BOROUGH OF POOLE (ITEM 8)

LOCAL ECONOMY OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

25thFEBRUARY 2010

JOINT REPORT OF THE HEADS OF

LEISURE SERVICES AND TOURISM

ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MAJOR BEACH EVENTS (BRITISH BEACH POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS, SANDBANKS BEACH VOLLEYBALL FESTIVAL AND ANIMAL POOLE WINDFEST)

PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN - YES

STATUS – STRATEGIC / SERVICE DELIVERY

1 / Purpose
1.1 / To share with members the statistics and data from the Economic Impact Assessment work undertaken in 2009 for the British Beach Polo Championships (BBPC) at Sandbanks, and to share the detail of the associated costs of staging this event and how they were met.
1.2 / To share with members the statistics and data from the Economic Impact Assessments undertaken for the Sandbanks Beach Volleyball Festival (SBVF) and Animal Poole Windfest (APW).
1.3 / To share with members the feedback from the recent Poole opinion Panel survey regarding residents views on special events at Poole’s Beaches.
2 / Decision Required
2.1 / Members are asked to note the contents of the report and appended information
3 / Background
3.1 / This Committee at its meeting on 29 January 2009 considered the estimated economic benefit of the Sand Polo event 2008. The Committee requested further information on the costs associated with the event to be reported back.
4 / Economic Impact Assessment Research
4.1 / For the 2009 season Leisure Services commissioned formal market research to identify the full economic impact of the BBPC at Sandbanks. As part of this research activity the opportunity was taken to include a further two major beach events during the same season - SBVF and APW. The detailed findings of the Economic Impact study will be presented to the Committee on the evening by the Market Research Group of Bournemouth University who undertook the research. The total cost of the research over all three events was £9,700. In summary the data shows that the overall benefits to the local economy for the 2009 events were:
Event / Total Direct Spend1 In Poole (Inc Tickets) (£’s) / Total Impact2 All UK
(£’s)
Beach Polo / 256,000 / 337,000
Beach Volleyball / 44,000 / 80,000
Animal Poole Windfest / 72,000 / 115,000
TOTAL / 372,000 / 532,000
Note 1: Direct Spend refers to the money directly spend by visitors to the summer events in Poole as recorded by the visitor survey. This figure is calculated utilising the length of stay, number of days visited and other factors to ensure accuracy. Figures are then factored to represent the total number of visitors to the events.
Note 2: Total impact is a combination of Indirect and Induced – see below
Indirect refers to the ripple effect on businesses from direct spend. It takes into consideration the increase/decrease in, for example, stock, orders for supplies, raw material, transport expenditure etc. It is calculated by applying a multiplier to spend. The multiplier varies according to the category of goods purchased.
Induced refers to the additional impact resulting from expenditure on goods and services in the areas under consideration by recipients of both direct and indirect income. It is calculated by applying a multiplier to spend. The multiplier varies according to the category of goods purchased.
5 / Costs and charges associated with Sand Polo
5.1 / Information regarding the detailed cost elements of the BBPC that the committee requested is shown below:
Charges made:
£1,500 / Site fee £2,500 discounted by £1,000 for use of facilities for Football Focus
£334 / Beach hut hire (used as event office)
£500 / Legal fees
£100 / Event licensing fee
£5,116 / Services provided by ECPS including waste and recycling services, tractor and harrow hire, fire tender services as provided by Dorset Fire and Rescue Services to flood the arena area.
£7,550 / Total
Costs borne by organiser:
  • All organisation costs including facilities, staffing, security etc.
  • Car parking fees

Costs not charged to organiser:
£2,500 / Estimated total Leisure staff costs (not charged because this forms part of normal duties)
6 / Poole Opinion Panel Survey Results
6.1 / In addition to the Economic Impact Assessment study, the views of Poole residents were also sought via the Poole Opinion Panel on special events in Poole with specific reference given to events on Poole’s beaches. The full findings from this survey are attached as Appendix 1 and in summary they highlight:
  • 80% of residents agreeing or strongly agreeing that events are good on Poole’s beaches;
  • 81% of residents stating that events are good for residents;
  • 79% of residents stating that they would like to see more events on Poole’s beaches;
  • The main type of events preferred for Poole’s beaches were Music, Sport and Arts events;
  • 71% of residents would like to see events take place at Sandbanks Beach.

7 /
Policy Implications
7.1 / Events contribute to the Council’s objectives and priorities- most significantly to
  • Developing a Dynamic Economy – as shown in this report
  • Strengthening Our Communities – by engaging volunteers and community groups
  • Promoting Health & Well Being – many events are sports based
  • Supporting Children & Young People – many events are focused on young people eg the Volleyball Festival

8 /
Legal Implications
8.1 / None to report
9 /
Financial Implications
9.1 / The information in the report and presentation show that these events bring significant benefit to the local economy through both direct spend locally and through indirect impact.
9.2 / It can also be seen that large events bring costs in order to manage them properly and the Council and the event organiser needs to carefully manage these costs. See 10.1 below.
10 / Risk Management Implications
10.1 / All events in public places bring risks which need to be managed by Council staff, hence some of the costs incurred. The growth of events increases the workload and therefore also the risk unless extra resources can be identified – hence the recent update of the Community Events Policy which has introduced a more structured approach to charging organisers the costs associated with managing events in public places.
10.2 / However, increased charges to event organisers increases the risk that organisers may take their events elsewhere.
11 / Equalities Implications
11.1 / The POP survey included information about equalities including that disabled people are less likely to strongly agree with some of the questions about events. This may indicate access concerns and this needs to be considered with a view to seeking ways to mitigate.
12 / Environmental Impact
12.1 / None to report.
13 /
Conclusion
13.1 / It is hoped that the information and research reported here increases understanding of the benefits and costs of these important events.

CLIVE SMITHGRAHAM RICHARDSON

HEAD OF LEISURE SERVICESTOURISM MANAGER

Contact Officers:STUART TERRY, ANTHONY ROGERS, LEISURE SERVICES

(01202) 261329 / 261345

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