Welcome to Yorkshire Coast Tourism Advisory Board

Transcription

1 Welcome to Yorkshire Coast Tourism Advisory Board Venue: Scarborough Town Hall Sea View Conference Room Date: 24 th November 2016 Time: Chair: 2pm Clive Rowe Evans Taking Minutes: Janet Deacon 1. Apologies for absence Catriona McLees Richard Gunton in attendance Trevor Watson Graham North Diane Uhalde Andrew Clay Shirley Smith Victoria Mitchell Steve Freeman Ed Blakeley Paul Johnson 2. Minutes from Last Meeting Agreed as a true record 2a. Actions Arising Action 2: Inward investment brochure on hold, not priority for Nick and therefore it has been pushed back until after the Market project. Nick will ensure the Board has sight of this prior to it going to print Action 3: Cllr Backhouse now holds the portfolio for Car Parks. Cllr Jefferson advised the board that a new parking review group had been established to scrutinise off street parking across the Borough. Cllr Jane Mortimer is the Chair of the group. The Chair asked if Cllr Jefferson would act as the conduit between the board and the group. Cllr Jefferson agreed to undertake this role. Action 3:- The Board to feedback through the chair any issues that they want raising with the review group.

2 Janet Deacon also advised the group that NYCC were also reviewing on street parking and any issues relating to the current scheme should be referred to Helen Watson at NYCC Highways a.s.a.p. Action 3:- The Board to submit any suggestions/issues to NYCC on off street parking to Area 3 Helen Watson.. Action 5 Graham North has prepared a template which Janet will circulate to the board with the minutes. All board members to circulate to their members to identify any discounts for conference delegates etc. Action 8 Mike had not yet had chance to catch up with Steve Freeman following his meeting with Hull City of Culture. Mike to establish what if any benefits there are for Scarborough and feed back to group. Action 23 The Board was still concerned to hear from Victoria that many directional signs indicate that there is still a TIC at Brunswick. Concerns were also raised that Google maps and other sites show the former Brunswick TIC. Victoria is sending details to Cllr Jenkinson ( copy to Janet and Clive) so that he can take action. Nothing as yet has been received from Victoria. Action 26 Nick agreed to keep the board abreast of the Townscape Heritage Grant bid which will look at how the town and seafront could be linked better. John also asked if it was possible to have additional Christmas lighting on Eastborough near market. Nick agreed should there be any funding left from the Market Hall development that he would look at this. Action 27- Richard, Janet and Ed to meet to look at signage and key issues. John to send Richard list of signs that the SBTA had identified. JS reported that there appear to be rather a lot of brown signs directing people to North Bay but very few highlighting Seafront. The group to look at this and identify a potential action plan. Cllr AJ agreed to source the audit of all the towns brown information sigs to help with the review. Janet confirmed that signage was an issue across the whole Borough so a scheme needs to be looked at in totality. Janet also advised the board that as part of the TIC review, digital information provision was to be looked at across the borough. Action 28 Clive has written to the Chief Executive of NYCC re the Board s views on Fracking as expressed at the last meeting Action 29 Although David Kelly was not present Nick Taylor was able to talk about some of the concerns raised re the Town Centre at the last meeting. See point 8 in theses minutes. 3 Regeneration Projects Cllr Derek Bastiman Leader of the Council The Leader gave the board an update on the key challenges that are being faced in relation to Growth on the Yorkshire Coast and the strategic

3 approaches that were being taken to tackle them Key Challenges Low Wages Low educational achievement Low skilled workforce Areas of disadvantage Lot literacy and numeracy Seasonal employment Strategic Approach Diversify the Economy Support the growth of new high value added, high waged sectors Establish the Borough as the most highly skilled coastal community by 2030 The Leader highlighted the following developments GCHQ Norther Cyber Research Campus development working with Coventry University to support UK businesses to defend against cyber attack and also enhances GCHQ ability to keep the UK safe and secure 150m investment in a Research and Development Technology Park 80,000 Square meters of office and education space Offshore Wind - 40b investment at Dogger Bank will be the largest wind farm in the world. New Offshore Renewable Energy Operation and Maintenance Centre Dalby Renewables based in Whitby. Education and Sport Facility Development New University Technical College, Coventry University Scarborough already provided and open and a Multi Sports Development will be opening in 2017 which will bring Scarborough Football Club back to Scarborough. Alpamare Waterpark - 15m investment in the development of the Waterpark. Phase 2 Spa will open in March. Saw 45,000 people visit in first month. North Bay development has also included the opening of a new family pub by Marstons. Further future developments will include a new 80 bedroomed hotel and multiplex cinema which it is anticipated will be in operation over the next two years. Market Hall Re-development - 2.8m investment into the redevelopment of the market hall. The finest Market in the North of England. Reflecting the style of Covent Garden in London with a mezzanine level and floor area to support events, music and exhibitions. Housing Developments There has and will be the highest level of housing investment in the area delivered since the Victorian era sites with

