Agenda item - Evolution of Pride in Kemptown

43.1    Cllr Miller presented the Evolution of Pride in Kemptown to the committee; they looked into how residents perceived the street party and what their concerns were, which prompted the change of location. Cllr Miller summarised the changes made for 2025; that small LGBTQIA+ businesses in the area benefitted from generating revenue from their normal trading indoors and they were given a share of the proceeds made from the street party without having to contribute to staffing costs. They did have to close St James’ St at 3pm on the Saturday but it was open to normal traffic on the Sunday; there were no major reports of antisocial behaviour including public urination, and there was a £10k reduction in cost to environmental services. An all agency debrief has taken place and there are some actions to take when planning for next year; they will be meeting residents and businesses later in the month. Future changes will continue to be led by residents, businesses and the local community.

43.2    Mark Strong said that there was a lot of community angst about the changes and he would like to see more data such as policing costs. Ian Baird said that this year had marked a real change for St James’ Street as it had previously had a reputation for being the big party area but the changes meant it could be business as usual for the businesses there. There is no data on cost of policing yet as they had recruited more police this year as they didn’t know what the reaction would be, therefore next year’s data will be more useful.

43.3    Cllr Mackey asked about debrief meetings with the St James’ Business Alliance and the residents, and how the outcomes will be shared. Ian Baird said that there is now a permanent live portal on the Your Voice platform for people to feed in, they will share the notes from the meetings there and the outcomes will shape the plan for next year.

43.4    Cllr Mackey asked about introducing family friendly events on the Sunday. Ian Baird said there is potential for this, but it depends on the feedback from residents and businesses. Cllr Miller said that the organisation of Pride is in collaboration with the organisers and is not solely a Council decision.

43.5    Cllr Mackey asked about training for security on diversity and LGBTQIA+ issues. Ian Baird said that they have detailed briefings for security on this but due to the number of security needed for the event, they often draw them from outside the city who do not necessarily have the right training. They need to work with the industry to get this training embedded and become a condition of the license.

43.6    RESOLVED – that the report be noted.