Minutes of the Tourism Committee held in the Town Hall, Bideford on 30 May 2017 at 6.00 pm

PRESENT:

East Ward:   
Councillor J McKenzie
Councillor S Robinson   
Councillor Mrs R Craigie

North Ward:   
Councillor D Bushby
Councillor D McGeough

South Ward (Outer):   
Councillor D Howell (Chairman)

IN ATTENDANCE:   
Mrs L Dixon-Chatfield (Town Clerk’s Asst)

001   TO ELECT A NEW CHAIRMAN

Proposed by:  Councillor Bushby and seconded

RESOLVED: That Councillor Howell is appointed as Chairman of the Committee for the coming year.

(Vote: For: 6,  Against: 0)

002   TO ELECT A NEW VICE-CHAIRMAN

Proposed by:  Councillor McGeough and seconded

RESOLVED: That Councillor Bushby is appointed as Vice- Chairman of the Committee for the coming year.

(Vote: For: 6 Against: 0)

003   APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Mrs Ruth Benney (Atlantic Village TIC)

004   DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

There were no declarations made at this point in the meeting.

005   PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION

There were no members of the public present

006   MINUTES

The Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 25 April 2017 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Vote For: 6, Against: 0)

007   LITTLE AMERICA SITE AND INFORMATION BOARD - TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE ACTIONS FROM THE LAST MEETING.

The Chairman was delighted to announce that the information boards had been completed and were now in situ. 

He had arranged a photo opportunity with the ND Gazette for Wednesday 7th June at 2.30pm on the site.  He added that he would contact JAG to see if they could join in and asked the Clerk to contact Wings (picnic tables and original clearance) and Warren Collum (design of information panels).

He asked the Clerk to remove this item from the next agenda.

008   TO RECEIVE AN UP DATE ON THE SCHOOL CHOIRS CONCERTS IN THE PANNIER MARKET AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED

The Chairman had left a message with Adrian Scarrett of St Margarets School but was waiting to hear back from him.  He had considered that he had heard nothing back was due to the impending school holidays. 

He would follow up after the half-term break.

009   TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON ENQUIRIES WITH BIDEFORD COLLEGE AND KINGSLEY SCHOOL ON THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE MAKING OF A VIDEO OF BIDEFORD EVENTS, TO BE USED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITES ETC. AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED.

Councillor McKenzie had contacted Kingsley School with good results.  He had a meeting set up for 26th June with their Media Studies group could help with post production.

A short discussion followed regarding using amateur footage stitched together for the school to work on.

010   TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON PROGRESS FOR MARKING THE OCCASION OF THE CENTENARY OF THE BIDEFORD APPLEDORE RAILWAY CLOSURE IN 2017 AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED

 Councillor McKenzie advised the group that he had been unable to pull anyting together in time for June and apologised.

Councillor Bushby informed members that thre had been a change in personnel at the Railway Heritage Centre and it could be a good idea for Councillor McKenzie to approach them. 

The Chairman concluded that the commemoration of the railway closure could be later in the year and could even be a part of Bideford Fair.  He added that the flowerbed would still be put in place and the Clerk added that the framework was made and that the gravel depiction was under construction.

011   TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON PROGRESS BEING MADE FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE ST MARGARET’S FAIR IN JULY 2017 AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED.

The Chairman was pleased that a good solid foundation was in place for the event.  He updated members on the participants already committed to the Bideford Fair and those who were yet to confirm.

He asked that the Mayor lead a procession from the Town Hall to Victoria Park to open the event.  Councillor McGeough (Mayor) agreed.

The event would need as many Councillors as possible to be part of the marshalling team, to work with the 6 from Bideford 500.

Councillor Bushby said he would be running skittles all day and that his wife Sheila would set up and run a tombola.  He asked members for any unwanted gifts they may have. 

Peter Lawrence (Tarka Radio) will run the PA.  Medicare will cover any medical and first aid issues.  The Town Council gazebo will be next to the PA.

The Chairman concluded that the Tourism Committee would have another meeting before the event.

012   TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON PROGRESS BEING MADE FOR THE FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL IN THE PANNIER MARKET AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED.

The Clerk apologised to members that she had not progressed very far with this event and that the feedback had been because of the time of year – holidays.  She had received 5 promising stall holders but was struggling with more from a database of about 30.  She regretted that she would have to stand back from this event.

There was some discussion that the event would have to be looked at with a view to widening the scope to stallholders outside of Torridge-side.

