BUSINESS NEWS
Bath venues celebrate triumphant night at South West Tourism Awards
This year ’ s South West Tourism Excellence Awards proved to be a successful evening for numerous Bath-based venues seeing them pick up a total of nine accolades .
The annual event - held in February this year at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay - recognises “ the development of high-quality tourism businesses in the region .”
Lucknam Park , a five-star hotel in Colerne , received two Golds – one for ‘ Hotel of the Year ’ and one for ‘ Spa and Wellbeing Experience of the Year ’ – and a Silver for ‘ Restaurant / Bistro of the Year .’
Claire Randall , the hotel ’ s managing director , remarked that the awards provide a “ great motivation ” for local venues .
She added : “ The medals are a reflection of the very hard work the team put in to deliver the best service across all areas of the business .”
The Roman Baths & Pump Room , owned by Bath & North East Somerset Council , landed Gold in the ‘ Access & Inclusivity ’ and ‘ International Visitor Experience ’ categories along with a Bronze for ‘ Venue and Business Tourism .’
Improvements over the past year at the Roman Baths have included significant developments in facilities for disabled visitors .
Bath & North East Somerset cabinet member for economic and community regeneration , Cllr Paul Myers , said that the awards are “ testament to the hard work put in throughout the year by staff at the Roman Baths .”
Meanwhile , Foot Trails , the Bath-based firm that creates custom-made walking trips , won Silver in the ‘ International Visitor Experience of the Year ’ category .
Alison Howell , chief executive officer for Foot Trails , said : “ This award recognises my talented team , for exporting and developing walking experiences that encourage international visitors to explore rural South West England .”
Menu Gordon Jones , the “ contemporary ” Bath restaurant gained a Bronze in the ‘ Restaurant / Bistro of the Year ’ category . Owner , Gordon Jones said that it was a “ delight ” to be “ representing the very best in the South West .”
Finally , The American Museum in Britain won a Bronze in the ‘ Small Attraction of the Year category .’
Jon Ducker , head of visitor experience at the museum insisted , however , that the team would “ not be resting on its laurels ,” and will now be “ seeking pursuit of the gold award .”
It was also a good night for various Somerset venues including Wells Cathedral which picked up a Silver medal in the ‘ Large Attraction of the Year ’ category .
LOCAL PROJECT TEAM REVEALED FOR TWERTON PARK REDEVELOPMENT
A number of Bath-based firms have been confirmed as part of the expert team tasked with bringing forward new Bath City FC stadium and community hub .
Bath City Football Club and Greenacre Capital have revealed the core project team that will be behind the redevelopment of Twerton Park .
Bath ’ s award winning Stride Treglown have been appointed as architects for the scheme . They will be joined on the project by services and sustainability engineers BuroHappold and structural and civil engineers Momentum , who are also Bathbased firms .
Jones Lang LaSalle will act as project managers from their Bristol office and Phil Jones Associates as transport consultants for the proposals , which will see part of Bath City FC ’ s home ground demolished and replaced with new club and community facilities
Frank Whittle Partnership will join the team as specialist stadium consultants . The
Preston firm has a wealth of experience working on sports grounds around the country .
Nick Blofeld , Chair of Bath City Football Club , said “ We are entering an exciting phase of the history of Bath City FC . Our proposals for a partial redevelopment of the ground and an upgrade of the facilities will not only benefit the Club but also the wider Twerton community .
“ We are determined to keep Bath City in the heart of Twerton and make it an integral part of the community .
“ We are pleased to announce the technical team who will be working on this project and we are even more pleased that the team of professionals includes so many Bath-based firms , who will bring with them a unique insight and understanding of the area .”
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4 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018