BURFORD holiday lettings firm Manor Cottages has raised another £4,000 for conservation work in the Cotswolds through its involvement in the Cotswolds Visitor Giving Scheme, launched last year.
Tourists booking cottages across the region through the company are asked to make a donation towards landscaping and environmental projects in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the company gives £1 for every booking made.
Manor Cottages was one of the first businesses to join the scheme and owner Chris Grimes has urged other businesses to follow suit.
He said: “It’s so rewarding to be able to raise funds that go directly back into environmental and conservation activities, supporting the outstanding landscape on which our tourism industry depends.
“I have found that the vast majority of our customers are more than happy to make a simple donation towards this scheme and, as we have made the process as easy as possible, we are able to make a significant and regular contribution in this way.
“Setting it up was very simple to do and I would, therefore, encourage other tourism businesses in the Cotswolds to consider joining this scheme, so that we can really make a difference on a much bigger scale.”
Over the past 12 months Mr Grimes has raised more than £7,000 through his website manorcottages.co.uk, which has been used to help get a number of environmental projects off the ground, including restoration work on the Winchcombe Way footpath, habitat restoration along a stretch of the River Coln, near Bibury, in conjunction with the Cotswolds Rivers Trust, which is based in Shipton-under-Wychwood, and a woodland coppicing project in a nature reserve near Painswick.
The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty includes much of West Oxfordshire north of Burford, Witney and Wood-stock, as well as parts of Gloucestershire, Warwick-shire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire.
Businesses interested in signing up to join the Cotswolds Visitor Giving Scheme should call Simon Smith on 01451 862030 or send him an email at simon.smith@cotswold saonb.org.uk
- For more information about the scheme, see cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/visitorgiving
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