Biddulph’s “got a story to sell” when it comes to tourism and the “outside world should know about this hidden gem”.
These were just some of the comments made during a town council meeting where suggestions were made about how more visitors could be drawn to the area.
While it was mentioned that the competition was only on the doorstep – including Leek, Buxton and the Peak District in one direction and Churnet Valley and Alton Towers in the other – the feeling was that a boost in tourism for Biddulph could be on its way.
Speaking during a meeting of the town council’s Town and Community Committee, Coun Nigel Yates said that some visitors in the last couple of years had said “they’d never been here before” and described it as “a fantastic place”.
He pointed to the popular Festival of Brilliant that had been staged at Biddulph Old Hall.
Coun Yates said: “We are getting to the stage where I think there could be a real boost in Biddulph tourism.”
He also referred to the Head of the Trent project to improve the banks of the river as a visitor destination from its source in Biddulph Moor.
“That might be a few years down the line but it will be a driver for putting Biddulph very much on the map. We’ve got two fantastic country parks, which I think are undersold, never mind Biddulph Grange Gardens,” Coun Yates told colleagues.
He also referred to Mow Cop Castle and Biddulph Valley Way, for sustainable travel.
“We have got a story to sell and I think we need to put together a series of demands on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and whoever follows in a couple of years (post-local government reorganisation) to make sure all those individual jewels are actually joined together.”
Coun the Rev Yanyan Case, who lived in Nottingham before moving to Biddulph a few years ago, said: “When I mentioned I was moving to Biddulph, a lot of people in Nottingham didn’t know Biddulph.
“But when I came here I realised what a beautiful place it is. You have the beautiful landscape and the parks, and also the three National Trust properties, including Little Moreton Hall.
“This is definitely a destination for tourism. If National Trust members know they can come here and visit three properties, that’s quite attractive.”
She added that tourism in the Biddulph area should “be given a push”.
“Let the outside world know about this hidden gem, I just think that not a lot of people know about it.” Coun Case suggested the production of a promotion video to tell the story of Biddulph and surrounding attractions, which could them be uploaded to social media.
Coun Jill Salt said that young people could be involved in making a video, to see how many hits it received if uploaded to YouTube.
Coun Kevin Jackson said when he was a district councillor, he had always been critical of Staffordshire Moorlands’ tourism strategy.
“Biddulph didn’t get a fair share at all; an absolute fortune was spent on leaflets and Biddulph hardly got a mention.”
Coun Jackson also said he had always had a “bee in his bonnet” about the “tourism thing”.
“It’s generally seasonal, generally low paid, generally unskilled,” he said.
He added: “Putting a lot of Staffordshire Moorlands resources into tourism was spending a lot of taxpayers’ money but taxpayers saw very little coming back.”
Coun Yates said Biddulph had “lagged behind” in overnight accommodation, which he said was tourism accommodation.
“There hasn’t been enough on offer for people to make that leap, although Airbnb has made it a little bit easier to do that for small businesses.” He said Biddulph was a “very poor relation to that when compared to the area around Alton Towers, Churnet Valley the Peak District and Leek. On the other side is Stoke-on-Trent, he said, which has a lot of hotels and he also mentioned Congleton.
He added: “If people are nipping in somewhere to buy a sandwich, getting a drink and going out for the evening you really need to have that overnight accommodation as well.”
Coun Yates said that the district council had a “fast track” system to assist those with overnight accommodation.
“The council’s tourism officers are very keen to hear from people who’ve got potential for accommodation to see if they can get it literally on the map.”
The four key priorities of the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council’s five-year tourism strategy, adopted in 2023, are:
• Alton Towers – unlocking investment to create a year-round driver of visits;
• Towns and villages – animated hubs with distinct food and drink to increase dwell times;
• Active experiences – developing cycling and walking routes, trails and events; and
• Accommodation – expand, improve and encourage investment.
Around 6,000 people are employed in the Moorlands’ tourism sector, around 18% of all jobs in the district.
Visitors spend almost £335 million in the district, with around 42% generated by staying visitors who account for almost 10% of all visits.
(Photo: Miro Stefanovic / Dreamsime).
