NOTES FROM MEETING HELDONMAY 25TH, 2012 AT THE VILLAGE, HERON’S REACH

Name / Organisation
Present:
Howard Lewis (chair) / The Hilton
Trevor Roberts / Blackpool Transport
David Cam / PleasureBeach Resort
Steve Pye / Blackpool CIC
Deborah Parker / Progress Recruitment
Martin Long, Kimberley Barrett St Vall / Napthens
Pauline Waterhouse / Blackpool & The FyldeCollege
Helen and Damien Broughton / Danbro
Steve Whitehouse / FTS
Dave Adamson / Accordant
John Child / Sandcastle
Iain Hawkins / Merlin
Richard Lefton / The Lefton Group
Debbs Lancelott / Houndshill
Wendy Swift / NHS Blackpool
Rob Knighton / Eclipse
Nathan Smith Hilliard / The Village, Heron’s Reach
David Chapman / Linksgate Leisure
Gary Smith / A4e
Neil Sutch / RBS
Andrew Wareing / Voucher Packs
David Jones / Thirty30 Media
Barry Howard / McDonalds
Natalie Wyatt, Chris Pope / Marketing Blackpool
Pete Watson / G Casino
Darren Webster / Blackpool Zoo
Alistair Baines / Cassidy Ashton
Sue Sankey / HSBC
Adam Anderson, Pauline Jeffers / AI Claims
David Hardy / Champion Accountants
Joe Bullock / Whitbread
Rob Green / Blackpool Bay Area Co
Jane Littlewood / Wyred Up/Rabbit Design
Kate Shane / BlackpoolTower
Wayne Smith / Northern Rail
Ed Christiano / Encore Design/Town Centre BID
Nick Testa / Imperial
Nathaniel Butters / NB Energy
Alex McIntyre / Property Scene
Sharon Brook / Chamber of Commerce
Justin Allitt / Allitt’s Estate Agency
Mark Yates / Brooks Collectables
Phil Hough / Subway
Michelle Smith / Blackpool Carers
Riccy Caunce / Toast
Gary Blackadder / Blackpool Dungeon
Michael Hyman / Leonard Dews
Advisers/Observers/Guests
Alan Cavill, Philip Welsh, Peter Legg, Donna Taylor / Blackpool Council
John Blackledge / Blackpool Council
Steve Wall / Access 2 Finance
Sarah Stone / Theatre Productions
Colin Johnston / Grand Theatre
Apologies
Neil Jack / Blackpool Council
Ann Hartley / Manx2.com
Roger Mellor / Glasdon
Philip Owen / Barclays
Matt Wormer / Transpennine Express
Paul Rankin / BlackpoolInternationalAirport
Pauline Lai / Mandarin/Rouge
Craig Lavery / Holden & Lee
Robert Wynne / West Coast Rock
Andy Higgins / Mailing North West
Jane Cole / Virgin Trains
Emma Purdon / Premiere People
Chris Hibbert / Henco
Eileen Ormand / Town Centre BID
Michael Williams / Crown Leisure
John Barnett / The Wave
Maria Noto / Lancaster House
Doug Garrett / Close Link
Angela Tierney / Marks & Spencer
  1. Welcome and apologies

Howard Lewis (chair, The Hilton) welcomed everyone including new members and guests to the meeting, and thanked Nathan Smith Hilliard (The Village, Heron’s Reach) for hosting the meeting.

  1. Minutes of the last meeting/Matters arising

Lobbying of Tourism Minister

It was noted that there had still not been a formal response received from the Minister to a letter sent earlier this year. David Cam (Pleasure Beach Resort) said he had met with the Minister at a recent event and had raised the matter. NOTE: A response has subsequently been received from the Minister – an update will be provided at the next meeting.

  1. 2012 Olympics

Altogether Now: A Legacy For Blackpool

John Blackledge (Blackpool Council) gave an insight into the various initiatives that were underway in Blackpoollinked to the 2012 Olympics.

He said the main project was the Altogether Now initiative – a partnership between NHS Blackpool, Blackpool Council and Blackpool Football Club, which was tackling a series of health and lifestyle-related objectives using recognised sports people as health ambassadors including Ian Holloway, Stephen Croft, Jimmy Armfield and Shelly Woods.

Within this Altogether Now approach, there is a programme of sporting and cultural events linked to the London Games. These include:

  • The Olympic Torch Relay on June 22 (see Marketing Blackpool presentation below)
  • The Blackpool Youth Games on June 26 involving over 3,000 children and a further 200 young people acting as volunteers
  • Hosting of two out of four “county games” at StanleyPark – the county disability games and the county primary games
  • The involvement of 100% of Blackpool’s educational settings in the Olympic learning programme – the only place outside London to be at that level of inclusion
  • Blaze cultural programme, again involving a large number of young people across the resort
  • High School impact days and primary school “Fit 2 Go” sessions to tackle the various health and lifestyle-related issues within the Altogether Now campaign
  • Race Online – a library-based, digital inclusion initiative aimed at improving the life chances of those people who have never been online.