013   TO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE FORMER COASTGUARD’S OFFICE IN JUBILEE SQUARE AND RECOMMENT TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED.

The Chairman advised the group that the Town Council had first refusal on the building.  He had viewed it and noticed it was in good condition and was a reasonable size.  The building comprised an office, store, kitchenette, wc.  It had mains electricity and water.

He further advised that the rent would be £2,000 pa, which was a good price in a prime location.  Members agreed but considered that the Council would need to maximise on the space and use the building to its greatest potential.

The Chairman reminded members the first reason for enquiring about the building was to house a digital information display, and for this there would need to be a small amount of work done to one of the windows.

The Chairman asked members for ideas on usage of the building, some ideas were immediately forthcoming:

•    Central hub within the Town Centre for the Town Council
•    A place for Councillor or Town Council Surgeries
•    It could be manned by volunteers during the holiday times to give out information
•    To show the projects and good works the Town Council has achieved
•    Storage for signage, maintenance equipment.
•    A site for a suggestion box for Town Council

The Chairman would compile a list for the full Council meeting in June.

Proposed by: Councillor Howell, seconded and

RECOMMENDED:  That the Council rent the former Coastguard’s office in Jubilee Square at £2,000 per annum.  To be used for a variety of promotional and practical purposes.

(Vote:  For: 6, Against: 0)

014   TO DISCUSS SPRUCE UP DAYS AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED

The Chairman asked members how they felt about another Spruce Up day this year.  Everyone was in agreement that the days are good PR exercises and that it would be good to target set areas next time.  Councillor McKenzie requested that a team could go to East the Water.  The Clerk reminded him that there is usually a presence at ETW and it was only because numbers were down on the most recent Spruce Up day that it had not happened.

The Chairman asked the group about a future date, all agreed that the end of the summer would be better and a date of Sunday 24th September was agreed.

015   TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL THE PURCHASE OF AN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL INFORMATION BOARD AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED AND SUBSEQUENTLY PUT FORWARD AS A MANOR COURT PRESENTMENT.

The Chairman explained that the information about the interactive board had been obtained via Regency Estate Agents and asked members to look at the options on payment to see the best way to move forward.  All members agreed that to buy outright would be the best option.

They briefly discussed the possibility of selling advertising through the display unit.

There was some discussion about who would update the kit, the Chairman suggested that the part-time admin person would be in the ideal position to be able to carry this out, although the providers of the display unit did have that as part of their package.  The Clerk suggested she contact the Company to make sure the prices were the same and to clarify the warranty, management and license fee.  She would have the information ready for the next Town Council meeting.

The Chairman concluded that, as a digital display screen such as this had been a Manor Court presentment it would be good to progress it forward to a satisfactory completion.

Proposed:  Councillor Bushby, seconded and

RECOMMENDED: That the Town Council purchase an interactive display to be housed in the former Coastguard Offices on Jubilee Square.

(Vote:  For: 6, Against: 0)

016   TO ORGANISE A PRESS WEEKEND TO PROMOTE THE BIDEFORD AREA AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED.

Councillor McGeough wanted to mention that he, as Mayor, was holding meetings with the ND Gazette and ND Journal representatives to encourage them show Bideford in a positive light after one or two bad pieces of publicitity in recent weeks.  Councillor Bushby said that he had heard Councillor McGeough’s piece on Radio Devon and considered it to be well done.

The Chairman gave a brief overview, for new members, of what had been previously discussed regrding the press weekend.  That the idea would be to invite press from other regions to show them what Bideford and the immediate area has to offer. 

The Chairman had not managed to start discussions and requested that the item be deferred to the next meeting.

017   TO DISCUSS CO-OPTING OUTSIDE MEMBERS ONTO THE TOURISM COMMITTEE AND RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL ANY ACTIONS REQUIRED.

The Chairman asked members how they felt about co-opting from other groups.  It was agreed by all and the group generally felt that it could be useful but those joining would do so on their own merits.

018   DATE OF NEXT MEETING.

Members discussed the frequency of the Tourism Committee meetings and it was agreed that a schedule be set for the remainder of this current term.  The Chairman asked the Clerk to put forward dates in 6 weekly intervals.  In the meantime, it was agreed that the next meeting would be scheduled for Tuesday                                                   4th July 2017 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber.

The business of the meeting having been completed, the Chairman thanked the members for their attendance and the meeting concluded at 7.40 pm.