Chester and Cheshire
Over 2,000 years of commerce and business have given Chester Cheshire a dynamic approach to conferences and events.
The diversity and character of Cheshire provides a huge range of conferencing facilities; whether it’s a stately home, country house, excellent quality hotels, a racecourse, castle, state-of the-art university campus or Chester Zoo, there are plenty of opportunities to be inspired.
To unwind, delegates may choose from fine gardens, championship golf courses and luxury spas, set against a backdrop of stunning scenery. Not only does Chester Cheshire provide a variety of venues, it also offers a strong commitment to investment in facilities, ensuring that there is a wealth of state-of-the-art venues with high quality amenities that are expected from one of the UK’s leading events destinations.
The historic city of Chester is also recognised as one of the top boutique destinations in the UK, offering excellent value day delegate and 24-hour rates.
Ideally Located
With over 64 unique conferencing event venues, 578 meeting rooms, 6,633 hotel beds, 543 restaurants, 67 golf courses and 19 health spas, Cheshire is one of the most attractive and accessible meeting points in the UK.
The county is fewer than two hours from London, half an hour from Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester International Airports, and is also well-served by four major motorways.
Ask the Experts
Access to local knowledge and expertise in organising every aspect of a conference, corporate event, hospitality, seminar, meeting, exhibition or training course.
The service and advice is free and impartial, using our in-depth knowledge of the area to draw up a short-list of venues that meet the client’s event requirements.
We contact our members on behalf of the client. We will obtain rates and availability and prepare a personal proposal so that a comparison of venues can be made on a like for like basis.
Some of the services that we offer include:
Full event management service
Accommodation booking
Free venue finding
Guided tours service and social itinerary support
Meet greet
Advice on suppliers: restaurants, transport, audio-visual, team building etc.
For more details about MarketingCheshire, call 0845 073 1314 or visit
Meetinchesterandcheshire.com.
Lancashire and Blackpool
Lancashire is a largely rural county with official areas of outstanding natural beauty, great traditional coastal towns and excellent access along the M6 and M65, linking major commercial and business centres in Preston, Lancaster, Blackburn and Burnley. Lancashire is also conveniently situated between international airports in Blackpool, Manchester and Leeds, and the rail journey time from London to Preston is just over two hours.
Lancashire boasts a wealth of diverse conference and meeting venues which planners and organisers can access through Marketing Lancashire’s free and impartial venue finding service. The service provides unbiased advice and support based on our wide knowledge of venues and facilities across the county. A conferences and meetings directory can also be accessed via Visitlancashire.com.
As well as a portfolio of large heritage venues such as Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, quality hotels and academic campuses at UCLan and Lancaster University, Lancashire offers a range of unique locations offering unusual and inspiring opportunities for small to medium sized conferences, such as the floating nature reserve at Brockholes.
Brockholes is a 106-hectare award-winning nature reserve amidst a network of lakes, woodland and meadows, encircled by the River Ribble, with the conference centre situated on the main lake in the floating visitor village. Just minutes from the motorway, Brockholes is an inspirational haven for eco-conscious conferences or meetings away from it all. With ample parking and on-site catering serving the finest local produce, Brockholes is the perfect place for any event, big or small. The carbon neutral conference centre is the UK’s only floating venue and what’s more, the profits from bookings are invested into the Lancashire Wildlife Trust conservation work on the nature reserve.
There is excellent accommodation a few minutes away from Brockholes at The Macdonald Tickled Trout, which borders the nature reserve and has stunning views across the River Ribble. The hotel has just undergone a £500,000 refurbishment and offers a beautiful new riverside bar and lounge as well as four-star accommodation, with high speed internet access throughout.