4 planning permission. Middle Deepdale providing the biggest housing site in Yorkshire. It is anticipated that there will be 10,000 new homes by Construction Skills Village The Council working closely with Kebble/Keepmoat/Northern Regen along with Redcar and Cleveland/Middlesbrough and Yorkshire Coast Colleges are providing a facility for real time on site learning for students, which gives them hands on experience of construction projects. Futurist A report will be going to Cabinet on 9 th January which will look to seek approval for the figure required for the demolition and development of the site around the Futurist. Approval has already been given for the demolition of the facility and a preferred developer Flamingoland Developers are looking to construct a 20m scheme. Cabinet will address the problem re minimising the impact to tourists whilst demolition work is being carried out, the scheme is expected to open sometime late Water Quality The leader confirmed that Council was extremely disappointed at the outcome of the water quality testing and the poor result that had been awarded. The Leader confirmed that SBC together with Bathing Water Partnership partners were continuing to work to identify the sources of pollution. They are working together to look in depth at the DNA samples. As a way of mitigating the negativity of the signs stating poor which will have to be in place prior to next season, bathing water weekly postings will be put out on large boards highlighting the positive samples. Potash The Leader confirmed that the funding had now been approved and that tunnelling would be starting at the Whitby and Lockwood Beck end. The Leader also confirmed that 106 funding which had been secured by both SBC and NYMNP would look to support minimising the disruption through promotion and project developments. Welcome to Yorkshire, Visit England, the NYMNP National Park and SBC should benefit from this throughout the construction period. Whitby Piers Charles Forgan asked about the Whitby Piers and Clive asked about the dredging problem.. The leader confirmed that the dredger had broken down and that a replacement machine would be placed on the barge and be fully operational again next month. Cllr Mike Cockerill is leading on this. The Leader also confirmed that there was a scheme being worked up for the Piers. Some funding has been found to support this. Additional funding will also be required. Work to commence 2017/18. The Leader also confirmed that Parkol Engineering have put some funding in to secure the Wharf outside their building. The Leader also confirmed that ensuring the Piers were secure was vital to the offshore development at Dogger Bank. Open Air Theatre The Leader confirmed that they were working with Cuffe and Taylor on the development of the shows for the venue. A planning application has been submitted which looks to increase the show capacity to

5 30 per year. The promoters are looking to attract around 17 shows for 2017 and will be looking to have the decking installed again which will increase capacity and provide a much improved experience for both audience and artistes. The Board congratulated Cllr Bastiman and the Council on all of the fantastic projects that had and were being delivered. 4. Visitor Economy Strategy 3 year action plan update Janet had previously circulated the update document. Clive asked members if they had any comments. Charles highlighted that the Piers were mentioned in the document and whilst some funding had been found further funding would be required to ensure all the work was undertaken. Clive would like to receive clarification in relation to what funding had been secured and what this would be spent on. Charles advised the board that it had been 15 years since the engineers had highlighted that there was an issue with the Piers. Janet advised Charles and the Board that the Leader had already answered this question in his presentation but that she would seek clarification in relation to the works being carried out and the funding required to secure the Piers. Action 30: Janet to seek clarification from the Leader/Chris Bourne in relation to the level of work carried out and the total costs of the scheme. 5 NYMNP Update Richard confirmed that Andy Wilson would be attending the January meeting to discuss comments received by the Board in relation to their management plan. Richard highlighted that the CCF round 2 had now come to an end and that a submission was being developed for round 3 which would look at how they could build links from the Coast to the wider National Park. Richard also highlighted that they had carried out research some 5 years ago which looked at the awareness of the park and also perception. The research identified that the awareness and perception was low. This also came on the back of declining visitor numbers highlighted via the Visitor and Value monitoring model Steam. As a result of this over the last 5 years a lot of work has been undertaken into improving the brand image and promotion of the Park, working closely with Scarborough Borough Council, Welcome to Yorkshire, Visit England and other key stakeholders. This has resulted in massive improvements. The recent research following the completion of the CCF work has now highlighted the following:-

