Burnham-On-Sea’s bid to attract more coaches and visitors into the town has been given a huge boost this week with the announcement of a top award.
The town has this week become the first in the whole of the south west to achieve the accreditation of ‘Coach Friendly Status’ from the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT).
The award comes after an initiative called Project Coach was set up in 2012, with funding from the Town Council, to attract more visitors into Burnham.
Burnham’s Mayor Martin Cox has this week congratulated the project’s two co-ordinators, Coach Destination Manager Les Barber and Business and Tourism Manager Ian Jefferies for their work in securing the sought-after accreditation, which will lead to more operators sending their coaches to the town.
Cllr Cox said: “On behalf of the Town Council we congratulate ‘Project Coach’ and particularly Ian and Les on achieving coach-friendly status for our town. We were very pleased to support this project in July 2013 and it is amazing progress since then. It has taken nine months of hard work and dedication to reach this goal and also the 12 months work prior to the project coming to our council for support. Each extra coach averages say 30 passengers who can then spend locally £5 –£10 each when even on a short stop visit. This means so much to our town and particularly to all the traders, bringing in much needed extra business, more prosperity and ultimately more jobs into our area. Well done.”
To secure the accreditation, Burnham has had to demonstrate that it has a clear commitment to understanding the needs of the coach, its passengers and driver both now and in the future. Some of the benefits put in place include ‘meet and greet’ volunteers to welcome the coaches, free meals and a newspaper for drivers, a drivers rest room away from passengers, a clearly-signed coach route into the town, free coach parking, drivers and passenger information packs and other incentives.
John Burch, South West Regional Manager of the CPT, a national body which oversees all matters relating to passenger transport, said: “The community of Burnham-On-Sea has demonstrated that they realise the power of the coach by pulling out all the stops to achieve Coach Friendly Status. They have ensured that coaches can park completely free of charge in their seaside coach park.”
“What’s more, the coaches come to a standstill just yards from a bustling seaside High Street with everything that passengers could possibly need. Perhaps better still, the driver is well catered for too, with a newspaper provided and a quiet area where they can enjoy a meal or cuppa and take a break and unwind. Whether the coach is making a brief comfort stop or paying the seaside town a longer visit, customers will find a really enthusiastic welcome awaiting them.”
“Operators can arrange for a meet and greet facility with the Town Crier in his full regalia if they want a bit of fun for customers making a longer visit. This is exactly what CPT is looking for. Even more important in many ways though, will be the regular feedback and statistical analysis of coaches visiting the town which is a requirement of the scheme. This is now giving CPT excellent data to persuade more towns to participate and realise the spending power of coach passengers in their town. Burnham has ongoing plans to do even more and we congratulate them on achieving Coach Friendly Status.”
Les Barber, Burnham’s Coach Destination Manager, said: “We are delighted at receiving coach friendly status as this is a great accolade for the town, the people and businesses of Burnham. We have come a long way since the National Coach Tourism Awards last year and it’s great this has been recognised.”
“We would like to thank the businesses, community groups and local authorities who have helped us to reach the standard and for their faith and funding of project coach. This recognition is for everyone in the town and undoubtedly will help the local economy especially after the bad start Somerset in general has suffered this year with the dreadful floods. Now is the perfect time to move on with putting the ‘buzz’ back in Burnham and continue the work with our neighbours in Weston-Super-Mare promoting that we are the ‘Seaside of the M5’.”
Ian Jefferies, Burnham’s Business and Tourism Manager, added: “To achieve one of the biggest awards in the coaching industry that a town can receive is outstanding for a town of our size. Many bigger towns and cities have been trying for a long time to gain this accreditation without success. This is the result of a lot of hard work put in by many organisations and businesses within the community and the timing of this could not have come better after many businesses reporting downturns in what has been a very difficult winter within our region. Hopefully, this award will encourage even more coaches into Burnham, knowing they will get well looked after and make a big difference to the town’s economy. This award is only given if commitments are made for the future and this could not have happened without the backing of Sedgemoor District Council and Burnham and Highbridge Town Council.”
Mark Newman, Chairman of Burnham-On-Sea Chamber of Trade, added the group’s praise, commenting: “We are delighted that Burnham has gained coach friendly status. Traders here have given their full support to encouraging more coach visitors into Burnham and they are already benefiting through increased footfall and business. At a time when the economic vibrancy of our town centre is so important, this is a very welcome boost.”
Cllr Duncan McGinty, Leader of Sedgemoor District Council, welcomed the news, saying: “Awards such as these show that tourism providers in the town have thought about the requirements of coach passengers and companies. These awards do not just happen by accident and it shows the dedication of the team at Burnham who have gone out of their way to show that Burnham-On-Sea is a first-class destination for coaches.”
Claire Faun, Corporate Relations Manager at Sedgemoor District Council, added: “Sedgemoor District Council is thrilled to learn that Burnham is the first town in the south west to have been awarded the ‘coach-friendly’ status. The Council recognises the need of coaches and their passengers are catered for both in terms of pick up and set down facilities and parking.”
