New £245,000 Rushden Lakes tourism hub hopes to help people discover Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire’s tourist industry hopes to receive a boost from visitors to the newest attraction at Rushden Lakes.

Discover Northamptonshire Hub, a one-stop interactive information centre, has been launched with its official opened coinciding with English Tourism Week.

Run by North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) and supported by The Crown Estate, the £245,000 Discover Northamptonshire Hub is open seven days a week.

Located next to the entrance of the retail park’s cinema, the shop will promote attractions throughout the whole of the county.

Cllr Helen Howell, North Northamptonshire Council’s deputy leader and executive member for sport, leisure, culture and tourism, said: “We are now open, and the team are really excited to be welcoming visitors through the doors to this fantastic asset. We will be promoting all the wonderful attractions we have throughout the whole of Northamptonshire to visitors of Rushden Lakes - some of whom will be unfamiliar with the area and unsure of what else is on offer in our wonderful county and further afield. I would also encourage residents of North and West Northamptonshire to visit the hub and speak to our friendly team - you never know what you might discover right on your doorstep.

“The opening is very much the start of the Discover Northamptonshire hub’s journey and the offering will continue to grow and develop and we are delighted to be working with our colleagues from the West to promote Northamptonshire as a tourist destination. We are also jointly in the final stages of developing a tourism strategy that will support and offer direction for the tourism sector moving forward. It is a very positive move for the industry.”

The hub has been designed as a fully-interactive space, with 11 touch screens, seating area, video wall and exhibition space to promote days out, attractions, walks, town and village offerings, places to eat, sustainable transport, heritage, accommodation and local and major events. There is also a retail space, providing Northants businesses a showcase for their products.

Funded with £245,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, NNC is working closely with West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to promote the whole county’s tourism industry.

Both unitary councils will now work together with VisitEngland to gain Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation to boost tourism.

Cllr Jason Smithers, leader of NNC, said: “The new Discover Northamptonshire hub will have enormous benefits to the local area, encouraging visitors to Rushden Lakes to travel to the other fantastic attractions we have nearby and in turn bringing more money and footfall into the local economy.”

Fitted out by Market Deeping company Productive Design, designer Reuben Balderson says he is very proud with the finished hub.

He said: “It is my life’s best work and the one that I am most proud of. It was a very dark and uninviting space, the acoustics were terrible but taking inspiration from the Northamptonshire countryside, the River Nene and Rockingham Forest has made it into a versatile space for parents and children to enjoy.”

The Discover Northamptonshire hub is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm and Sunday 11am to 4.30pm.

Any business or attraction who wants to be promoted on the Discover Northamptonshire website and at the new hub should email [email protected].