Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
Board Meeting Part / OneDate of meeting : / 19 April 2017 / Paper Number: / EDC 017/023
Title of paper / Communications
Presented by
/ Mark Templeton, Head of Communications
Sub-committee / Not applicable
Purpose of Paper and Executive Summary
To update the board on our latest communications work and digital progress. This includes updates on our new website, our social media activity and media coverage of the Garden City.
EDC business plan and KPIs / Communicating what we do and what is happening in the Garden City underpins our business plan and relates to every aspect of KPIs
Recommendation / To approve the Design Pack at Item 1
Annexes / A: Design Pack B: Media coverage C: Meetings
Delegation / Not applicable
Financial impact / None
Legal impact / None
Stakeholder impact / Stakeholder engagement is strengthened and increased through the delivery of communication activities
Sponsor impact / None
1. Ebbsfleet Garden City Design Pack
1.1 Last month, Board gave approval for a logo design for Ebbsfleet Garden City which will be used on new wayfinding signs around the Garden City and at entrance points to the Garden City as well as at Ebbsfleet International Station.
1.2 A Design Pack has now been created which gives any designers wanting to use the logo guidance on how it should be used, what fonts to use and what colours to use so that the design is consistent throughout the Garden City.
1.3 As Board are aware, developers in the Garden City have also given their approval to the new design and have told us they are now keen to implement it at their sites and marketing suites.
1.4 Redrow is suggesting sites on the A2, Countryside has said they will start work on incorporating the logo into their own brand and a site on the riverfront has been suggested by another developer for the logo to be used on hoardings.
1.5 We expect to see the logo first used by Countryside who want to put the logo at the entrance to Springhead Park and are working with our planning team on this. Henley Camland is incorporating the logo into signage on Southfleet Road leading to Castle Hill and we expect this to be ready by the end of this month.
1.6 We are also looking at the possibility of retro-fitting street signs in the Garden City with the new design and having Kent County Council adopt the logo as the standard design for all future street signs within the Garden City and will report back on progress with this.
1.7 We are seeking approval of the Design Pack today which enables us to send it out to all developers and public sector partners (including on our own projects) and for it to be incorporated into our signage project. We envisage the first designs to be at Ebbsfleet International in August and wayfinding signs at strategic points around the Garden City in September/October. The pack is attached at Annex A.
2 Media
2.1 We issued a statement following the announcement by the Government of the preferred option for the Lower Thames Crossing. It was used extensively by media and Paul Spooner was also interviewed by a local radio station. The statement reiterated our support for Option C and said that, with the transport improvement plans under way across the Garden City, this was the right option. We had liaised with Highways England and the Department for Transport communications teams ahead of the announcement.
2.2 Ebbsfleet Garden City featured prominently in local, broadcast and trade press on the official launch of the North Kent Enterprise Zone Partnership, which will see businesses locating to three areas within the Garden City and qualify for discounted business rates.
2.3 We also issued a press release on our end of year performance which saw more than 600 starts on site of new homes which was used widely including on ITV.
2.4 We are currently working with a prime time BBC show which wants to feature the Garden City in a TV package to be broadcast in early May.
2.5 Some of the media coverage is attached at Annex C.
3 Ebbsfleet Garden City Newsletter
3.1 The first Ebbsfleet Garden City newsletter went out in March to more than 500 subscribers.
3.2 It contained all the latest news from around the Garden City including the success of Help to Buy in the area, the latest pictures from the build of the new Cherry Orchard School in Castle Hill and Ebbsfleet Garden City being selected to be one of 30 areas for the Government’s Starter Homes initiative.
3.3 The newsletter will be quarterly with the next one in June and we have already been approached by developers and other interested parties to have articles included.
4 Garden City Information Centre
4.1 Work on our new Information Centre at Ebbsfleet International Station is now under way, with a refit taking place of the unit, floor to ceiling images being installed as well as installation of the Garden City model and touchscreen which will give visitors all the latest information on developments around the Garden City.
4.2 The new date for opening to the public will be in May when we will also have an official launch to which Board will be invited.
4.3 The new centre provides us with a significant opportunity to inform the public on a large scale and on a daily basis what is happening in the Garden City, as 1.7million passengers will use Ebbsfleet International this year.
4.4 Our partners in the project, Locate in Kent, will have an office space within the unit for meeting with potential investors and to show them development through the touchscreen and model. We will also be able to use the office for developer briefings and meetings.
4.5 As well as developers in the future adding their schemes to the 3D model at their cost, we have also been able to claim back some money for the cost of the touch screen through developer contribution.
5 EDC website
5.1 Almost 3,000 people visited our website during March, viewing more than 10,000 pages.
5.2 As we approach the first anniversary of the revamped site, interest remains strong with more than half of new visitors looking at us for the first time. This in part to the site being regularly updated with news stories, the ability to track our performance as we report on the number of homes started and completed and people being pointed to the site through our social media.
5.3 In addition to the home page, our most popular pages in March were our planning pages and Implementation Framework page followed by the work for us page where the post of EDC Chief Executive was advertised and the candidate pack was downloaded more than 300 times.
6 Social Media
6.1 Our social media audience continues to grow with significant numbers continuing to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn 6.2 Last month our posts reached almost 100,000 people across all platforms with the most popular post being a picture of building work under way of the Garden City’s first pub/restaurant at Ebbsfleet Green which was viewed and shared several thousand times.
6.2 The next most popular posts were about the vacancy for the Chief Executive post and a post about Network Rail’s Kent Route Study which talks of an extension of the Crossrail service to Ebbsfleet Garden City and Gravesend.
7 Live streaming of board
7.1 Last month 287 people watched March’s live streaming of board with the majority (225) watching it via Facebook.
7.2 On Twitter, the average viewing time was 14 minutes, which is in stark contrast to overall internet video viewing statistics which say people usually watch video on average for two minutes.
8 Meetings
8.1 A copy of meetings attended by EDC staff along with outcomes is at Annex C
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