Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED: That all items should be webcast

It was noted that apologies were received from Councillors Barned and Newton. Councillor Hogg sent apologies for lateness.

There were no substitute members.

There were no visiting members.

There were no disclosures.

RESOLVED: That all items on the agenda be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the 26^th November 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed.

Interview with Dawn Hudd, Head of Commercial and Economic Development.

Dawn Hudd, Head of Economic and Commercial Development, was invited to speak on item 8:- Economic and Commercial Development in Maidstone.

Dawn Hudd informed the Committee that she was the newly appointed Head of Economic and Commercial Development and had been in post for two months. Dawn Hudd previously worked in a similar role at Canterbury City Council and was there for eight years.

Dawn Hudd’s first impressions of Maidstone was that she was very impressed with the assets that Maidstone possessed, including:

·  Its parks and open spaces;

·  The Museum- including the recent renovation and extension;

·  Investment in the public realm in the High Street; and

·  Its strong retail offer.

Dawn Hudd informed the Committee that her initial priorities were:

·  Filling vacant posts; and

·  Prioritising projects to balance ‘quick wins’ with more medium and long term projects and investments.

Dawn Hudd clarified that the Commercial and Economic Development Department had four unit managers:

·  Regeneration and Economic Development Manager (John Foster)

·  Parks & Leisure Manager (Jason Taylor)

·  Cultural Services Manager (vacant post)

·  Commercial Projects Manager (new post)

Dawn Hudd confirmed that the Council had filled the vacant post and new post.

Members requested that a structure chart be circulated to them after the meeting so they could better understand the structure of Dawn Hudd’s department.

The Committee asked Dawn Hudd how she could ‘sell’ any spend in her area to residents, as many of the services provided were non-statutory.

Dawn Hudd responded that she would demonstrate the economic impact and return on investment (both social and economic) for any projects. It was particularly important to highlight the importance of cultural services to contributing to good quality of life in the borough; which brings inward investment and spend through the visitor economy.

The Committee was interested to hear about the cultural events evaluation toolkit that Dawn Hudd was proposing to use to measure the impact of events in the Maidstone area. This was directly related to the Committee’s review of the value of events in Maidstone.

Dawn Hudd explained that the toolkit being proposed was a standard approach used by many different local authorities. The toolkit had the following advantages:

·  It is free;

·  It is used across the UK; and

·  It is used by funders and policymakers.

The toolkit asks a standard set of questions, for which robust data needs to be gathered over the period of the event. The toolkit then works out the economic impact and social return on investment for the event.

Members asked whether there was potential in the future for the organisation running the toolkit to start charging the Council for using the toolkit. Dawn Hudd responded that she didn’t think this would happen, but if it did it would be easy to replicate the toolkit ourselves.

Members wanted to know if it was possible to enter past events into the toolkit to see the social return on investment and economic impact of these events. Dawn Hudd informed the committee that this would not be possible as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

The committee considered the future work programme.

The committee noted that a press release had been sent out with a call for evidence from the public on their experiences of events in the town. The press release resulted in coverage in the Kent Messenger. The deadline for submissions is the 28^th February.

The committee suggested that it may be beneficial to arrange a visit to the museum to inspect the collections that are currently in storage. This should take place before the 30^th May 2014, which is when the Cabinet Member for Economic and Commercial Development is due to make a decision on the collection development policy.

The committee considered the next meeting, when the following witnesses would be invited as part of the on-going review of events:

·  The events manager at Medway Council; and

·  The organisers of ‘The Social’ festival that was held on Mote Park in September 2013.

The committee clarified that the interview with the events manager at Medway Council should be focused around the following themes:

·  What support Medway Council gives to those organising events in their area; and

·  How they organise policing for the events as it is so different to how it is carried out in Maidstone.

The Committee clarified that the interview with the organiser of ‘The Social’ should focus on the following themes:

·  Their evaluation of the support offered by Maidstone Borough Council when organising and running their event;

·  The value of the event to the borough;

·  Who benefitted from the event; and

·  Who valued the event (ie was it valued by different communities, or valued by those inside or outside of the borough).

RESOLVED: That

a)  A visit be arranged for the Committee to the museum for the purpose of inspecting the collections prior to the Cabinet Member decision on collections on the 31^st May 2014.

6:32pm to 8:20pm