6 92% of Visitors are aware of the North York Moors National Park compared to 30% in % of visitors know that they are in a National Park compared to 70% in % of visitors are aware of 3 or more of the special qualities of the North York Moors National Park with awareness highest for the natural beauty, open spaces and walks/outdoor activities. compared to 20% in % of visitors have been to the National Park more than once in the last 12 months with most visiting twice 77% of visitors are fro the North of England, with 25% growth in the proportion fro the North-East and the North-West since % of visitors rate the North York Moors as very good/good Action 31:- Janet to circulate infographic 6 DBID update Clive advised the board that they had received an from East Riding of Yorkshire Council to say that they would not be contributing to phase 2 of the DBID process. Redcar and Cleveland had confirmed that they wanted to be involved and would be committing some cash to support phase 2. Clive and Mike had put in a request to SBC to fund 20k plus the costs of the ballot which equated to around 6k. To date they are still awaiting a response. Trevor Watson unfortunately was unable to make the meeting due to having to attend an urgent meeting at the LEP. However he had provided some feedback following Cabinets Exec meeting on this matter. The Exec are fully behind the DBID scheme and process however they would like to receive the following detailed information asap, once this had been received a decision would be made. 1. What funding has been absolutely committed and confirmed 2. What funding has been committed subject to conditions 3. What funding has been agreed in principal and to what value 4. Further detailed information on how DBIDs have benefited other destinations which have a DBID in place, what projects have been delivered and what benefits have been achieved 5. What level of public funding was put into phase 2 of the DBID process in other areas. Clive highlighted that the Advisory Board would like to see is a confirmed

7 level of commitment from SBC. Cllr Jenkinson advised that this would come once the information requested by Trevor had been received. He advised that he would personally ensure that an early decision would be made in the new year once the information had been submitted. Mike, Janet and Clive to arrange a meeting and ensure that the info was pulled together and submitted before Christmas. Clive and Mike also confirmed that they were still pursuing private sector leads who have expressed interest. John requested that the board look to pull together a one page brochure highlighting what a DBID is, what benefits this could have for the area, what the funding could be potentially spent on etc etc. i.e. statement of intention as to what the Board would see the bid looking like. The board also need to ensure that the document highlights the fact that some of the funding would be used to support cross destination projects and also localised destination projects. Mike also highlighted that Janet had sourced some great feedback from Bournemouth and requested that this be circulated to the Board including the Vox Pop, also the national feedback on DBIDs. Action 32: - Mike to pull together a one page brochure. Clive/Mike to submit additional info to SBC as requested Janet to circulate Bournemouth info, Vox Pop and national feedback on Bid s 7 SWAFTAS Janet gave a brief overview of the awards and highlighted that Shirley intended to launch them at the SHA diner in January. Shirley, Graham and Janet had met to discuss the categories and were currently in the process of creating applications, judging criteria etc. It is anticipated that the awards will take place sometime in Action 33:- Janet to circulate categories to Board. 8 AOB Nick provided the board with an update on Town Centre resurfacing and also the issues with peddlers. Nick confirmed that the peddlers issue has been flagged up to Police who are taking a more proactive approach to sorting. Nick advised that there is a scheme currently being looked at which has yet to go to cabinet but it will result in all the Streets in the Borough being consent streets which would mean that all street trading will require a license. Nick also highlighted that Victoria and other Town Centre traders had raised their concerns over Chuggers. Nick confirmed that charity collectors don't legally need a license but SBC work closely with them to ensure it is managed well wherever possible. Richard asked if it was possible for Nick to establish a code of conduct with them as retailers were getting a lot of complaints. Nick confirmed that most of them work to a strict code of

8 conduct and whenever there had been any issues, he addressed them with the charities immediately and the issues were sorted. Nick asked that the retailers keep him updated on any issues/complaints they receive immediately so that he can address them straight away..action 34:- Retailers and Board members to refer any issues re Peddlers and Chuggers to Nick Taylor Clive also asked about the levels of success for Coastal properties at the recent White Rose Awards. The results were disappointing for our area but we were pleased that Humblebee had received highly commended. I t was agreed that we should try to get an understanding of why so few entries came from the Coastal area. 9 Date of Future Meetings Thursdays at 2.00; 19 Jan 16 March 18 May 20 July 21 Sept 16 Nov