to try and help people quit - equivalent to a cost per quitter of £219. This increased from £173 in the same period in 2007/08 and £160 in 2006/07.

Although more than 337,000 people successfully gave up smoking through the NHS in England last year, this was a drop of four per cent on the previous year, when record numbers quit as a ban on smoking in public places was introduced.

Tim Straughan, NHS Information Centre chief executive, said: “The report shows that fewer people successfully quit last year compared to 2007/08. However, 2007/08 saw the introduction of the ban on smoking in public places which would be expected to affect the number of quitters in that year.

“It is encouraging that more people quit smoking last year than in 2006/07, the year prior to the ban.”

To find out more about the NHS Warwickshire Stop Smoking Service call free on 0800 0852917, visit www.smokefreewarwickshire.org or text LIFE to 80800.

Pub drinkers gulp over plastic pints

THE traditional pint glass could soon become a thing of the past in Warwickshire if a new shatterproof plastic design from the Home Office is given the go-ahead.

The Home Office has asked the Design Council to create a new kind of glass
in an attempt to stop them being used as weapons.

Figures showed 5,500 people are attacked with glasses and bottles every year in England and
Wales.

The project is part of the Home Office’s “Safe. Sensible. Social.” campaign.

The appointed designers of the new glasses, Design Bridge, said their challenge was to reduce the opportunity for the vessel to be used as a weapon, while also providing opportunities for enhanced consumer appeal and brand image.

The new range is set to be unveiled in December and more than one solution
will be developed, which could then be taken up by pubs and clubs in Warwickshire.

But there has been a mixed reaction to the proposed
designs.

Thirty-four-year-old Jake Hutchinson has worked in a Leamington bar for two years.

He said: “I can see the safety benefits but it just seems a shame. Drinking from plastic glasses will ruin the whole experience of going out for a pint. It could really put people off, which isn’t what the industry needs.

“If pubs are forced to have plastic glasses, I think it says a lot about the society we live in. People should be able to go to a pub and have a drink from a normal glass without the fear of being
attacked.”

The British Beer and Pub Association also said pub-goers don’t like drinking from plastic containers and it does not want to see the new plastic glass designs made compulsory in
pubs.

Mark Hastings, director of communications at the association, said: “A glass is a better container for the quality of the beer. You can pick up a taint of plastic from a plastic container.”

He added that in real terms plastic containers were expensive – they had a limited shelf life, scratched easily and were damaged when put in dishwashers.