During Wales Tourism Week, the Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones, announced that three north Wales attractions will benefit from £700,000 funding from the Welsh Assembly Government which will create or safeguard 57 jobs in north Wales.
Two very different modes of transport are the subjects of two of the investment projects. The speed and adrenalin associated with the Minister’s visit to Trac Môn/ Circuit was a stark contrast to the relaxing chugging of the AngleseySnowdon Mountain Railway.
Trac Môn, a motor racing circuit located at Ty Croes, Anglesey is to benefit from £200,000. The project involves upgrading the facilities to attract a wider range of high profile racing events. The plan is to build a new permanent control tower and 11 garages at the current site which will create 14 full time equivalent jobs.
The circuit, in an eco-friendly fashion, feeds electricity from its wind turbine back to the grid. In 2009, Trac Môn won the Tourism and Environment award in the Anglesey Tourism Awards and is competing with Atlanta Motorsports Park in Georgia to be the first carbon neutral circuit. They were the first UK circuit to commit to the government’s Energy Efficient Motor Sport programme in 2007.
Richard Peacock, from Trac Môn , said:
“We are very pleased that Mr Jones visited Anglesey Circuit, it gave him the opportunity to see the scale of the facility here and to see the site prior to the new development taking place.
“We expect bigger and better events to use the venue as a direct result of the construction of the new pit complex, and the knock on effect will benefit tourism businesses, especially accommodation providers, and the local economy in general.”
The Minister then visited the iconic Snowdon Mountain Railway which has been in operation for more than 100 years. The Railway will receive £300,000 to purchase new carriages which will help increase demand for the service in high season as well as improve visitor comfort and visibility. The project will create 4.5 full time equivalent jobs and safeguard a further 18.
Staff at the Snowdon Mountain Railway are busy making final preparations for the new season as the Railway will re-open for the 2011 season on Saturday 19 March. The Minister saw some of the locomotives coming together ready for use over the weekend, he also met with Allan Leech, Chief Executive for Heritage GB and Alan Kendall, General Manager of Snowdon Mountain Railway who will explain how the funding will be used.
General Manager, Alan Kendall, said:
“We are very excited at the prospect of new carriages at Snowdon Mountain Railway. Five of the existing eight carriages date from 1895 so one might say an opportunity like this does not come along more than once per century! We are grateful to the Assembly for supporting this exciting project which will allow us to continue to deliver a quality experience to the 150,000 visitors to Wales we are host to each year.“
Another project to benefit from Assembly Government funding is The Rhug Estate, Corwen. £200,000 will be provided to build a stone building to house a high quality bistro /café, rest room facilities, and tourism information. The project will create 12 full time equivalent jobs and safe guard nine jobs.
The Heritage Minister, said:
“I’m delighted to announce this funding to these three north Wales attractions during a week when the importance of the tourism industry is being highlighted throughout the UK. The diverse nature of these three projects is a reflection of the range of attractions and activities which can be enjoyed in Wales. These attractions play a key role in their local economies in creating local jobs and also attracting people to the area who will go on to spend money elsewhere in the area. It’s good to see these businesses gearing up for the season and investing in their product to meet with customer demand.”
During 2010-11 Visit Wales has invested more than £4m in tourism businesses in Wales. Earlier this week, the Welsh Assembly Government announced a further £3 million to provide support to the Tourism Investment Support Scheme to expand the scope of the current scheme subject to business case completion.
