Shugborough visitor figures fall 14%

The number of visitors at Shugborough has dropped by 14 per cent on last year, it emerged today. But bosses for the historic estate were upbeat about the figure.

They said it compared positively to other attractions in Staffordshire that have experienced a drop in visitors of 25 per cent.

It comes as Shugborough battles against a £1million deficit. The estate announced it was vital to find savings and seven roles were under threat earlier this year. It has now emerged that four people took voluntary redundancy, a further two were made redundant and one was redeployed.

But the county council's leisure boss said there had been a rush of visitors over the June bank holiday weekend, with 2,500 people attending. Last season, visitor numbers rose from 113,844 to 127,458.

More than 8,000 people also turned out for this weekend's Country Show.

Councillor Pat Corfield said: "Since the beginning of July, visitor numbers at Shugborough have been consistently higher day on day compared to last year. The team has been working hard to boost visitor numbers and has been running a number discount offers."