Notes from Meeting Held on July 27Th, 2012 at the Winter Gardens

NOTES FROM MEETING HELD ON JULY 27TH, 2012 AT THE WINTER GARDENS

Name / Organisation
Present:
Howard Lewis (chair) / The Hilton
Eileen Ormand / BlackpoolTown Centre BID
David Cam / PleasureBeach Resort
Steve Pye / Blackpool CIC
Deborah Parker / Progress Recruitment
Iain Hawkins / Merlin Entertainments
Tricia Morrison, Gareth Birch / Napthens
Pauline Waterhouse / Blackpool & The FyldeCollege
Wendy Swift / Blackpool Hospitals Trust
Steve Whitehouse / FTS
Michael Williams / Cuerden Leisure
Helen Raghu / Community Foundation for Lancashire
Matt Wormer / Transpennine Express
Richard Lefton / The Lefton Group
Debbs Lancelott / Houndshill
Howard Plant / Blackpool Car Parks
Rob Knighton / Eclipse
Susan Bamber / The Village, Heron’s Reach
David Chapman / Linksgate Leisure
Gary Smith, Nick Holder / A4e
Neil Sutch / RBS
Gary Fearon / Johnston Press
Pete Laidlaw / McDonalds
Nicola Atanassova / Marketing Blackpool
Claire Smith / Number One Hotels
Philip Owen / Barclays
Alistair Baines / Cassidy Ashton
Angela Tierney / Marks & Spencer
Adam Anderson / AI Claims
David Hardy / Champion Accountants
Colin Johnston / The Grand Theatre
Rob Green / Blackpool Bay Area Co
Jane Littlewood / Wyred Up/Rabbit Design
Anne Catterson / Common Purpose
Jane Cole / Virgin Trains
Paul Crossley / Kenrick & Co
Nick Testa / Imperial
Nathaniel Butters / NB Energy
Sharon Brook / Chamber of Commerce
Mark Yates / Brooks Collectables
Phil Hough / Sensible Subs
Michelle Smith / Blackpool Carers
Riccy Caunce, Gill Barker / Toast
Advisers/Observers/Guests
Alan Cavill, Philip Welsh, Peter Legg, Donna Taylor / Blackpool Council
Natalie Guerin / Chance2Shine
Kevin Thomas, Catherine Hill / Blackpool & The FyldeCollege
Julian Healy / Growth Accelerator Programme
Apologies
Neil Jack / Blackpool Council
Ann Hartley / Manx2.com
Roger Mellor / Glasdon
Sue Kendrick / BlackpoolAirport
John Barnett / The Wave
Natalie Wyatt / Marketing Blackpool
Pauline Lai / Mandarin/Rouge
Andrew Wareing / Voucher Packs
Trevor Roberts / Blackpool Transport
Andy Higgins / Mailing North West
Robert Wynne / West Coast
Darren Webster / Blackpool Zoo
Emma Purdon / Premiere People
Chris Hibbert / Henco
Michael Hyman / Leonard Dews
Helen and Damian Broughton / Danbro
David Jones / Thirty30Media
Maria Noto / Lancaster House
Tracey Bell / Scream Management
Paul Mathison / Create Construction
John Child / Sandcastle Waterpark
Kate Shane / BlackpoolTower
Alex McIntyre / Property Scene
Doug Garrett / Close Link
Dave Adamson / Accordant

Welcome and apologies

Howard Lewis (chair, The Hilton) welcomed everyone including new members and guests to the meeting, and thanked Michael Williams (Winter Gardens) for hosting the meeting, Lindley Group for providing the catering and Howard Plant for providing complimentary parking.

Minutes of the last meeting/Matters arising

Lobbying of Tourism Minister

It was noted that the Tourism Minister, John Penrose, had now responded in writing to some of the various points that had been raised following his visit to Blackpool towards the end of last year. In his letter, he had suggested that Blackpool’s case for designation as a pilot tourism development zone was worth pursuing further.

