Minutes of the tourism
committee meeting
Wednesday 13th
June 2007
at 6:30pm in the Station Buffet
Present: Cllrs Phillips, Yeldham, Gentry, Cattle, B Jeffs, Read. Louise McKay (Watercress Line),
Andrew Merry (Chamber of Commerce), Karen Brazier (WCC Tourism),
In attendance: City Councillor E. Jeffs
Apologies: Cllr Evans
Press: 3
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ELECTION OF CHAIR Candidate: Cllr Malcolm Phillips Cllr. Cattle Proposed Cllr. Jeffs: Seconded. Cllr. Phillips (Elected
as Chairman) ALL AGREED by
show of hands. ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR Candidate: Cllr Jonathan Read Cllr. Phillips Proposed Cllr. Cattle: Seconded. Cllr. Read (Elected as
Vice Chairman) ALL AGREED by
show of hands. Tourism Committee Members: Cllrs Malcolm Phillips (Chair), Jonathan
Read (Vice Chair), John Cattle, Ken Yeldham, Barbara Jeffs, Roy Gentry &
Simon Evans. Declarations of interest - None Minutes of the meeting 4th April 2007 Minutes AGREED (Proposer: Cllr Phillips, Seconder:
Cllr Cattle) Proposed Carnival
– This item to be included for discussion of the next Agenda. No Members of the Public Present Budget And Expenditure To Date No entries shown
on the budget spread sheet for May, however it is known that it is on-course for
the month. Projects Watercress
Festival 2007: Despite exceptionally
inclement weather, attendance was in the region of 5,000 to 8,000. Monies
collected by the Watercress Alliance for Lyn Foulds Bowel Cancer Charity
£1,700. Monies
collected by Rotary: Parking £460 & plant/book sales £500. Monies
collected by NATC for parking at Stratton Bates Recreation Ground £566. Donations
made by NATC; Old Alresford Cricket Club for provision of parking Marshalls
at SB £283, Rugby club for provision of Marshalls £200 & Community Centre
for provision of electricity £50. One
or two West Street retailers moaned about the stalls facing the street which
they felt detracted from their own sales.
A gust of wind slewed over three stalls resulting in some broken
ceramic and glass products. It was
considered that East Street was not the best position for the Bouncy
Castle. Bus service was inadequate as
it dropped passengers off at Lady Croft junction which lead to a walk of 1
mile into town. More provision of
disabled parking is required for 2008.
None local Marshalls need maps of the surrounding area to offer
alternative access routes. New Clerk
replacing TS in the office will not be involved with the 2008 Watercress
Festival to the same extent. Festival
Committee will have to find Secretary from within. Although a requirement for 2008, an Event Manager is still to
be engaged. It was suggested that
more local businesses and other bodies should get involved. The Chamber of Commerce are to hold an
open meeting to perpetrate interest
The Watercress Alliance want to pull back to encourage more local
input. NATC will still arrange road
closures and be in control of pitch hire for East & West Street. The 2008 Festival may be held one week
later. Hanging
Baskets Payments received to date: Baskets 90, Troughs 2, Up the Pole Planters
15. The Post Office were given a ‘Two
for One’ deal and one was erected FOC at the George Yard. The day to day cost will be breakeven as
there has been a number of ‘one off costs’.
The Baskets & Up-the-Pole brackets purchased this year should last
for 12 to 15 years. This year may
show a small book loss. Next year it
is anticipated that any profits will be ploughed back into additional
baskets. Bowser: This is now sorted and running well. It has been supplied with a longer hose to
reach the Up the Pole Planters. The watering is taking 3 to 4 hours including
two 15 minute periods for filling the bowser. This is longer than expected
but the work is being done on a flat rate. Millennium
Trail Maintenance: Tree branch on bend of the
river hanging low in the water now in leaf and catching debris. Determine owner of land prior to
instructing work to be carried out. A
cut of the nettles along the river bank is required. The Wednesday Voluntary Group is to be
contacted to see if they would be prepared to help repair the shingle washed
away in the recent storm. Still awaiting
notification of when HCC will do their cuts along the Millennium Trail. Toilets in
Station Road: Work is to
commence week beginning 25th June to include wall gates, hand rails &
ramps. Lights will come on
automatically on entry with extra lamps for added light. Kruger Plaque: Awaiting from WCC confirmation on the wording for the plaque.
Design and supplier to be agreed.
A
number of other potential plaque focal points have been identified: John Arlot,
French prisoners of war, Oldest house in Alresford, Cogswell, Battle of
Cheriton, First place in England to Release Surfs. Literature and technology: Millennium/
Arle Valley Trail: Millennium/Arle
Valley Trail six boxes of 900. Spend
a Day three boxes of 900. Eel house: Fund raising is continuing. Spend a day: It was reported that mock ups should be
available for view in two weeks.
Revenue gathered will be sufficient to cover costs. The new booklets should be ready for the
end of the season. NATC have promised £2k which
includes £1k from WCC. At the last
meeting it was mooted that both NATC and the Chamber would contribute and
extra £500 each. Should a break even
or profit situation occur on the booklets NATC will not be forthcoming with
this additional funding. However should
it be required, approval for the additional spend will be necessary from the
next available Full Council meeting. Reports Winchester Tourism: Very pleased that the plaque is going
ahead, and a consistency sought in conjunction with the Town Partnership for
other plaque subject matters. A Welcome
Host programme has been designed especially for Alresford to enhance the
level of customer care. It is free to
small businesses or £20 per person (usual price £75) and will take place on
Tuesday 10th & Thursday 19th July from 6pm – 9pm at
the Goods Shed. A new Itchen Valley
Churches Trail leaflet has been launched.
This was funded by a grant to encourage walking and cycling. Chamber of Commerce: Sarah Thorn has resigned due to health
issues. The Chamber has appointed a
new Chair Person; Simon Evans; the Chamber is delighted to have an Alresford
retailer in this capacity. Andrew
Merry has been appointed a Vice Chair.
The Chamber has seen a loss of members mainly due to shop
closures. However, five new members
were gained in the last three to four months. The Watercress Festival was
discussed at the last meeting; from the W/Fest de-brief meeting it was
apparent that the Watercress Alliance are committed to the Festival and are
keen to support it, but that it had
now reached a stage where the Festival could generate revenue to help cover a
portion of the costs. Watercress Line: Up 11.8% on passenger numbers between
Alton & Alresford. A double
outing is being scheduled in conjunction with the Chamber. Now have ‘On Line Booking’
facilities. It was reported that the
Alresford Web site received 250k hits in May. It was suggested that a small leaflet about Alresford could be
developed to be sent out with ‘On Line’ tickets. Date of next meeting: Wednesday 3rd
October 6.30pm Station Buffet The Chairman
close the meeting at 7:40pm Chair
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Clerk |