He said that these various initiatives had put Blackpool at the forefront of Olympic activity in the UK, with a range of celebratory events underpinned by a long-term health and cultural legacy for the town.

He added that Blackpool was potentially going to be well represented at the London Paralympic Games with four or five local athletes competing for places and wheelchair racer Shelly Woods in serious contention to win a gold medal.

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Olympic Torch Relay

Chris Pope (Marketing Blackpool) gave an update on the Olympic Torch Relay event in Blackpool on Friday 22nd June.

He said the Blackpool leg was on Day 35, exactly halfway through the torch relay across the UK and would culminate in a large-scale event on the Tower Festival Headlands that would be featured live on the BBC red button.

He said there would be rolling road closures from 4pm on the day of the event, with normal traffic arrangements being restored by around 8pm.

A 90-minute programme of entertainment on the headland was due to commence at around 5.20 with the torch arriving in front of the Tower at just before 7pm. Singer Katy B will headline the entertainment as part of Coca Cola’s contribution to the event.

He said Marketing Blackpool was organising the event in conjunction with LOCOG (the London Organising Committee for the Games) and had planned the local content within the programme of entertainment.

Further details of the route and exact timings can be accessed at this link:

  1. Business Access To Finance

Steve Wall gave an overview of the free-to-access services offered to businesses by Access To Finance North West, an independent and impartial organisation funded by Enterprise Partnerships and the European Regional Development Fund.

He said the service was aimed at matching finance with business need and helping viable small to medium enterprises to become investment-ready.

He emphasised that the service did not:

  • Write business plans & forecasts for clients
  • Compete with private sector deliverers of financial support
  • Deliver grant funding
  • Charge fees and or receive introductory commissions

What they are able to do is:

  • Review historic/current financial performance
  • Discuss business plan/financial forecasts
  • Produce a finance ‘action plan’
  • Research appropriate finance providers/products
  • Instigate introductions to lenders, investors ,service providers

Mr Wall said that various types and sizes of funding could be explored ranging from Small Business Loans up to £50,000 at one end of the scale, to finance guarantees of up to £1m at the other end of the scale.

Dave Adamson (Accordant) asked what the success rate of securing funding for SMEs in Blackpool was. Mr Wall said that this was around 70%.

Any business interested in discussing or accessing the services offered by Access To Finance should email:. Further information can also be found on the website:

  1. Grand Theatre – Future Developments

Colin Johnston, Development Director of The Grand Theatre, gave an update on developments.

He said The Grand had embarked on a 20-year development programme and was now designated as an Arts Council National Portfolio organisation. This recognised the importance of The Grand within the UK arts industry.

He said that the programming for The Grand in recent months reflected this with high-quality drama productions including National Theatre productions. Average audience per performance was showing a 26% increase.

Longer-term plans including extending the stage to be able to accommodate larger West End shows.

In the medium term, it also intended to invest £2m to develop the former O2 shop on Church Street to create:

  • A community arts hub
  • New box office
  • Heritage centre
  • Performance spaces
  • Enhanced catering
  • Improved access

Mr Johnston said that The Grand was keen to be an integral part of the town centre economy and was partnering with businesses such as Pizza Express and Toast to grow its “Show and Dine” concept.

The theatre also offered a range of spaces for corporate events ranging from 1,000 capacity in the main auditorium down to 12-30 in the various bars.

He emphasised the importance of protecting and promoting The Grand as an asset to Blackpool.

  1. On Blackpool TV

Steve Pye (Blackpool Community Interest Company) gave a presentation on a new online TV concept – On Blackpool TV. He said this was an internet-based television channel where Blackpool-related videos can be distributed and viewed all over the world.

He said the project had a number of objectives:

  • To promote the positive side of Blackpool through digital media
  • Provide support for local businesses, local communities and charity organisations
  • Generate revenue for good causes
  • Introduce initiatives aimed at reducing the number of youngsters in Blackpool who are not in education, employment or training
  • Increase custom for struggling businesses through “Deal of the Day” type initiatives.

He said that a number of organisations had already posted videos on the site. Anyone interested in looking at the opportunities offered by this initiative should contact Steve Pye at

  1. Business Partnerships Report

Philip Welsh drew the meeting’s attention to a number of items contained within his report:

  • The submission of various locally-based bids to the Coastal Communities Fund including one put forward for the SouthBeach area of Blackpool by a consortium of private, public and third sector partners
  • A £1m “tourism academy” bid put forward by a consortium of visitor economy businesses within Blackpool
  • The invitation to businesses to attend an A4e employer open day on May 30
  • The postponement of the NSPCC Glitter Ball to a new date: Saturday 24th November
  1. Any Other Business

No further items to report

  1. Date and time of next meeting

Next meeting scheduled for 8am for 8.30am, Friday 27th July, 2012at The Winter Gardens. Parking and breakfast arrangements to be confirmed.

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