REINVENTING THE RURAL MARKET TOWN

Draft Destination Management Plan

March 2019

MELTON

CONTENTS

The Destination Management Plan and Melton Story Who we are What we’re doing

Vision for Melton Melton - A new story THEME 1: Food: Make, Grow, Experience, Innovate THEME 2: Unearth and enliven our stories BIG IDEA: Reinventing the rural market town

Governance and implementation

The Place Board Who we want to reach Tracking our progress What we want to achieve and how we will do it

PART 2 - Action PlanPART 3 - Appendices

Introduction123

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Introduction

This Destination Management Plan and the Melton Story provide the direction for a strategic, innovative and joined up approach to Melton’s future development.

The Plan aligns with the wider strategic objectives of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and County Council (LCC) and supports the delivery of Melton’s strategic priorities and Growth Plan, with the objective of:

• Promoting Innovation, Enterprise & Growth in Key Sectors: To develop a strong competitive economy by encouraging emerging technologies and innovation, incorporating sustainability

• Enhancing Aspirations, Skills and Economic Activity in the Borough: To develop a workforce that meets the needs of the local marketplace and raise ambition

• Improving the Vitality of the Town and Surrounding Villages: To create better places for local employment, shopping and entertainment

• Maximising Inward Investment Opportunities: To work in partnership to maximise resources and promote a competitive economy

• Capitalising on Melton’s designation as a Food Enterprise Zone

This is a working document, created through the input of a large number of stakeholders from across Melton Borough, and it is managed by the Place Board, who by working together will retain its vibrancy and energy to build Melton’s local and sub-regional role.

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The Borough of Melton is a hidden oasis of some 70 villages dotted around one of the oldest market towns in the UK, with a charter dating back to 1324. Surrounded by 50,000 hectares of vast undulating open countryside, yet well connected to the university cities of Loughborough, Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham by the A1 and M1. There are nearby airports and good rail links.

Traditional, peaceful and welcoming, Melton has been identified as the quintessentially English rural idyll. However, beneath the sleepy exterior Melton aspires to become the rural powerhouse of the East Midlands.

Rooted in farming and food, manufacturing employment is also considerably higher than the national average. The economic contribution of the rural area is set to grow with an increasing number of start-ups and a trend towards home-working.

Melton’s self-adopted, Rural Capital of Food title reflects the area’s association with Melton Mowbray pork pies, Stilton cheese, agriculture and food manufacturing. This supports a successful calendar of themed festivals and initiatives delivered by the Melton Mowbray Food Partnership.

Who we are

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There is a clearly defined growth strategy and economic development plan which has been well communicated from the top resulting in strong multi-stakeholder support behind boosting Melton’s profile.

Investment in infrastructure includes the Melton Mowbray East Distributor Road which will support economic growth and at least 4,000 new homes. This route will open up development land, addressing local transport issues and improving physical connectivity.

Melton is a pioneering Food Enterprise Zone, a flagship Government initiative for economic growth to boost food and farming businesses. A former hunting lodge has been transformed into 9 acres of office and warehouse spaces at Pera Business Park, a hub for Melton’s businesses and innovative start-ups.

A Business Improvement District (BID) supports the Council’s commitment to address the challenges of the high street in Melton town centre which is home to one of England’s oldest agricultural markets.

Social mobility is a key priority; helping people fulfil their potential, achieve their ambitions, overcome disadvantage and live well and independently.

Our focus is to attract businesses to invest, making Melton a place that people choose to live in and set up their businesses, where they will find good schools and education, entertainment and high value jobs. Our colleges and businesses will work together to develop the skills that businesses need.

We have come together as Town and Place Partnership , transforming to the Place Board, to create a cohesive vision of what we want to achieve, the Melton Story, and how we will deliver it.

What we’re doing

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Vision for Melton

This narrative is the foundation plan for the future of Melton.

It underpins our commitment to explore and exploit Melton’s food provenance, environmental assets, manufacturing prowess and rich cultural history.

Our new story supports a multi-stakeholder vision which builds on our traditions and success stories and explains Melton’s DNA.

We will use the themes of our story to plan how we talk about ourselves, what our spaces and places look and feel like. These words will shape how we behave, the things that happen and what we produce to make Melton vibrant and distinctive.

We are now developing our story into an action plan that harnesses our assets and opportunities, helping leverage funding, attract business investment, create jobs and stimulate social mobility. We will use this to make Melton stand out as a place where families will want to live and work. Students will want to learn here. Tourists will come to visit and want to stay.

MELTON - A new story

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Vision for Melton

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Melton Mowbray is one of just a few places synonymous with a particular food product. The power of the pie cannot be underestimated. It puts us on the map and our name in every supermarket. It is a high end, iconic brand based on a historic recipe. Above all, this must continue to be carefully managed and exploited.Melton Mowbray’s pork pies are global ambassadors for a food strategy that links education and agriculture, community and commerce, farming and food and drink, manufacture and markets.

