Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Hugh Irving, Lead Member for Customers and Communities (copy enclosed) presenting Denbighshire’s Event Strategy 2014 – 2020 for adoption.

RESOLVED that –

(a)       the Events Strategy (as appended to the report) be adopted;

(b)       Member Area Groups are involved in validating and contributing to the events programme;

(c)        all corporate events are evaluated in accordance with the strategy, and;

(d)       the outcomes of the strategy are monitored through the Economic and Community Ambition Board.

Councillors Hugh Evans and Huw Jones jointly presented the report and Denbighshire’s Event Strategy 2014 – 2020 for adoption.

Councillor Evans endorsed the proactive and planned approach in the promotion and marketing of events which would benefit the economy and enhance the visitor experience.  Councillor Jones highlighted the number of high profile events in recent years and plans for the future and welcomed the evaluation of corporate events to assess the local economy impact.  He also drew members’ attention to the section of the Council’s website detailing events within the county.  Finally reference was made to a number of amendments to the strategy document in terms of accuracy of content.

The Lead Officer, Destination, Marketing and Communication (LO) explained the key benefits of the strategy to ensure that events made a meaningful contribution to the local economy, provided the highest quality events possible for residents and visitors, and enhanced the county’s reputation for hosting and attracting new events to the county.  She highlighted the importance of measuring and monitoring the impact of events, ensuring the best value from investment in events and the provision of an Events Toolkit to help event organisers.

Cabinet welcomed the document and recognised the importance of an effective and coherent strategy in order to maximise opportunities and create a positive impact on the local economy through additional visitors and job creation.  Members referred to a number of planned events within their towns and communities and asked that they be included within the Events Section on the Council’s website together with details of Denbighshire’s Open Doors Events.  Questions were raised regarding the involvement of members within the process, the means of engagement with event organisers for both large scale and smaller/community events, and the type of event Denbighshire aimed to attract.  Whilst much emphasis had been placed on the economic impact it was highlighted that although smaller events could not compete in monetary terms, they played an important part in social cohesion and bringing the community together.

In response to members’ questions and comments the LO responded that –

·        the strategy would be reviewed regularly by the Economic and Community Ambition Board and the Destination, Marketing and Communication team as part of the business planning process 

·        a more focused approach to marketing events was required and the Events Section of the website needed to be redesigned to reflect the current events list showing what was on for visitors and what to do to stage an event

·        the strategy was aimed at event organisers and event managers in the Council and she agreed to include reference to the website’s Events Section

·        the intention was to engage with councillors through Member Area Groups and a series of presentations were planned in order to build a comprehensive list of events within the county; relationships would also be developed with town/city/community councils and other event organisers

·        event organisers already interacted with the Council through various departments when planning events and a database of event organisers would be built – the event planning process would also be streamlined with one application form and toolkit

·        there was an Events Officer for both the North and South of the county who would be the key interface for event organisers

·        connections were being made externally with event organisers and the Welsh Government Major Events Unit – it was important to decide first which events the Council wanted to attract

·        it was important to measure and monitor success and the LO detailed how the success of big events could be measured through ticketing, an aerial view of the event and questionnaires.

Councillor Bobby Feeley suggested a link on the Council’s website to town/city/community councils regarding events being held.  Councillor Meirick Davies commended the photographs included in the strategy document but highlighted that no reference had been made to the events they depicted.

RESOLVED that –

(a)       the Events Strategy (as appended to the report) be adopted;

(b)       Member Area Groups are involved in validating and contributing to the events programme;

(c)        all corporate events are evaluated in accordance with the strategy, and

(d)       the outcomes of the strategy are monitored through the Economic and Community Ambition Board.