PART V - CASE STUDY 12.3
Community tourism planning in Hope Valley, UK
Hope Valley and Edale occupy a central position within the Peak District National Park in northern England. Centred on the rural communities of Edale, Hope and Castleton and within easy reach of major industrial cities such as Manchester and Sheffield, the area is an established tourism destination that receives in excess of 2.5 million visitors annually. The majority are day visitors who are drawn by the appeal of attractive rural settlements such as Castleton and local scenic attractions such as Winnats Pass (a natural gorge), by the moorland and dale landscapes that provide opportunity for a wide range of outdoor activities, and by a range of tourist attractions that include spectacular underground caverns and historical sites such as Peveril Castle. Edale is also the southern starting point of the Pennine Way, the premier long-distance footpath in the UK (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Hope Valley district, UK
Community tourism planning in Hope Valley, UK
Hope Valley and Edale occupy a central position within the Peak District National Park in northern England. Centred on the rural communities of Edale, Hope and Castleton and within easy reach of major industrial cities such as Manchester and Sheffield, the area is an established tourism destination that receives in excess of 2.5 million visitors annually. The majority are day visitors who are drawn by the appeal of attractive rural settlements such as Castleton and local scenic attractions such as Winnats Pass (a natural gorge), by the moorland and dale landscapes that provide opportunity for a wide range of outdoor activities, and by a range of tourist attractions that include spectacular underground caverns and historical sites such as Peveril Castle. Edale is also the southern starting point of the Pennine Way, the premier long-distance footpath in the UK (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Hope Valley district, UK
The local population numbers around 2,000 people and although tourism supports a large number of local businesses and jobs, significant local concerns have arisen in relation to issues such as traffic congestion, over- crowding of village centres, pressures on local attractions and a general loss of local amenity. In the mid-1990s the Peak Tourism Partnership (a public–private sector organisation with a remit to promote sustainable tourism and develop visitor management) initiated the production of a new visitor management plan for the area.
The broad objectives of the plan were to address issues of overcrowding by finding ways to limit visitor numbers at peak times, reduce the number of cars at key sites, divert usage from sensitive locations, and improve both the local benefits from tourism and the quality of life for local residents. 2,000 people and although tourism supports a large number of local businesses and jobs, significant local concerns have arisen in relation to issues such as traffic congestion, over- crowding of village centres, pressures on local attractions and a general loss of local amenity.
In the mid-1990s the Peak Tourism Partnership (a public–private sector organisation with a remit to promote sustainable tourism and develop visitor management) initiated the production of a new visitor management plan for the area. The broad objectives of the plan were to address issues of overcrowding by finding ways to limit visitor numbers at peak times, reduce the number of cars at key sites, divert usage from sensitive locations, and improve both the local benefits from tourism and the quality of life for local residents.
A prominent feature of the approach to developing the management plan was a conscious attempt to involve local expertise and opinion in its development. The framework for consultation is shown graphically in Figure 2, and which identifies several key stages:
Figure 2. Community consultation model
The broad objectives of the plan were to address issues of overcrowding by finding ways to limit visitor numbers at peak times, reduce the number of cars at key sites, divert usage from sensitive locations, and improve both the local benefits from tourism and the quality of life for local residents. 2,000 people and although tourism supports a large number of local businesses and jobs, significant local concerns have arisen in relation to issues such as traffic congestion, over- crowding of village centres, pressures on local attractions and a general loss of local amenity.
In the mid-1990s the Peak Tourism Partnership (a public–private sector organisation with a remit to promote sustainable tourism and develop visitor management) initiated the production of a new visitor management plan for the area. The broad objectives of the plan were to address issues of overcrowding by finding ways to limit visitor numbers at peak times, reduce the number of cars at key sites, divert usage from sensitive locations, and improve both the local benefits from tourism and the quality of life for local residents.
A prominent feature of the approach to developing the management plan was a conscious attempt to involve local expertise and opinion in its development. The framework for consultation is shown graphically in Figure 2, and which identifies several key stages:
- Stage 1 comprised an initial exercise in community mapping (by consultants) that identified key local stakeholders (with knowledge and understanding of the local community and tourism issues) and who came together in a tourism workshop. The focus of this workshop was on finding ways to develop a community agenda for tourism based on local need rather than tourist demands.
- Arising from the workshop, Stage 2 saw a smaller body of thirty-one repre- sentatives of local government, community groups, landowners, environmental agencies and groups, tourism businesses and recreational users formed as a Visitor Management Plan Working Group that was charged with developing the plan and building a consensus on the way forward.
- Following the drafting of plan proposals by a second group of tourism consultants, Stage 3 saw an extended exercise in public consultation through devices such as parish meetings, interviews and discussions with key individuals, further workshops, village appraisals and newsletters to all households that informed the production of the final plan.
Figure 2. Community consultation model
Source:
- Bramwell, B. and Sharman, A. (1999) ‘Collaboration in local tourism policy making’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 26 (2): 392–415.
- —— (2000) ‘Approaches to sustainable tourism planning and community participation: the case of the Hope Valley’, in Hall, D. and Richards, G. (eds) Tourism and Sustainable Community Development, pp. 17–35, London: Routledge.