For creative corporate away-days and stress-free meetings, head to Lancashire’s newest conference and meetings venue, The Wellbeing Farm, which opened in March 2013. Combining farming, food and fun, The Wellbeing Farm is a corporate events venue, cookery school, crafts centre, licensed coffee shop and llama-trekking centre. Located in stunning scenery high on the Pennine Moors between Edgworth and Darwen, the farm is 35 minutes by train from central Manchester and easily reached from the M65, just 25 minutes from Preston. Conferences and meetings are tailor-made with cooking, llama-trekking and stress management sessions on offer for teams or individuals. Celia Gaze, who set up The Wellbeing Farm, explains: “Our aim is simply for people to leave The Wellbeing Farm feeling they’ve experienced a special time that’s revitalised them in mind and body. And we all need that sometimes!”
For more information on venues across Lancashire, contact Zoe Viney-Griffiths on 01772 426462 or visit Visitlancashire.com
Liverpool
In an increasingly competitive industry, it is essential to offer the most attractive destination product. Fortunately, Liverpool is a city that does this and more, through its excellent offerings for meetings, events, conferences, accommodation and nightlife.
The Bureau, which has been operating since 2007, represents businesses and organisations across the Liverpool City Region and acts as both an accommodation booking service and a venue finding service.
Launching a number of initiatives, such as the Delegate Welcome, providing a memorable welcome to the city with welcome flags and signage upon arrival, a delegate airport transfer service and online bidding tool, Liverpool is justifiably confident in what it can deliver and proud of its assets.
A key venue is ACC Liverpool. The only directly interconnected arena and convention centre in Europe, it offers a variety of spaces for meetings or conferences. It is also expanding; The Exhibition Centre Liverpool, opening in 2015, will add 8,100 sqm for trade shows, exhibitions, banquets and concerts. This is in addition to the existing BT Convention Centre with its 1,350 seat auditorium and 7,125 sqm of exhibition space, and the 11,000 capacity Echo Arena, both within ACC Liverpool.
Other venues within the city include two prestigious cathedrals, three universities, cool venues such as Camp Furnace, and a number of museums and galleries situated in the UNESCO world heritage waterfront which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
Kate Currie, Interim Convention Bureau Manager at the Liverpool Convention Bureau, comments: “The city is really flourishing in terms of what we can offer visitors and delegates, and we are proud to be building on and developing our existing values as much as we are. There is so much here to cater for both business and leisure, and we’re seeing the effects of this with increased numbers of visitors and securing large scale events such as the Labour Party Annual Conference in 2016 and 2018, and the International Festival of Business in 2014”.
The Liverpool City Region is also expanding its diverse selection of luxurious, boutique and budget hotels. New for 2013 is Richmond Luxury Living, a new accommodation concept for the city centre. Its 51 spacious suites and rooms combine serviced apartments and hotel services, ideal for conferences and delegates staying in the city for business. The property provides meeting spaces, leisure facilities and free delegate transport to ACC Liverpool. Other new properties include the Adagio opening in April 2013, Doubletree by Hilton Liverpool this summer, and Premier Inn Liverpool ONE which opened in December 2012. Last year saw the Hillbark Hotel Spa become the region’s first five star property.
Liverpool’s venues and hotels, the cornerstone of the business tourism offer, are supported by an impressive collection of museums and attractions, restaurants and cafes, shopping and nightlife. This ensures delegates are attracted to attend events and provides organisers with plenty of options for gala dinners, social itineraries or unique experiences.
With more developments in the pipeline and an increasing number of business delegates visiting the area for major events, Liverpool’s reputation is set to prosper further.
Visit Liverpoolconventionbureau.com.
Manchester
Manchester is a city of firsts and a dynamic destination for meetings, events and conferences. Arguably most famous for its musical and sporting exports, the city’s status as a leading business tourism destination is growing considerably and currently worth over £822 million per annum to the city-region.
Manchester Central Convention Centre
Manchester Central is the city’s flagship conference venue, located in the Petersfield area and recently refurbished to the tune of £30 million. The venue has hosted numerous political party conferences in the past decade with the Conservative Party due to visit again later this year.
