Issue - items at meetings - Chair's Communications

46.1    The Chair explained that although he would be referring to a few highlights as part of his communications a full text in respect of recent and upcoming events would be recorded in the substantive minutes of the meeting.

Economic Development

LGC Awards

46.2    The Chair stated that he was pleased to announce that Brighton & Hove had been for the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards in the 'Driving Growth' category. The city’s submission had been made on behalf of the Greater Brighton Economic Board following the review of its Economic Strategy and submission of its City Deal bid.

46.3    Brighton and Hove was one of seven local authorities to have been shortlisted for this category, which it was understood was the most popular and competitive. A presentation had been made to the judging panel earlier that week and the winners would be announced in March.

City Deal

46.4    Negotiations were progressing well and the city was in the last stages of the process. It was hoped that over time benefits would accrue not just to Brighton & Hove but also its neighbouring authorities and partners in Adur DC, Worthing BC, Lewes DC and Mid Sussex DC. The Chair stated that he was also grateful for the support of the opposition parties on this and was hoping a positive announcement would be received in the near future.

Dressed for Success 2013

46.5    The council had provided support to local independent shops through “Dressed for Success”. Twenty five retailers had been given expert tuition on how to make the most of their windows in the run up to Christmas and this had been followed by a public competition to boost awareness and to encourage more people through the doors. Over 2,000 public votes had been received and seven winning shops had been announced at an awards event on Tuesday 14 January 2014.

46.6    The overall winner, MIY Workshop, of North Road, Brighton had won a year’s free partnership with VisitBrighton. The owner Wendy Ward had said: “We were given sensible, practical steps to make a great window. It boosted staff morale and certainly got my shop noticed!”

            Ride the Wave

46.7    The city’s largest free business support programme had returned funded and led by the City Council, and delivered by the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce. “Ride the Wave” provided practical advice and training to help new and existing businesses become more resilient and to grow. Workshops would start at the end of January and would run until April 2014; more information on the scheme could be found on the council and chamber websites.

Regional Growth Fund bid successful

46.8    The Chair explained that the business support partnership led by the City Council had secured just over £1.79m from the Regional Growth Fund. This new programme would offer much needed finance for businesses along with a suite of business support packages for all stages of business development from new business start up to supporting innovation and new market development with established businesses. The fund would also help resource an on-line business support finder called the ‘Business Navigator’ which would help businesses find the help and support that they needed. Businesses wishing to apply for a grant could go to the Coast to Capital website (www.coast2capital.org.uk) and download the Expression of Interest form; more information on the business support programme would be available on the council’s web pages shortly.

Shine On London Road

46.9         “Shine On London Road” had seen artists provide an alternative to off-the-shelf Christmas lights and had sought to attract more people to the up-and-coming London Road area. Funding had been provided from the Portas Pilot, the Arts Council and the City Council arts team to set up five installations including sculptures, interactive projections and a sound art trail. The project had been launched to a packed Emporium Theatre on Small Business Saturday (7^th December).It would run into early January and had received positive coverage in the local press and on social media.

Libraries

Mood-boosting Reads from 6^th-30^th January

46.10  The Chair explained that the Libraries service had been awarded some funding from Public Health to promote the value of reading to support and cheer people who might be feeling down and might potentially develop mental health issues. The service was keen to encourage everyone in Brighton & Hove to read for health and enjoyment, visit the library, talk about books and nominate their favourite mood-boosting read. There was also a desire to signpost people to the 5 Ways to Wellbeing: Connecting, Being Active, Taking Notice, Keeping Learning and Giving, to promote positive mental health and build emotional resilience. The aim of the campaign was to create a Mood-boosting Top Twenty list of books, chosen by the people of Brighton & Hove, which would then be promoted in libraries etc. Individuals could join in by nominating their favourite mood-boosting to book at libraries@brighton-hove.gov.uk or by completing and returning one of the mood-boosting postcards available in libraries and Mind shops. People were being urged to advise of their favourite feel-good read, why they liked and who they were.

