Agenda item

Report of the Section Head – Culture and Play

 

The report and appendices provide information on the Big Events series, lessons learnt from the previous year and how these have influenced the development of year 2.

 

The Scrutiny Committee received a report of the Culture and Play Section Head setting out an overview of the Big Events series.  It included the lessons learnt from the previous year and how they had influenced the programme in year two; marketing information and analysis; footfall data and the involvement of local businesses.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head informed the Scrutiny Committee that the Big Events had been successful in increasing more footfall into the Town Centre.  It also demonstrated the important role arts and culture could provide in helping to support the regeneration of the town.  A short video was played and the Culture and Play Section Head said that this illustrated one of the aims of the Big Event series, which was to create memories for people.

 

Councillor Martins commented that the events were fantastic, however he felt there had been a missed opportunity in relation to advertising.  Those people visiting Intu were missing out on the events.  There needed to be a more aggressive approach to advertising.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head advised that the street banners had started at the Lower High Street and provided increased visibility.  The most effective advertising had been through social media.  It was recognised that more work needed to take place with the new Business Improvement District (BID) and Intu.

 

The Head of Community and Customer Services added that social media had been important for publicising the events.  He explained how Mumsnet had circulated positive messages about the Big Beach, encouraging people to go.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head said that the Council’s Communications Team had provided exceptional support over the last year.  The service had brought in people with really good social media experience and skills.  There were many messages which had been retweeted on social media sites and the coverage was extensive.  In the future people would be able to register their interest and they could then be sent direct social media messages relevant to their interests.

 

Councillor Hastrick advised that she had attended many of the events in her role as Chairman of Watford Borough Council.  She had heard numerous people making positive comments and that they could not believe it was happening in Watford.

 

Councillor Rindl noted the reference to the Watford Metropolitan Line extension in the report.  She felt that accessibility was important and that it would be a shame if the station on Cassiobury Park Avenue was to close.

 

The Chair acknowledged the Councillor’s comments, but stated that two new stations were to be created.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Khan about sharing costs with local businesses, the Culture and Play Section Head advised that officers were very mindful of costs and the amount of funding currently available could not be guaranteed in future years.  He had reviewed the tendering process and explained the approach used with the contractor for the ice rink.  This had enabled the Council to cap the risk to itself.  It would also receive a percentage of the income over and above a threshold.  With regard to the BID, it was still at an early stage in its development.  It needed to establish itself once it was formally in place from April.  The Council would work collaboratively together with the BID in order for it to become more involved in the events.

 

Councillor Khan asked whether businesses outside of the Town Centre had been approached, for example Warner Brothers Studios might be a suitable sponsor for the Big Screen.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head agreed that sponsorship was an area that could be investigated further this year, however it did not guarantee continual funding.  With the installation of the footfall counters it was now possible to provide businesses with details of the footfall flow during events.  This potentially could help with attracting sponsors.

 

Following a question from Councillor Topping about the cost of £60,000 for the Big Skate, the Culture and Play Section Head explained that officers were waiting for the final report about this year’s event.  The information would be circulated to the Scrutiny Committee once it had been received.  He was aware that attendance at rinks in Edinburgh and Nottingham were down by approximately 30% compared to the previous year.  It was acknowledged that there had been exceptionally poor weather and adverse conditions for ice rinks this year.  The ice rink in Colchester had closed early and the company been made bankrupt.

 

Councillor Topping commented that 2016 was the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.  She said he was an important cultural personality and it was key that he was commemorated.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head informed the Scrutiny Committee that the Cultural Leaders’ Group had met in December and discussed this matter.  It had been agreed to hold a Literary Festival and a huge amount of work was taking place to make it happen.  It would be held during March and April throughout the town.

 

Councillor Topping added that there were various grants available for those holding events to commemorate Shakespeare.

 

Councillor Topping asked whether officers had considered the possibility of introducing road trains that could go up and down the High Street.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head responded that he had discussed land trains with the ice rink operator for 2016.  The operator would be investigating this possibility. 

 

Councillor Topping was concerned about the impact the events had on the New Watford Market.  She felt that people were not turning into the market.  In the lead up to Christmas she had noted there were 11 empty stalls within the market.  She had noted the German market mainly sold food; there was only one different type of stall.  She had seen German markets in other towns which sold a much wider variety of goods.

 

The Chair said that personally he had enjoyed the summer events.  Residents had made comments to him.  With regard to the German market, cost had been an issue.  If the cost was too high the traders would not sell their produce.  He advised that he would speak to officers about an event the Sikh community would like to hold in the Town Centre to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Sikh Gurdwara in Lady’s Close.

