Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire

Hotel Solutions completed work in December 2016 for the D2N2LEP, Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire and Experience Nottinghamshire on the development of a strategy for public sector intervention to accelerate investment in hotel and visitor accommodation development across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The objectives of the assignment were to provide a robust, evidence-based assessment of the future requirements and opportunities for investment in visitor accommodation provision across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and to prepare a clear strategy and action plan for public sector intervention to accelerate accommodation development across the two counties. The work included a review of national hotel and visitor accommodation development trends; audit of the current supply of visitor accommodation in the two counties; review of current accommodation development proposals; wide-ranging surveys of accommodation businesses to assess current performance and market demand; review of the strategic context for economic and tourism growth across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and identification of key projects that will drive future growth in accommodation demand; audit of potentially available hotel and visitor accommodation development sites; and survey of hotel and visitor accommodation operators and developers to assess their interest in investing in the two counties.

 

The research found evidence of need for investment in the upgrading of existing hotels and visitor accommodation, as well as potential for a wide range of new visitor accommodation development, including holiday cottages, holiday lodges and lodge parks, treehouses, further touring caravan and camping sites, camping pod developments, glamping sites, outdoor education centres and children’s activity holiday centres, additional budget hotels in key towns, 4 star and boutique hotels in a few locations, good quality pub accommodation, restaurants with rooms, new B&Bs and guest houses to replace those that close as their owners retire, wellness retreats and wedding venues with accommodation.

 

The key output from the study was a Visitor Accommodation Development Acceleration Plan, comprising 12 programmes designed to:

 

  • Raise awareness of the opportunities for visitor accommodation development;
  • Ensure positive planning policies for hotel and visitor accommodation;
  • Further investigate the identified site opportunities and match them to interested hotel and visitor accommodation developers;
  • Assess the accommodation development potential of local authority owned land and property assets;
  • Assist local authorities in looking at direct investment in hotel and visitor accommodation development schemes;
  • Establish clear hotel development strategies for Derby and Nottingham as regeneration schemes in the two cities start to deliver new hotel demand;
  • Accelerate the development of glamping;
  • Support the development of the pub accommodation sector;
  • Encourage cyclist-friendly accommodation in the Derbyshire Peak District;
  • Provide evidence of corporate demand for hotel accommodation in Mansfield, Ilkeston, Belper and Swadlincote, to help bring forward hotel development in these locations;
  • Provide tailored business and quality improvement support for the accommodation sector;
  • Put in place plans to keep the insight provided by the Visitor Accommodation Study up-to-date.

 

The study has been used to support a number of hotel and visitor accommodation development proposals that have since come forward in the two counties.