Shropshire Council

Visitor information services in North West Shropshire

  • Period: 17 November 2015 - 29 December 2015
  • Status: Closed
  • Audiences: Everyone
  • Topics: Leisure and culture, Commissioning, Big Conversation
  • Type: Public

Introduction – what is this consultation about?

We are working with partners to re-design existing face to face Visitor Information Services to create places where visitors and local residents can easily get information and advice that both helps them and contributes to the wider tourism economy of the county. This is to help us to create and maintain resilient facilities at a time of reducing public service budgets.

In Shropshire’s market towns our vision is that traditional Visitor Information Services will be delivered, in some cases, through community enterprises that are already active within those communities.

A community enterprise is the same as a social enterprise, i.e. an organisation trading for social purpose with any profits reinvested rather than going to shareholders.

A community enterprise is based in, and provides benefits to, a particular local neighbourhood or community and is an organisation run for the community. These enterprises are best placed to utilise their links into communities and therefore maximise every contact that is made with them.

This work is also linked to savings and therefore we are working to ensure that through redesign we find ways to continue to deliver high quality services, but at a lower cost.

During 2015,  together with key local partners we have been discussing new ways of delivering the Visitor Information Services in north-west Shropshire where we currently operate the Oswestry Mile End Visitor Information Centre on the service area next to the A5 trunk road.

An initial soft market testing exercise was undertaken during July. Some interest was expressed in providing information services to visitors in the area but not on the current site.

We are now seeking responses to proposals relating to the future delivery of Visitor Information Services in north-west Shropshire. These proposals are detailed on this page. We want to stress that as no formal decision has yet been made and there is also an opportunity for alternative proposals to be made. The information we receive through the consultation will be used to inform any decision making on the future delivery of Visitor Information Services and the management of the Oswestry Mile End VIC.

The potential impact of the proposals on VIC users, particularly those who might be impacted more by any change is being assessed through the completion of an Equality and Social Inclusion Impact Assessment.

Background to existing Visitor Information Services in NW Shropshire

Oswestry Mile End Visitor Information Centre

The Oswestry Mile End VIC is run by our Library Service and is open five days a week providing a range of visitor services including free and saleable information leaflets and books, souvenirs, bed booking facility and also answers enquiries by post, phone and email. It provides services to less than 30,000 visitors per year, a significant decrease on the peak number of 76,000 in 2008.

The office is rented from the site owner at a peppercorn rent and the Council covers other costs such as business rates, staffing, energy and the costs of supplies for re-sale.

Oswestry Heritage Centre - Visitor Information Centre

Visitor Information is available at the Heritage centre in the town centre next to St. Oswald’s Church. It is open all year, Monday to Saturday and deals with enquiries in person, by letter, email and telephone. The service is operated by paid staff from Oswestry Borderland Tourism Ltd.

Other information outlets

Local tourist attractions and accommodation providers offer information services to their customers including free leaflets and assistance by staff. Increasingly visitors are using smart phones and portable computers such as ipads to access information. Popular websites for this part of Shropshire are provided by Oswestry Borderlands Tourism Ltd, Shropshire Tourism and Virtual Shropshire in addition to national sites like TripAdvisor and many others.

What proposals are being made?

A main proposal is included in this consultation document, together with the opportunity for you to put forward your own ideas on how Visitor Information Services could be delivered in the future.

Details of the current service at Oswestry Mile End Visitor Information centre

Service areaService detail

Management organisation

Shropshire Council

Hours that the Visitor Information Centre is open

1 April to 30 September

Monday:  9am - 5pm
Tuesday:  9am - 5pm
Wednesday:  Closed
Thursday:  9am - 5pm
Friday:  9am - 5pm
Saturday:  10am - 4pm
Sunday:  Closed

1 October to 31 March

Monday:  9.30am - 3.30pm
Tuesday:  9.30am - 3.30pm
Wednesday:  Closed
Thursday:  9.30am - 3.30pm
Friday:  9.30am - 3.30pm
Saturday:  10am - 2pm
Sunday:  Closed

Parking

Public parking on site.

Direct running costs for Shropshire Council

£36,527 excluding re-charges in 2014-15

Our proposal

Our preferred proposal for the future delivery of Visitor Information Services in north-west Shropshire is to transfer the responsibility for enquiries by personal callers, email, telephone and post to Oswestry Borderland Tourism Ltd at the Heritage Centre and to close the facility at Mile End Service area, handing it back to the landlord.

An area and town map information board would be provided at the Mile End Service Area promoting the availability of local Visitor Information Services in Oswestry and at nearby tourist attractions. The board would include the telephone number of Oswestry Heritage Centre VIC, local websites, local visitor amenities and other helpful information.  This would result in the service continuing to be delivered in north-west Shropshire but at a reduced cost to the Council. A three year Service Level Agreement with Oswestry Borderland Tourism Ltd would provide financial support to provide Visitor Information Services in the area.

Below are details for the above proposal:

Proposal areaProposed detail

Management organisation

Oswestry Borderlands Tourism Ltd

Hours that the Visitor Information Centre at Oswestry Heritage centre is staffed

Summer: April to Sept:

Mon - Sat 10am - 4.30pm
Sundays closed

Winter: Oct to March:

Mon - Sat 10am - 4pm
Sundays closed

Parking

Town centre car parks

Distance from Mile End to Heritage Centre

1.6 miles

Direct costs for Shropshire Council per annum

Cost of new Service Level Agreement - To be determined

One off cost of new map display board(s) - To be determined

Whilst this is our preferred option, we do not have a closed mind to other proposals or suggestions that are made through this consultation period.

Consultation forms are also available at:

  • Oswestry Mile End Visitor Information Centre
  • Oswestry Heritage Centre

and may be returned to both locations.

Having read all the information provided on these pages, please take a minute to complete our very short online feedback form.

Feedback on proposals now »

Data protection

Information collected in our surveys will only be used by us (Shropshire Council) to inform the immediate and future provision of our services. The information you provide will be kept confidential in accordance with our Privacy Policy. It will not be shared outside of Shropshire Council. Information collected via our online surveys (hosted on the Surveymonkey website) will be stored on SurveyMonkey’s servers in the United States of America and SurveyMonkey gives an undertaking never to disclose the survey questions or your responses to others without permission.