We will • invest in our well established 20-year food partnership to consolidate, grow and promote our unique food heritage. Building

on a calendar of festivals, events and awards and other lesser known gourmet products like stilton, beer, gin and cordials• increase the range of food production in the area and develop the recreational experience with opportunities to eat

and drink, taste and see, make and learn. We will harness technology and e-commerce to connect tourism and training opportunities.

• become a place for innovation and education around food and technology. From field to fork, everything from producing to packaging.

• export and import food critics and experts. • invite food bloggers, feature writers and personalities. • create and win awards and attract visitors from across county borders and the UK. Micro-breweries, start-ups and kitchen

businesses will develop and farms will be inspired to diversify.• create specialist markets, street food and pop-up restaurants will animate the public realm, providing regular opportunities

for visitors and families to connect.

Our reputation will attract Michelin starred chefs, boutique hotels, gourmet restaurants, specialist suppliers, supermarket buyers and food entrepreneurs.

Melton’s food theme brings quality, innovation, cohesion and community, people and prosperity. It provides an opportunity to connect the market town centre with the villages and our neighbouring cities.

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UNEARTH AND ENLIVEN OUR STORIES

Melton’s big book of stories is a weighty tome rooted in thousands of years of history, many discovered deep in the earth.

We are the focus of high impact, world-leading discoveries by an international team of Ancient History and Archaeology scholars engaged in cutting-edge research at Leicester University. There is a continual source of tales and treasure literally coming out of the ground. A bonanza of amazing artefacts that continually make local, national and international headlines. We will use this buried treasure to put us on the map.

History is all around us. We have an enviable collection of blue plaques, unusual objects, places and buildings that are rich in history dating from age to age. From a landmark discovery of 9000bc flint weapons to modern day tales of animal bravery: of real-life war horses who fought in the Great War and canine heroes serving recently on the frontline in Afghanistan and the Anne of Cleves pub which was gifted to Henry VIII’s wife in a divorce settlement.

These stories and hundreds more will add layers of authenticity to our picture of Melton as a traditional, English rural idyll set aside as something unusual and special.

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THEME 2

The quaint, whimsical and the curious are ripe for careful curating and imaginative interpretation, supporting cultural festivals and events. Above all, the legend of ‘Paint the town red’ is an exemplar of an opportunity to unlock imaginative programming and public realm interpretation.

‘Paint the town red’ speaks of eating and drinking well, hospitality, entertainment and having a good time. It’s an opportunity to tap into arts and heritage funding, corporate sponsorship and attract new audiences.

But we also want to tell our current stories, to celebrate our successful businesses and entrepreneurs and to highlight the great opportunities we offer as a place.

Our events are multi-sector collaborations. We present cohesive, landmark, big, ambitious events or series of linked smaller initiatives that Melton will become known for and people will travel to.

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“Paint the town red”

BIG IDEA: Reinventing the rural market townWith brave, bold leadership, we will use this story to repackage, reinvigorate and unify our offer as a market town for modern times. Connected to the wider regional journey, it links strategically with the economic city success stories of Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham and those counties.

A fertile land of plenty. This is a place of opportunity for business, families and education. We offer a lifestyle that is wholesome, community focussed and safe. Deeply rooted in the earth and with strong foundations, Melton is self-sufficient and healthy with a cultural vibrancy and a distinctive heritage.

We will build on the success of Melton’s cattle market, where farming communities come together and where spectators are welcome to experience the unique atmosphere. We will promote and develop this as an experience to understand the core of British agriculture.

We will extend the buzz of Melton’s market days throughout the week to bring a vibrancy to the whole town centre. We will share the success of leisure venues and tourist attractions, using audience insight and research. We will deliver a tangible story and a rural visitor experience.

Melton College will grow skills for the future, building a reputation in agricultural, land courses, food and rural skills and forging connections with specialist University centres of excellence.

There will be a focus on encouraging entrepreneurship, new businesses and investment into the area building on our location, housing growth and success stories such as Pera Business Park.

Our core themes are not mutually exclusive. Food and heritage, culture and commerce, marketing and manufacturing, tradition and technology: woven together and promoted properly. These ingredients blend perfectly and provide a recipe to change Melton’s future and the futures of those who live, learn and work here.

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Governance and implementation

The Place Board

We have set up a Place Board to be guardians of the Melton story and brand.

Our role: is to provide a strategic business led view and leadership for the promotion and development of Melton regionally, nationally and internationally.

