Shugborough visitor numbers fall by 6 per cent

Visitors numbers fell by six per cent at Staffordshire's Shugborough Estate on what is usually one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Only 3,178 people visited the attraction during August bank holiday weekend.

The figure is down from 3,364 the previous year. It represents another blow for Shugborough, which is battling a £1 million deficit. Staff numbers have already been slashed in an effort to save cash.

But bosses at the estate said the figure compares fairly strongly with other local attractions. Some English Heritage sites have experienced double the drop.

The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley saw visitor numbers down by up to 15 per cent this summer.

The attraction is now planning to shed up to 70 jobs and plans to close the museum, which employs 239 people, twice a week bet-ween November and Easter to save £250,000 every year.

But Councillor Pat Corfield, cabinet member for culture at Staffordshire County Council, said Shugborough was faring better but he wanted to see more people through the doors.

He said: "It hasn't been a bad summer for the Shugborough Estate given the appalling weather we've had and not to mention the huge pull of the Olympics and Paralympics."