Chief sought to champion castle's global ambition

Jul 2 2009 By Karen Dent, The Journal

The future chief executive will probably already be in a top leadership position, possibly in tourism or culture, and will have commercial and budgetary experience, Mr Clark said.

He said whoever took on the role must have the vision to ensure Alnwick met its potential on the world stage.

"There is a feeling, yes, it is a magnificent castle, the garden is unique, but there is potential for doing other things, there is scope for more to turn it into a world class venue," he said.

"I don’t think there is anything particularly special about the timing right now. It’s more about where Alnwick is in its development.

"There has been a recognition in order to achieve these aspirations, the most effective way of doing this is to combine both under one leadership position. It is more about the organisation’s development rather than a particular date. This type of structure is the best way of achieving this."

The two organisations are keen to stand out from the mass of other historical and cultural visitor attractions vying for tourists’ pounds. "The focus at Alnwick for this chief executive is to do things differently," said Mr Clark. "Lots of castles and stately homes have pretty kitchen gardens and flower gardens. Alnwick has a poison garden – that sums up the spirit of something different."

He believes putting Alnwick on the world stage will have positive repercussions for the whole North East, because visitors attracted to castle and garden will spend more money elsewhere in the region.

"It is a recognition of looking to the future. It sends out a serious message about Alnwick’s ambitions to be a global visitor attraction. It is an exciting time for the organisation’s development," Mr Clark said.