Welsh tourism is big business. Wales’ tourist industry brings in about £4.5 billion a year and provides full-time employment for 89,000 people.
Not content to rest on its laurels, the industry plans to grow and increase its annual income by another £1 billion a year by attracting more visitors from the USA, Ireland and Germany.
The Economy Minister Edwina Hart said this target was “challenging yet realistic”.
Partnership for Growth, the Welsh government’s strategy for tourism, wants to see more historic buildings turned into heritage hotels and the creation of new all year-round tourist attractions.
Dr Manon Williams, the chief executive of Tourism and Marketing Wales, stressed the importance of putting Wales in the international spotlight. She said that although Wales’ landscape and heritage would always be a huge selling point, Tourism and Marketing Wales was looking at ways of attracting more visitors to the Principality.
Dr Williams went on to say the focus would be on “the five Ps” which she said were promoting the brand of Wales; product development; people development; profitable performance and place building.
Using a Question and Answer format, the EU has just issued details of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards.
When was the Prize launched and why?
The European Commission has supported the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards since 2002 through the Culture Programme.
The Prize celebrates excellence in cultural heritage work in Europe, raising awareness of this among decision-makers, professionals and the public. It also aims to promote high-quality skills and standards in conservation, to stimulate cross-border mobility among heritage professionals and to encourage heritage-related projects throughout Europe.
Who can participate?
The Prize is open to the 37 countries which are part the EU Culture Programme – the 27 EU Member States, European Economic Area countries (Liechtenstein and Norway), EU accession and candidate countries (Croatia, Turkey, Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro) and potential EU candidates (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania).
To be eligible for the award, projects must have been concluded during the two previous years. The winners are selected by specialist independent juries in four categories:
Conservation
Research
Dedicated service to heritage conservation by individuals and/or groups
Education, training and awareness-raising.
What type of cultural heritage is covered?
Cultural heritage is understood in the broad sense, including:
Buildings or groups of buildings in a rural or urban setting;
Industrial and engineering structures and sites;
Cultural landscapes: historic parks and gardens, larger areas of designed landscape, or areas of cultural, environmental and/or agricultural significance;
Archaeological sites, including underwater archaeology;
Works of art and collections: collections of artistic and historic significance or old works of art.
What are the main benefits of the prize for the winners?
Each year, up to 30 entries are selected for the award.
Six or seven receive a ‘Grand Prix’ and €10 000 each for the most outstanding heritage projects of the year. For the second time in 2013, an online poll was organised to choose the ‘Public Choice Award’. All the winners also benefit from the extra visibility created by the award and the recognition received from the European Commission and Europa Nostra.
Who organises the prize?
The Prize is organised for the European Commission by Europa Nostra, a European network dedicated to safeguarding Europe’s cultural heritage for present and future generations. Europa Nostra is responsible for organising the specialist juries, the award ceremony and other promotional activities. The award ceremony is organised in a different country each year. Next year’s ceremony will take place in Vienna.
How much does the Commission allocate for the prize?
The Commission allocates €200 000 for the Prize (60% of the total budget). Europa Nostra is responsible for the remainder of the budget. The Commission’s contribution covers the selection process, including travel and accommodation expenses for the jury members, promotional activities including publications, and costs associated with the ceremony itself.
Does the European Union award other prizes for culture?
This Prize is one of four EU prizes awarded with the support of the EU Culture Programme – the others are for contemporary architecture, literature and border-breaking pop music.
Does the EU support other initiatives in the area of cultural heritage?
Yes. The Culture Programme also supports cooperation and networking in the field of cultural heritage, the European Capitals of Culture, the European Heritage Days (jointly with the Council of Europe) and the new European Heritage Label, initiatives which all have a strong cultural heritage dimension. The Culture Programme has invested more than €30 million in co-financing heritage projects since 2007. Other EU-funded programmes also provide support in this area: since 2007 the European Regional Development Fund has allocated €3 billion for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage, €2.2 billion for the development of cultural infrastructure and €775 million to support cultural services; a further €150 million has been invested through EU Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development since 1998.
