Lancashire Tourism Awards return to Blackburn Cathedral

This year’s prestigious Lancashire Tourism Awards are being held at Blackburn Cathedral in a glittering ceremony celebrating the best of the county’s attractions.

Run by Marketing Lancashire, the awards will take place on Thursday, November 10, supported by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The annual awards, celebrating excellence across a wide range of visitor economy businesses, reveal the brightest and best stars working in Lancashire tourism today, with many of the county’s winners then going on to represent Lancashire at the national Visit England Excellence Awards.

Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:

Blackburn with Darwen Council is delighted that the 2016 Lancashire Tourism Awards will be held at Blackburn Cathedral. It stands proudly at the heart of the developing Cathedral Quarter with its impressive open spaces and stunning new buildings, next to the new bus station.

This summer will see other major events taking place. This high quality, transformed quarter has been designed to encourage people to linger longer and come together to use the town centre for activities other than shopping. We hope even more people will come and visit and enjoy the changes for themselves.”

Marketing Lancashire’s partnership with University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), has led to a third successive year of support as Headline Sponsor of the Lancashire Tourism Awards.

2016 is a landmark year for Blackburn Cathedral, as extensive work to Blackburn town centre and the spaces in and around the Cathedral reach completion and Blackburn’s £30m Cathedral Quarter is born.

The Cathedral’s new £8.5m Cathedral Court will house offices, library, conference facilities and the recently announced Café Northcote, linked to the Cathedral by a glazed walkway connected to the south transept. It will also provide modern living accommodation for the Dean, Cathedral Canon and lay staff; making it the first residential cloister to be built in England in over 600 years.

One of the new cloister residents Canon Andrew Hindley, Canon Sacrist of Blackburn Cathedral, said:

I am delighted that we are once again the venue for the Lancashire Tourism Awards. We hope that as many people as possible will come and see the newly completed Cloister garth buildings and that these additional facilities will make this already stunning location, with is newly opened ‘Café Northcote at the Cathedral’, even more of a destination for people throughout the county and beyond.”

Sponsorship opportunities are now available for the only dedicated awards celebration of tourism in Lancashire. To discuss ways your business can support Lancashire’s tourism event of the year please contact Maria Moriarty Eames, Head of Partnerships on (01772) 426450 maria@marketinglancashire.com