Agenda item

The Committee considered the draft Events Review.

The Committee discussed whether the order of the recommendations should be changed so they were in order of importance. The Committee decided that the recommendations should be listed in order of importance for the purpose of the report to Cabinet, but should be left in the current order for the draft Events Review report.

The Committee discussed adding extra recommendations around an early warning system to notify residents before events were to take place and a single point of contact at the Council for events organisers.

RESOLVED: That:

a)  The recommendations be placed in the following order in the report to cabinet, to reflect their importance:

·  Recommendation 7 should be recommendation 1

·  Recommendation 6 should be recommendation 2

b)  A recommendation be added to the report about an early warning system for residents to let them know when events would be occuring nearby;

c)  A recommendation be added to the report about a single point of contact at the council for events organisers; and

d)  Councillors Cox and Newton should present the draft Events Review to cabinet.

And that the following recommendations should be included in the final review report:

e)  That the Committee supports the compiling of an Events Calendar by the Cabinet Member for Economic and Commercial Development.

f)  That once in place, the Economic Impact Assessment online tool should be used for all regular events that happen in the borough that receive funding or support from the Council.

g)  That once in place, the Economic Impact Assessment tool should be publicised to event promoters and those who have held events in the borough over the past three years. 

h)  That a debriefing should happen with the relevant Head of Service following each Council funded or supported event to capture feedback and understand what lessons can be learnt.

i)  That the Council works with Maidstone Area Arts Partnership, and other partners, to create an Economic Impact Assessment tool for smaller events; including a matrix to determine which tool should be used for each event.

j)  That the event documents should be reviewed with the aim of creating an Events Pack for anyone wishing to hold an event which includes a checklist.

k)  That where MBC provide funding for an event, it should take on the role of Event Organiser (and the legalities set out above involved in this) and delegates the event management to a responsible person/s.

l)  That there should be a single point of contact at the Council for Event Organisers.

m)That an Event forum is set up to facilitate better sharing on information between the relevant event organisations/partners.

n)  That consideration is given to resurrecting the database of leisure and cultural based organisations, including the possibility of sharing the maintenance and administration of this database with another agency.

o)  That the possibility of sending out an Events Pamphlet with the Annual Council Tax bill be investigated for 2015 and beyond.

p)  That the feasibility of extending sharing arrangements with items from Maidstone attractions and events used at different locations/events to promote and signpost to the attraction is investigated, for example having a piece from Kent Life displayed at the Hazlitt.

q)  That consideration is given to introducing an early warning system to inform residents about events taking place in their area.

r)  That a mechanism for signposting people in the Town Centre to events happening elsewhere in the borough be introduced, as well as exploring opportunities for cross marketing of events.

s)  That the council should compile a list of all the event equipment it holds and publish this list accordingly, and encourage other event organisers/providers to do the same.

t)  That arrangements for hiring event equipment, when it is not in use, to partners and other event providers in the borough be investigated.

u)