Tourism & Venues

Visitor Services

46.11  VisitBrighton’s Visitor Services team had launched a recruitment drive for the new City Champions volunteer ambassador programme. It was hoped 50 volunteers would come to offer their time welcoming and helping visitors to the city and ensuring they got the best from their stay.Full details could be found on the VisitBrighton website at http://www.visitbrighton.com/city-championsThe launch was picked up well by local and national media and had resulted in a piece appearing on BBC SE Today programme and an article in the Daily Mail.

Brighton Centre and VisitBrighton conference sales

46.12  In the latter half of 2013 the Brighton Centre and VisitBrighton conference sales had confirmed the following key events for the City:

§                     Eco Technology Show @ the Brighton Centre, 25^th – 27^th June 2014

§                     Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators Conference @ Thistle, 16^th – 18^th Sept 2014, 300 delegates

§                     British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeons Conference @ the Brighton Centre, 4^th – 7^th November 2014,  400 delegates

§                     International Pulsed Power Conference @ Hilton Brighton Metropole – 18^th – 22^nd June 2017, 800 delegates

VisitBrighton Marketing

46.13  A dedicated ‘Winter Fun’ microsite had been launched in November to promote the City in the run up to Christmas and over New Year. The site had attracted over 100,000 visitors in two months. Several media trips organised had taken place in Sept – Nov 2013 to promote Brighton & Hove as Christmas shopping break destination. There had been coverage in both the regional & national press. One trip organised for the Press Association had resulted in a feature which had been syndicated across 31 major regional papers in the UK. In total VisitBrighton had hosted over 100 travel journalists in 2013, resulting in positive national & international coverage with an equivalent advertising value of over £5million – a new record.http://www.visitbrighton.com was used by over 2 million individuals in 2013; the highest ever recorded figures and an 18% increase on 2012.  Over 20,000 downloads of the FREE VisitBrighton mobile app had also been made during 2013. 

Royal Pavilion, Arts & Museums

46.14  December had seen the return of another series of successful Royal Pavilion Christmas themed events. Six day of events in the run up to Christmas had seen 1,157 children visiting ‘Mr Claus’ (as one child had insisted on calling him), and with associated admissions £16,046.35 of additional revenue had been received over the course of the event.  This did not include associated income from retail. After a number of years of waiting and research the restoration of the Royal Pavilion Saloon would now be realised due to funding secured by the charity, The Royal Pavilion & Museums Foundation, which now had 6,000 members. It would take two years to restoring the Saloon to its former grandeur will take two years to complete.

46.15  Royal Pavilion & Museums’ (RPM) five sites had all been awarded Accredited status under the Accreditation Scheme. Accreditation was a baseline quality standard for museums, administered by Arts Council England. Accredited Museums were required to review and re-submit their application periodically and this required extensive and rigorous checks and revisions being evidenced to show they managed and ran their service. Achieving this status was extremely important for RPM in many ways - not least, as without Accredited status it was ineligible to apply for external funding from bodies such as Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and a host of other charitable trusts.

Sports and Leisure

Saltdean Lido Update

46.16  Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company (CIC) were in the process of developing their first stage Heritage Lottery Fund bid with them aiming for it to be ready for submission in February 2014. It was anticipated that an initial decision would be received April/May 2014. The CIC were also developing other grant applications and finalising their fundraising strategy including community events for the year ahead. The CIC had recently made a new appointment to their board, a local based chartered accountant who would lead on financial planning and strategy, there had also been further appointments to the events and fundraising committee. Saltdean Lido was the first property to be included on the council’s list of Assets of Community Value and the CIC hoped that this would be beneficial when they were making their grant applications.

Withdean

46.17    The Chair stated that the improvements to the Withdean Sports Complex had been officially unveiled at a civic opening the previous month and gave his thanks to those committee members who had been able to attend. This £3M project had resulted in new, extended and improved health & fitness facilities, changing rooms and reception space all of which had been well received by users. The number of visits to participate in health and fitness activities at Withdean in December 2013 has increased by 28% on the previous December, and this boost to participation was very encouraging.

46.18  RESOLVED – That the content of the Chair’s Communications be noted and received.