A COLCHESTER Council boss has defended the decision to appoint a London production firm - ahead of a local company - to produce a tourism advert. 

The authority is set to splash out more than £40,000 for a Sky TV advert in a bid to bring more visitors to the town. 

Filming will begin in spring and the advert will be aired in the summer.

The advertisement will be made by London firm Silverfish media and Colchester Council tourism boss Tim Young has defended the decision to use that company over local competitors.

He said: “First and foremost, no councillors were involved in the process.

“It was a competitive tender which ultimately was decided upon by officers.

“From the feedback I’ve had, those local companies who went for it almost had too much local knowledge and it was felt people from outside the area would be able to be more objective and have fresh eyes on the town.”

He added: “Silverfish has a good track record and we have no doubt the finished product will be absolutely stupendous and will make many people want to get themselves to Colchester.”

The firm has produced work for Google, Natwest, Carphone Warehouse, the NHS and the Labour Party.

The advert will focus on tourists who would like to stay in the area for more than one day. 

The advertisement - which will cost £10,000 to make and £30,871 in airtime - will point to the beauty of Constable Country in the Dedham Vale, as well as the town’s 2,000 years of history. 

It will also touch on other attractions such as Colchester Zoo, Firstsite, Colchester Castle, as well as restaurants, shops and places to stay.

The ad follows a series of video shorts created by Visit Colchester for social media, posted last year to attract families, group travel companies and other groups to the area.

Mr Young added: “Colchester has so much to offer tourists.

“A visitor to the town could happily spend days wandering the winding streets, exploring the Castle and Roman ruins and being entertained by all kinds of attractions around our beautiful borough.

“Of course, no visit to Colchester would be complete without heading over to Mersea Island and sampling the famous and delicious Colchester oysters.

“Our summer 2018 ad will be a celebration of all the things which make Colchester a top choice for holidaymakers in the UK.”

The advert will potentially air on all Sky channels but will only be screened in areas of the country deemed to be likely to come to Colchester.

Parts of London will be targeted, alongside other parts of East Anglia and Yorkshire.

The advert will be directly sent to users’ boxes before being aired.