THE wheels are in motion on a plan to encourage more coaches into Kendal to put the town ‘on the map’.

Kendal Business Improvement District is targeting companies to bring shoppers into the town centre - but said ideas were still at an ‘early stage’.

“I think there’s a lack of places for coaches to go and I also think there’s nobody doing it,” said Sarah Williams, Kendal BID’s manager.

“Previously we had K Village and people walked into town. But nobody is doing that.

“We are working on looking at targeting a range of coach companies for the golden quarter and then potentially for the January sales. Kendal has a lot to offer in terms of a mixture of independent and multiples. People will find unique purchases in Kendal, not found anywhere else. We will also have to work out the logistics.”

She said that if the right infrastructure was in place, the town could benefit from the increased visitor numbers that coach trips bring.

Ms Williams said that in terms of infrastructure she did not mean a dedicated car park but a ‘proper’ coach drop off point with somebody welcoming coaches as they arrived.

“We cannot afford to sit back and do nothing,” she said. “We have to get that infrastructure in place.”

She suggested that now New Road was a ‘much safer place’, coaches could use that as a drop off point.

“There are so many people that are due because of UNESCO and World Heritage Status and we should be saying we can take some of those people and we can be part of that whole package,” she said. “It is about putting Kendal on the map. Those times when people go to Manchester we can say, ‘actually come to Kendal’.”

As well as attracting more visitors from the UK, she said that coach trips would interest Asian markets.

“The Japanese tourists tend to want to look at culture and Kendal has tonnes of that,” she said. “It’s got lots of history and culture.

“If we are not telling them we are here they go in the opposite direction.”

Ms Williams explained that the BID wanted to become more heavily involved in terms of tourism as she felt like there currently was not anyone in the town that was dedicated to that role.

“Tourism is essential for Kendal and we need to take advantage of UNESCO and the additional tourists it will attract into the central Lakes,” she said. “Kendal BID is looking to make this a strong element of its next five year plan.

“We need to increase the amount of people that see Kendal as a destination rather than just as a gateway.”