David Cam (Pleasure Beach Resort) said that there was also the option to pursue a TBID-style initiative (Tourism Business Improvement District) that was already being piloted by destinations such asBirmingham and Cornwall. He said that Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, had offered (via the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions) to meet a delegation from Blackpool, but careful consideration needed to be given on what the resort wanted from the meeting. It was agreed that a separate discussion would be held outside the meeting to formulate ideas. David Cam, Howard Lewis, Alan Cavill and Philip Welsh to progress this approach with selected businesses.

In the meantime, Philip Welsh to circulate a copy of the Tourism Minister’s letter to the group.

BlackpoolTourismAcademy

Philip Welsh reported that both of Blackpool’s MPs (Paul Maynard and Gordon Marsden) had been extremely helpful in lobbying for support in Westminster for Blackpool’s £1m bid for skills funding.

He said that a decision on the funding bid had been expected before the end of July, but this was now unlikely.

Passport To Employability

Catherine Hill and Kevin Thomas (Blackpool & The Fylde College) gave a presentation on the college’s new Personal Development Plans, aimed at 16 to 19-year-olds and which will become effective from September this year.

Mr Thomas said that research showed that employers required young people to have a range of well-developed employability skills so that they can make an immediate contribution to the workplace when recruited.

As a result, the College had developed the Personal Development Plan (PDP) programme to enable students to gain and acknowledge the skills and qualities necessary in the world of work.

Five key aspects of the PDP are:

Attendance
Charity/Fund raising
Work experience/Volunteering/Part time work
Positive Engagement
Functional Skills

He said the PDP programme was additional to their course requirements and recognised that it was no longer sufficient for students to simply achieve in their course work.

Mr Thomas said the College was seeking employer support for the scheme including a formal endorsement that would be used within marketing materials.

Iain Hawkins (Merlin Entertainments) asked whether it would be possible to build an “ambassadorial” element into the PDP programme, with the aim of enhancing civic pride among the young people. Cath Hill said that the College already had its own ambassadors, but there was no reason why the concept could not be expanded within the PDP programme.

A number of members from within the Blackpool Business Leadership Group also expressed an interest in working with the College. These included Angela Tierney (Marks & Spencer); Matt Wormer (Transpennine Express); David Cam (Pleasure Beach Resort); Howard Lewis (Hilton Hotels).

Any other BBLG members interested in the scheme can contact Kevin Thomas by email at

Centenary Illuminations

Alan Cavill (Blackpool Council) gave a preview of the Centenary Illuminations show, details of which were due to be unveiled to the media during the following week.

He said that this year’s display included a number of new features and also a reinstatement of some of the sections that had been omitted during 2011, including sections at the north and south ends of the show and some of the tableaux on the Cliffs.

New features for 2012 include a Nickelodeon-themed section adjacent to the PleasureBeach; a Jubilee-themed tram; extensive refurbishment of the Haunted House tableau; and the renovation of the Rocket tram, which will be displayed on Gynn island.

Visitors will be encouraged wherever possible to get out of their cars to view the Illuminations and there will be an illuminated feature at the bottom of West Street encouraging people to venture into Birley Street and the surrounding town centre.

Mr Cavill said the Illuminations switch-on would be staged on the Tower Festival Headlands on August 31, with the main star yet to be announced. He said that there would be no charge for the event but spectators would require a wristband to get in the main arena. VIP tickets, which give entry to a marquee on the headlands, can be bought through Marketing Blackpool.

He said that whilst new investment had been made in the Centenary Illuminations show, it would be difficult to keep on improving the display in future years without additional funding. It was therefore essential that businesses continued to support the Illuminations through donations to the annual business collection and through new ideas that would help develop the show.

Mr Cavill added that the Illuminations archive which includes designs going back to 1925 was now in the process of being digitised. Mark Yates (Brooks Collectables) offered to give any help or guidance in this project.

Town Centre Initiatives

Howard Lewis (Hilton Hotel) reported that this item had been placed on the agenda in response to concerns expressed after the last meeting that insufficient focus was being put on the challenges facing the town centre.