For more information: See also IP/13/542 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards: 2013 public choice and Grand Prix winners announced.
Leek’s historic Roebuck Hotel in Derby Street was built in 1626
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is asking local people for their views on proposals to protect Leek’s heritage.
For over 40 years, the town centre has been a conservation area but its character is still at risk from “harmful alterations” to some buildings.
The council wants to safeguard Leek’s heritage by:
Reviewing the conservation area’s boundary;
Controlling significant external alterations to domestic properties in the area; and
Publishing an appraisal describing its characteristics.
Councillor Edwin Wain, cabinet member for planning, development and property, said: “Leek town centre is a special place which is rich in historical character. Architectural features such as windows, doors, traditional roofing materials, chimney stacks and boundary walls and railings contribute so much to the appearance of the conservation area.
“Removing or altering these features can be damaging to the nature of the area and most changes of this type to dwellings do not currently require planning permission. We’re now looking to protect these historic buildings by restricting permitted development rights but before any decisions are made, we want to hear the views of local people about the proposals.”
Leaflets are being distributed to every address in the conservation area detailing the proposals.
Consultation on the proposals has already started and people have until 26th July to make comments and observations.
You can find out more here or by emailing conservation@staffsmoorlands.gov.uk or from reception at Moorlands House, Stockwell Street, Leek.
Posting on Fenton’s Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/fentontown/?bookmark_t=group Glenn Parkes says: “ Stoke-on-Trent City Council has a major part to play in the future of Fenton’s Town Hall. Fenton Community Association has applied for the building to be placed on a Protected Assets List – and the City Council decides whether it goes on or not.”
The Association believes it has a solid case for the building to be added to the list.
Mr Parkes’ post continues saying: “If it makes the list, it gives the Community Association the time to put together a bid under the Community Right to Bid legislation. The Community Association has a plan to develop the building to bring jobs, and thereby, prosperity to Fenton, whilst also ensuring that the building has significant community use. It isn’t a case of saving the building just for the sake of it – Fenton needs the benefits that such a project can bring.”
Here at The Phoenix Trust we support the campaign to save Fenton Town Hall and look forward to hearing about the Association’s plans for its future.
An artist’s impression of one of the barges built by the French to invade England
The French Revolution began on July 14th, 1789 when the citizens of Paris stormed the Bastille, the most hated and feared prison in Europe.
Their attack was successful. They captured the prison and released all the prisoners, many of whom had been detained without trial for several years.
Shortly afterwards, France became a republic. The deposed king Louis XVI asked Austria and Prussia to help him regain his throne. He was arrested, tried for treason and executed.
His execution shocked Europe and the major continental powers made plans to invade France and restore the monarchy. The French army attacked and occupied Belgium. When the British government protested about this violation of Belgian neutrality, France declared war on England. By the end of 1793, England, Spain, Holland, Prussia, Austria and Sardinia were at war with France.
At first things went badly for the allies. In 1794, Holland surrendered and the House of Orange was forced to abdicate. The French made Holland a republic and the new Dutch government declared war on England. French forces defeated the armies of Prussia and Spain who made peace. The French imposed a puppet government on Spain which went to war with England in 1796.
The combined French, Dutch and Spanish fleets prepared to spearhead an invasion of England. A large French army assembled in Northern France where barges were being built to carry it across the Channel.
Abandoned by its allies, England stood alone. Forges and factories worked day and night to make the weapons needed to defend our island.
In towns and cities throughout Britain, men joined local volunteer corps to fight alongside the regular army and the militia. A troop of Volunteer Cavalry was raised in The Potteries by Sir John Edensor Heathcote. About 70 men joined the troop. Each man had to provide his own horse and buy his own uniform and equipment. One of them had the following inscription engraved on his sword:
Leagu’d with my friends the glitt’ring sword I bear
To guard from hostile arm my country dear;
Not to oppress, devastate or enslave,
But England’s soil from Gallie rage to save;
Not to maintain those “Rights of Man” unjust,
Which tend to treason, plunder, blood, and lust;
But to preserve our altars, hearths and laws,
And bleed or conquer in this holy cause.
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