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11
Mar
Knaresborough Chamber to bid for £40k to help visitors see town as it used to be
Knaresborough Castle could be rebuilt – in virtual 3D – if a funding bid to create a new Knaresborough smartphone app is successful.
Knaresborough Chamber is hoping the app will help to attract more visitors to the town and boost business footfall.
It will be bidding this month for £40,000 from the York and North Yorkshire Mayor’s High Street Fund to pay for its development.
The app, which could be downloaded free of charge, would feature different trails around the town, using state-of-the-art augmented reality (AR) to add a layer of images over Knaresborough’s streets and landmarks that would tell visitors more about what they were looking at.
North Yorkshire Council has bought an AR platform developed by Skipton firm Peel X with a view to developing similar immersive experiences for towns across the region. An app has already been developed for Northallerton and one is in the pipeline for Pickering.
Paul Forster, who was formerly project manager at Peel X, is spearheading the initiative for Knaresborough Chamber.
He told the Stray Ferret:
Imagine holding your phone up to the statue of Mother Shipton in Market Place and it comes to life on your screen, with an actress playing her and telling you her story.
It could also bring the castle to life, so you could see it as it used to be in the Middle Ages and find out about its history.
Or you might be able to point your phone at a shop and see what business used to be there in the past.
People could collect points along each trail, and if you get all the points, they could be worth a discount in participating businesses.
He said that Knaresborough already has several trails for visitors to follow, including one that follows all the trompe l’oeil murals.
New trails could include a heritage trail, a foodie trail, a photography trail, and an explorers’ trail for families with kids – as well as seasonal trails at Christmas, Easter or Halloween.
He said:
Knaresborough’s got such a wide variety of trails already, all offering something different in their own right. But they’re not very well known.
This app could bring them all together in one place. It would also get local businesses involved, and bring the town into the modern era, when so many people are using smartphones.
It would do a lot to boost tourism in the town, increasing the amount of money spent in our shops, and would better connect all the different heritage offers that are going on in Knaresborough.
Although funding has yet to be secured for the initiative, it is an “80% oven-ready proposal,” according to Chamber executive member Peter Lacey, and it has already met with backing from various quarters.
The Chamber has received letters of support for the project from Knaresborough Civic Society, Knaresborough Museum Association, Renaissance Knaresborough, Knaresborough Connectors, Knaresborough in Bloom, Knaresborough Rotary, and both the principal regeneration officer and cultural venues manager at North Yorkshire Council.
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