Agenda and minutes

It was resolved: That all items be webcast.

There were no apologies.

Resolved:

The committee agreed to take appendix A to Item 8 Update on the Market review 2007/08 as an urgent item.

There were no substitute members.

There were no visiting members.

There were no disclosures.

It was agreed that all items be taken in public as proposed.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 June be agreed as a correct record and duly signed.

Interviews with Steve Goulette, Head of Environment and Public Realm and Robert Holmes, Market Manager. 

The Chairman welcomed Steve Goulette, Head of Environment and the Public realm and Robert Holmes, Market Manager to the meeting. Mr Holmes explained to the Committee that since the 2007/08 Scrutiny review of the Market there had been another review in 2010. Mr Holmes than gave the Committee a brief overview of the financial standing of each of the Markets functions (attached at Appendix A).

The Committee considered that despite the tough economic conditions the income at the market had remains relatively stable. This combined with the general downturn in market use nationally was positive.

In response to a question from the Committee about incentives for traders Mr Holmes told the Committee that they had offered incentives both for new traders and if an existing trader introduces a friend. When asked about the state of the Market facilities Mr Holmes said that the site could be improved in particular the decor internally and externally of the Market Hall and the floor of the gentlemen’s toilets.

The idea of moving the market to Jubilee Square was put to the Market Manager. Mr Holmes responded that he thought a niche market such as an arts and crafts or farmers market would perform well in the High Street however, the presentation of the stalls would need to be standardised if the Council wanted stalls to have a consistent look. At present Mr Holmes was aware that Canterbury Council required their stall holders to use particular coloured awnings.

The Committee queried the marketing budget for the market and discovered that a third of this budget was spent on subsidising the shuttle bus which ran on market days from the Chequers Centre. They also learnt that the Market was advertised weekly in the Kent Messenger and in the free ads paper, part of the budget was for the marketing of the events such as the Easter and Summer Fairs. It was noted that the Market Manager was in the process of obtaining a banner advertising the Market for Week Street. It was agreed that there should be marketing plan for the Market and asked if the Market Manager could prepare a business case for this. The Committee requested that this plan include investigation into transport and possibility of bringing new services to the market such as demonstrations, a mobile clinic and mobile gateway to make the market more of a destination and one stop shop.

The Committee noted that there had been previous attempts in the Town Centre to hold a regular farmers market, one at County Hall and one in the Royal Star Arcade, both had failed. When questioned about the involvement of the Market Manager in setting up a specialist market for Jubilee Square the Committee was informed that Mr Holmes was not involved and had not been consulted. The Committee considered that the experience that the Market Manager had could only be beneficial to this project.

The Committee thanked Mr Goulette and Mr Holmes for their update.

Resolved: To recommend that

a)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Interview with Laura Dickson, Visitor Economy Manager.

The Committee welcomed Laura Dickson, Visitor Economy Manager to the meeting. Mrs Dickson provided an overview of the progress made towards achieving the recommendations from the Scrutiny Visitor Information Centre Review.

The Committee was informed that the use of technology for engaging with and providing information for visitors was especially relevant as analytics showed that visitors to the visit Maidstone website had increased by 99%. The data showed that in January 2013 58% of web visitors accessed the site from a desktop computer, 26% from mobile devices and 16% from tablets. The latest figures for July 2013 showed that mobile and tablet access was now over 50%. Those who were accessing from a desktop were more likely to be looking at the ‘Where to Stay’ section of the website. The analytics showed that the most visited pages were the ‘what’s on’ and ‘things to do’ pages.

Mrs Dickson told the Committee that at present there was limited wi-fi hotspots in the Town Centre. It was noted that the Town Team was looking at how best to extend the wi-fi in the town centre. It was also noted that using social media they were able to reach 58,000 people at once through facebook and twitter.

In relation to the second recommendation on staff training and undertaking the visit England training programme Mrs Dickson explained to the Committee that support provided from visit England was no longer available due to changes in how they were funded. The Committee heard that Tourism South East ran specific tourism training including a city and guilds qualification which all staff would be undertaking. Mrs Dickson also advised the Committee that the Town Team Marketing sub-group was looking to develop a project over the next year to make Welcome to Kent training available for local businesses.

Mrs Dickson explained to the Committee that they had not yet found a solution for logging visitor numbers to the Museum and Visitor Information Centre accurately and consistently. Currently a manual process was in place, which was affected by the workload of the staff. It was noted that a mat counter was being investigated for the Museum.

On recommendation six – that there should be a visitor information centre presence at the Town Hall- the Committee was told that Mrs Dickson was in the process of arranging job shadowing with Voluntary Action Maidstone (VAM) staff.  

The Committee was disappointed to learn that the Town Hall foyer was closed when VAM did not have sufficient staffing. They Committee queried if this was allowed as part of the terms and conditions of the lease. Mrs Dickson was unable to comment on this and the Committee agreed that a copy of the lease should be circulated to all members of the Committee.

The Committee thanks Mrs Dickson for her update.

Resolved: That a copy of the lease for Town Hall Foyer be requested from the relevant officer and circulated to the committee. 

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities. They noted the risks to Maidstone’s future wellbeing in particular unattractive development.  The Committee were concerned  that this was very subjective. The Committee queried if there was any criteria about what an unattractive development was requested a copy of said criteria if available. If this criteria was not available they requested further explanation about how this would be judged.

It was resolved that

a)  The report was noted; and

b)  The Regeneration & Economic Development Plan be added to the committees future work programme. 

The Committee considered the list of forthcoming decisions. Consequently they requested that the report on the Enterprise Hub.

The Committee considered the future work programme and items due at the next meeting on the 24 September 2013. It was agreed that they would consider the State of Maidstone Economy Report and requested Cllr Greer to attend to discuss the vision for tourism in the borough with particular reference to the Visitor Information Centre.

The Committee agreed a small task and finish panel to meet prior to October’s meeting to scope the committees review topic – events.

It was resolved that

a)  The future work programme be noted;

b)  Cllr Greer be invited to the committees September meeting; and

c)  The task and finish group meet prior to October’s committee meeting to discuss the scope for the Events Review.

18:30 to 20:58