BLENHEIM - Our Economic Impact

3 This means that last year we generated economic value of almost £127m and now support just under 2,500 jobs (up from an initial figure 4 years ago of £91m and 1900 jobs respectively).The end of the measurement period coincided almost exactly with the nation entering lockdown so, while I feel that Blenheim has weathered the storm better than many, it goes without saying that we are expecting to see these numbers fall significantly next year. Our visitors spent an estimated £52.7 million (+12%) outside of our gates last year, I would be surprised if it is even one third of that this year; not only have our visitor numbers fallen dramatically, but they have made much shorter trips and have tended to shy away from spending money in shops and restaurants (whether inside our gates or outside). In all of our business lines, we reopened as quickly as we were permitted, conscious that in doing so we were not only protecting our employees jobs but also supporting the ecosystem of businesses around us which depend at least in part on tourists coming to the area. About half of the growth in economic contribution this year was as a result of our purchase of Pye Homes, a business with which we have worked for some time, which we legitimately feared would be relocated to the head office of a national acquirer. We have relished working with the team, all of whom are locally based, and look forward to producing more and better homes. They have taken on our 10 goals with gusto, bringing in new apprentices, focusing on local spend and finding ways to deliver real value to the local community. The PYE Homes team have taken on our 10 goals with gusto, bringing in new apprentices, focusing on local spend and finding ways to deliver real value to the local community.