Philip Welsh (Blackpool Council) reported that a Town Team had now been established to complement the work of the Town Centre BID and to focus on the strategic development of the town centre. It was already looking at ways to improve signage on the town centre approaches and was also exploring subsidised parking schemes at off-peak times.

He said it was also encouraging that the new owners of the Houndshill had announced a £1.5m refurbishment of the car park as well as attracting six new national brands into the centre.

A general discussion followed on some of the negative perceptions of the town centre, particularly on the outskirts. It was agreed that some of the concerns should be raised with police as they were potentially deterring shoppers.

A number of ideas were put forward on how more local people could be encouraged to shop in Blackpool town centre, including the development of a town centre loyalty card scheme.

Business Partnerships Report

Philip Welsh drew the group’s attention to a number of items within his report:

Viva

The open invitation to members of the BBLG to attend the VIP preview of the new town centre show and events venue, Viva, on the evening of August 9.

Bathing Waters

He said that a meeting had been set up for Thursday 30th August to examine the role that businesses could play in improving bathing water standards in Blackpool prior to the introduction of more stringent standards in 2015.

He said a small number of promenade-based businesses had been invited to attend the meeting, together with the Environment Agency and United Utilities. Any other businesses wishing to attend should contact him by email:

In any case, all members of the BBLG would be invited to the “Turning Tides” bathing waters summit due to be staged in the Winter Gardens on Monday 17th September.

Usage of New Trams

Philip Welsh reported that usage of the new trams continued to grow at a rapid rate, with over 235,000 passengers recorded in June compared with 190,000 in May.

Wellington Arch Exhibition

It was noted that that a new exhibition focusing on the Tower and the Winter Gardens was now open at Wellington Arch in London. The exhibition is due to run until August 27th.

Philip Welsh thanked those businesses within the BBLG that had supported the exhibition.

Any Other Business

i) Chance2Shine

Natalie Guerin gave a brief presentation on the new Chance2Shine initiative aimed at helping young people in Blackpool to get into paid employment. The scheme is being run in partnership between Blackpool Council and Blackpool & The Fylde College.

Any businesses interested in learning more about the scheme and about some of the financial incentives that are available to employers to support the recruitment of people from this age group should contact

ii) Survey of Businesses

Deborah Parker (Progress Recruitment) reported that she had been consulting with Blackpool Council on ways of improving employment opportunities for young people in Blackpool with learning disabilities.

It had become apparent that the private sector was already making significant headway in this area, but there was an acknowledgement that more could be done. In order to explore this in more detail, members of the Blackpool Business Leadership Group are being invited to participate in a short, online survey about ways in which the employment situation can be improved.

This survey will be circulated by Philip Welsh during August.

iii) Superfast Broadband

Peter Legg (Blackpool Council) gave details of a £60m investment in broadband infrastructure in Lancashire that would result in a significantly enhanced service by 2015.

He said that broadband speeds were currently between 25-30Mbps, but would improve to between 80 and 300Mbps by 2015, with 100% coverage across Blackpool.

He said that one of the key challenges was for businesses to understand how tomaximise this investment. He said he would be looking to work with a range of businesses, including some from the visitor economy and the creative sector.

iv) Growth Accelerator Programme

Julian Healy (Growth Accelerator) gave a brief introduction to a new subsidised service to help ambitious businesses achieve rapid and sustainable growth.

The programme offers a complete package of support including bespoke business development coaching; access to finance; help to innovate; access to leadership and management funding for training.

Eligible companies must have fewer than 250 employees, a turnover of less than £40m and be registered as a limited company in England.

Further information from

v) Promenade Traffic

Concerns were raised over the amount of congestion on the Promenade between Central Pier and the Tower. Alan Cavill (Blackpool Council) said that the situation was being exacerbated by ongoing snagging works by contractors, but these should be finished over the next few weeks.

Date and time of next meeting

Next meeting scheduled for 8am for 8.30am, Friday 28thSeptember, 2012at The Tower. Parking and breakfast arrangements to be confirmed.