Situated within five minutes’ walk of over 2,500 bedrooms at the nearby Hilton Manchester Deansgate, The Midland Hotel and the Radisson Blu Edwardian, the venue can now seat up to 1,200 diners. Furthermore Manchester Central has become one of the first major conference and events venues in the UK to achieve the industry's most sought after sustainability credential, the ISO 20121 certification.
The Midland Hotel
Located opposite Manchester Central Convention Complex, The Midland Hotel is an ideal venue for small meetings. A historic Edwardian hotel, it offers conference facilities in the form of 11 versatile meetings and events rooms, 321 en-suite rooms, a large, open lounge bar and two restaurants.
National Football Museum
The biggest and best football museum in the world can host up to 500 delegates for drinks receptions, fashion shows and product launches. With outstanding food services provided by the fantastic Kaleido restaurant located above the museum, in-house AV and lighting equipment rounds off a professional and effective service.
The Point
Lancashire County Cricket Club’s £12 million conference and events venue The Point can cater to events large and small, and its unique and intelligent design includes features such as movable walls and electronic blackout blinds. The Point is part of LCCC’s on-going £30 million investment which has seen the recent completion of a new player and media centre with the next phase being the redevelopment of the Pavilion, which will add another 700 delegate-capacity space. The venue is currently preparing for the Ashes tournament returning in 2013.
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
As a business and management education hub, the newly opened Business School supports local organisations and serves as a major provider of applied research. Its conference facilities are housed in a jewel-shaped building designed to be at the forefront of green development with strong sustainable credentials. The impressive facility boasts six tiered lecture theatres, multiple syndicate rooms and exhibition and dining space capable of hosting up to 250 delegates.
Manchester’s Conference Team
With venues and accommodation for up to 19,000 delegates, Manchester’s conference and events facilities would not be complete without its superb conference team.
Internationally recognised as one of the best conference and convention bureaus in the UK – the team are trained to offer a number of free services, specialising in event bidding, planning, marketing and client support. As your personal point of contact for conference planners – at hand from conception to completion – the team will manage all your event needs, from speakers and civic receptions to stakeholders and security.
Visitmanchester.com/conference.
University of Manchester
Staff House Conference Centre and Barnes Wallis Restaurant
This meeting and conference centre is available throughout the year and is just 250m away from Manchester’s central railway station, Piccadilly. It offers 12 meeting rooms with capacities for up to 90 delegates. Meals are served in the Mumford Restaurant and the coffee hub provides free flowing refreshments to delegates throughout the day. Adjoining are the Barnes Wallis and Harwood rooms which can accommodate events for up to 250.
Renold Building
The Renold building is also located in the city centre and recently benefited from a £3.4 million investment in its three largest theatres, installing £600,000 of cutting edge audio-visual equipment and taking its largest theatre to a capacity of 524 delegates. The venue also boasts two further 300-seat theatres and 25 seminar rooms.
Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre
Chancellors is a three-star AA rated Manchester hotel with delicious food, friendly service and large secluded gardens. Chancellors offers free on-site car parking and is only three miles from Manchester Piccadilly Train Station and six miles from Manchester International Airport.
Chancellors’ dedicated conference centre comprises 12 high-specification meeting rooms and offers versatile spaces for two to 125 delegates. The 70 en-suite bedrooms range from standard en-suite rooms to large suites.
University Place
This flagship venue features a tiered theatre able to seat 1,000 delegates, making it the largest dedicated lecture theatre in Greater Manchester. University Place is located centrally on Oxford Road, the main university corridor, and combines large-scale meeting space with 23 seminar rooms.
Whitworth Building
The neo-gothic Whitworth building, also on Oxford Road, can host banquets for up to 300 delegates in extremely imposing surroundings, reminiscent of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books. Adjoining the Whitworth Hall is Christie’s Bistro, located in an oak-panelled former library. Christie’s can be hired exclusively for drinks receptions or formal dinners in the evenings or weekend.
Day delegate rates for these venues start from £28.80+VAT. For more information please speak to the conferences and venues sales team on 0161 306 4100 or email conference@manchester.ac.uk