Our vision: is to reinvent the rural market town

Our aims are to:

To underpin the Rural Capital of Food at all stages of the food process: to grow, make, experience and innovate To animate Melton and its events, to ‘paint the town red’ by unearthing, enlivening and communicating our stories

Our responsibilities are to

• raise Melton’s profile to generate investment, and lobbying for business and jobs

• direct, oversee, review the Destination Management Plan• influence others activity to support Melton’s story• consider projects that relate to Destination Management Plan• be vocal champions for the Melton story • oversee Melton’s Ambassadors programme• be ‘sounding board’ for place activity• review our membership to ensure succession and that we reflect new business

interests• be non-bureaucratic, dynamic, flexible.

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Governance and implementation

Potential board structure

Our structure needs to be discussed and refined. It is proposed that a Place Board will have oversight of ‘reinventing the rural market town’, with two main task groups to deliver projects relating to the Melton story themes. The wide range of existing groups will feed into the task groups and Place Board.

Town centre BID

Melton Promotions

Sustainable Food Cities

Community Safety

Partnership

Visit Belvoir

Plus other existing groups

Place Board

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TASK GROUP: Rural Capital of

Food

TASK GROUP:Animating stories though Events &

Experiences

Melton in Bloom

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Place Board draft terms of reference

Our Mission:

To be guardians of the Melton brand and story.To provide a strategic, place led view and leadership for the promotion and development of the Melton area.To champion Melton locally, nationally and internationally as a destination - a thriving economic, social and educational centre and a place to live and visit.

Our Role:

To champion and provide leadership in developing our sense of place. On behalf of Melton seek and attract investment, and welcome potential investors as champions for the area.

To provide leadership, guidance and challenge to the activities of other key stakeholders nationally, regionally and locally, such as central and local government, LEP’s, regional marketing organisations and others.

Be champions and spokespeople for Melton, including undertaking media activity as required, and attend events to sell and tell our story e.g. MIPIM, MIPIM UK and other place related opportunities.

To support ambassadorial activity and encourage other organisations and individuals to get involved.

To act as a ‘sounding board’ for other place related activity and to input into other place related strategies and plans e.g. economic, visitor, cultural, events.

To play a supportive role in place led initiatives e.g. Future High Street bid and similar.

To secure or orchestrate necessary funding to ensure the long-term viability of place related activity.

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Who we want to reachOur challenge is to attract higher value businesses that create well paid employment. These businesses will need to be located in a place that their employees want to live and a vibrant local town with good shopping and a variety of leisure opportunities is an important part of that appeal. Our current day visitors to Melton are important to our local economy but our aim is to attract people that will spend more and stay overnight. We also need to attract younger people and family visitors, and ensure they have a great time so they will come and visit us again. In particular, we need to create a vibrant town centre which attracts not only visitors but also our wealthier residents from across the borough and from neighbouring boroughs and cities. We need to ensure people nearby know what we have to offer and, in addition to continuing to market to our current visitors, we should focus our resources on attracting:

• Residents of Melton and their visiting friends and relatives• Residents of neighbouring cities and university towns: Leicester, Nottingham,

Loughborough• Visitors; international, national and regional who are likely to be interested in

experiencing good quality local food, accommodation and cultural events.

Melton’s core offer of quintessentially English countryside, rural villages and a market town needs to be developed in a way that delivers an offer that can tap into the demand for authentic experiences that reflect a sense of place, the growth of culinary tourism, and the appeal of events and festivals.

To achieve this, and benefit from the value cultural and heritage tourism can generate, we will need to be innovative in the both the experiences we create and the way we communicate and distribute our offer. We will need to work closely with partners who can add value to what we offer, and to maximize our ability to attract families and younger people we should combine our activities with the marketing campaigns that Leicester and Leicestershire are planning to appeal to these segments. (See Appendix Section B2.2 for fuller descriptions of these target market segments).

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Tracking our progressTo measure our success, we will use an online tracking system to improve the data we collect: eg, footfall, traffic, car park use, engaging with our accommodation providers and attractions and measuring the impact and effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. We will have instant reporting so we can respond quickly and by improving the data we pro-vide STEAM, we will significantly improve the quality of our key volume and value indicators.

What we want to achieve and how we will do itTo deliver our strategic objectives, maximise inward investment opportunities and reinvent our rural market town we want to focus our resources on delivering the Melton Story and creating a rural food enterprise and innovation centre; a centre of excellence that will underpin our Rural Capital of Food brand, create an all year round town centre attrac-tion for our communities and visitors, build links with our rural and city neighbours, embrace emerging technologies, grow relevant skills and stimulate employment. We will prioritise our short, medium and long-term actions to deliver this goal.

This draft Action Plan lists activities that address the areas we have prioritised to stimulate inward investment and drive the visitor economy. It is structured to tie in with the themes of Melton’s Story and provides indicative short, medium and long-term timescales and potential delivery partners. Potential sources of funding are included where known; however, this needs further discussion and prioritisation based on the Steering Group’s feedback.

Proposed Timeframe:

Short term: 2019-2020 1-2 years including current activitiesMedium term 2021- 2023 3-5 yearsLong term 2024 + 6 years onwards

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