 

The Chair noted that the main report had been written for the Cultural Leaders’ Group and asked who this included.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head advised that the Cultural Leaders’ Group included representatives from Watford Borough Council, Watford Palace Theatre, West Herts College, Watford Football Club, the Arts Council, the Colosseum and the BBC.

 

The Chair mentioned the information about the audiences.  He felt that more work needed to be done to encourage more participants from the Asian and Black communities.  He suggested that leaflets could be produced or officers could speak at different venues, including the Sikh Gurdwara and the two Mosques.

 

Councillor Crout referred to the cuts to local government grants and asked how officers saw the financial future of the events.  He was aware there had been talk of a music festival to be held in Cassiobury Park in 2017.  He asked whether officers had spoken to local residents or the Friends of Cassiobury Park.

 

In response to Councillor Crout’s first question, the Culture and Play Section Head explained that the aim was to minimise any costs and the contractor would bear any risks, but allowing them to operate with creativity within the space provided. This could include the extra stalls available, rides or other linked activities for visitors. Whilst ambitious the ideal situation would be that the Council incurred little or no cost, this may not be possible, however the Council was trying to minimize costs where appropriate through testing the market via a competitive tendering process.  It was important to ensure quality and allow the operators the opportunity to explore more breadth of activities, maximising the space.  Leadership team monitored the events programme and was aware of the Council’s budget constraints.

 

The Head of Community and Customer Services informed the Scrutiny Committee that funding was in place for the next two or three years.  The audience would increase as the activities continued.  For example after the first Big Skate, people had asked if the ice rink would return the following year.  This meant that the operator could be assured that people were interested and there would be an audience in the future.

 

Councillor Crout responded that the residents had been concerned when the lottery bid had been successful.  They felt it was the next step to having a regular music festival in the park.  They did not want it to become the next Isle of Wight festival. 

 

The Culture and Play Section Head explained that it was too early to speak to residents and the Friends of Cassiobury Park about the details of a potential festival.  Currently the discussions were about strategic matters, involving organisations including the Police. When the time was right there were processes  in place which would give residents an opportunity to provide feedback.

 

Councillor Hastrick noted the total attendance by disabled people.  It was important to get the adverts to all parts of the community.  It would be an idea to contact groups such as the Wheelchair Dance group or Mencap to see how they might get involved in events or find ways to encourage disabled people to participate.

 

Councillor Topping repeated her concern about the impact on the New Watford Market.  She acknowledged that people were coming into the town for the events, but they were not visiting the market.  The displays on the High Street and the external stalls stopped people going into the market.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head advised that some traders had been involved with some of the events during 2015 and had welcomed the opportunity.

 

Councillor Khan asked about the return of investment, considering the council had committed £180,000 each year.

 

The Head of Community and Customer Services explained that the funding in year one had been £180,000, the same for year two.  In year three, 2016/17, the funding had been reduced to £95,000.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head added that the Council would be working with Herts Tourism and the BID to assess the effect on the local economy. 

 

Councillor Khan stressed that it was important to consider if the events were worth the funding allocated to them.  If not, then it was necessary to consider whether the Council should continue the events programme.

 

The Culture and Play Section Head responded that officers had baseline data for footfall and the average spend per person for the first year.  In 2015/16 baseline data could be shown for where the visitors went to eat and drink.  The aim was to get businesses more involved and show how their cash receipts could increase during events. 

 

Councillor Martins cautioned that it was necessary to be conscious of the costs involved, but it was not always possible to put a monetary value on something.  The opportunities for the growth in the local economy also needed to be factored in.  The value of something did not have to only be about money.  The social value of the events was equally important.

 

Councillor Martins agreed with the comments about the market and felt there had been a missed opportunity to draw people into it.  Some events might be able to lead people in.

 

Councillor Martins then spoke about events in Cassiobury Park.  He agreed that it was necessary to be aware of residents’ views.  Events in the Town Centre also had an impact on local residents.  It was important to look at the bigger picture.  In recognising residents’ concerns it was also important to highlight the benefits events brought.

 

Councillor Rindl, who represented Park ward, felt sure that officers would work with residents and the ward councillors.

 

Councillor Crout commented that it was good to have a thriving economy and the events provided enjoyment to people, especially those on low incomes as many of the events were free.  With reference to Cassiobury Park, he reminded Members that events had been held in the park for many years, but residents feared that in the future there would be too many.

 

Councillor Topping said that the regular road closures for events was a major concern for those residents affected.

 

The Chair thanked everyone for their contributions and the officers for their presentation.  In finishing he said that overall the feedback appeared to be that they were worthwhile events.

 

RESOLVED –

 

that the report and presentation be noted.