Good Practice - Project
Treak Cliff Cavern
A project to enhance the facilities on a geological site, enable new visitor-based activities and attract more visitors who will spend more time in the area.
General information
RDP Priority
- P6. Social inclusion and local development
RDP Focus Area
- 6B: Local development
RDP Measure
- M06: Farm & business development
Summary
Treak Cliff Cavern is famous throughout the world for its unique and large deposits of ‘Blue John’ stone. It houses some of the UK’s most beautiful cave formations. The site owner needed to enhance the current facilities, enable new visitor-based activities and extend its capacity to produce finished products from the mined stone.
It gave the visitor centre an 18-month makeover. The interior was refurbished, a new museum was added, and new displays and signage were set up, along with a newly-equipped workshop available for schools and the general public to use.
Results
- Created 2-3 new full-time equivalent jobs (1 highly-skilled specialist artisan traineeship and long term post, 1-2 full-time equivalent visitor services posts, and a part-time skilled archivist/education liaison officer to handle archives and schools/college/university visits).
- Increased spend in the local economy.
- Increased visitor numbers by 30% compared to 2017 levels within 10 years.
- Created new products:
- 1 collector’s market Blue John piece per year with a retail potential of £10.000.
- New range of Cabochons (gems) for the hobby market.
- 2-4 additional smaller Blue John sculptures per year with retail potential of £20,000.
- Increased the number of new visitors coming for overnight ‘jewellery experience’ packages.
Promoter
Treak Cliff Cavern Ltd.
Funding
Total budget 163 496.58 (EUR)
RDP support 65 403.20 (EUR)
Private funds 98 093.38 (EUR)
Ressources
Documents
gp_uk_treakcliffcavern_web-382_fin_2.pdf
(PDF – 376.41 Ko)
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