Petworth Town Council Christmas Event Working Party Meeting

Petworth Town Council Offices

7pm, Wednesday, 17th June 2015

Present
Julie Aguilar
Jackie Crew
Kim Ince
Richard Ince
Corinne Nash
Chris Kemp (Chair)
Fiona Kemp
Esther Smitheram
Tony Sneller
Rod Tyler

Apologies for absence

Carole Goldthorp
Clive Heywood
Gloria Heywood
Paula Whittington

Road Closures and Licences

Now that the Christmas Lights Switch On event in Petworth is so popular, the number of visitors has almost reached the 500-people threshold for a temporary event licence.

The next step is to license the premises, ie, the whole of Market Square. As such, this new licence would last several years and could cover other events taking place in the vicinity. The licence would belong to and be administered by Petworth Town Council (PTC).

ACTION:

  • TS to review the paperwork relating to licensing Market Square and also investigate whether it covers the sale/and or consumption of alcohol (for example, people wandering out of local pubs or shops serving alcohol)
  • TS to prepare a paper with findings/outline of issues and take to PTC via CK
  • JA to work with Becca (Knifton) to complete the relevant applications for road closures

Red Cross

TS mentioned that the Fete in the Park will not be using the services of the Red Cross because the local branch members deem themselves too elderly to provide the appropriate service levels at such a large public event. The same would apply to the Christmas event.

For the Fete in the Park, TS has engaged the services of a new company – IndependentMedical Solutions Ltd – set up by Andy Fay who used to work for the Red Cross for the sum of £240.

ACTION:

  • TS to check whether emergency medical services are covered in the new event licence he is considering and approach Andy Fay about potentially using his company at the Christmas event.

Lanterns & Nativity

AGREED: both activities were a huge success and should be continued, if possible. Someone needs to speak to the new rector of St Mary’s Church to establish his views/level of involvement.

CK suggested we should assume the Courtyard is no longer available as a venue for lantern making. FK suggested the upper floor of the Leconfield Hall as an alternative. TS also offered the use of gazebos that belong to the P&DCA.

ACTION:

  • CK to speak to Ian Pearce at Petworth House to ask if they are planning to hold the live nativity again
  • JC to post a request in Tiffins window for people to donate decorative items (glitter, tinsel, etc) for the lantern-making
  • CG to ask Seaford College if they would like to be involved in the Lanterns again this year.

Advertising

AGREED:

  • Most people know about the event and have it as a regular ‘must see’ on their calendars and just need to be aware of the date.
  • Advertising should be selective, eg:
    -Petworth Pages (article in November issue – JA)
    -Local social media pages
    -West Sussex Events Finder
  • Potentially revamp the current “1st Saturday in December” road-side banners (although CK urged caution because of upcoming SDNPA rules curtailing the use of roadside advertising)

CK voiced the concern that increasing promotion around the event might backfire because Petworth is limited by parking and other infrastructure constraints.

TS and ES left the meeting at 7.30pm

Stalls and pitches

CK explained that PTC budgets have been pulled back. As a result, it was agreed that the charge of stalls should be increased to £45 plus £5 for power.

AGREED: Normal pitch size will be 3m x 3m; there will be no discount for stallholders wishing to buy more than one pitch and no preference should be given in terms of location.

ACTION:

  • JA/FK/CN to have meeting early July to discuss re-drafting the invitation to stallholders to make it a lot clearer. Part of this will include the use and size of stallholders’ own gazebos and a transparent pricing structure for commercial and ‘community’ applicants.
  • JA to speak with Becca about how to book stallholder money receipts into the PTC accounts system (Alan Copus has kindly agreed to offer his treasury services)

Leconfield Hall

Already booked.

Children’s Entertainment

ACTION:

  • CK/FK to speak to John Bridle, last year’s Father Christmas about making his appearance earlier (say, from 1pm until 6pm) and ask if he needs anyone to help him so that he can have breaks/a drink, etc.
  • Approach Petworth Film House to see whether they could screen “Frozen” as a rolling film upstairs in the Leconfield Hall
  • Speak to Becca about booking the Magician (Model Railwayman already booked but needs paper work instruction)
  • JC to contact Steph at Steeple Graphics about providing the fun wall

AGREED: There should be more than one Father Christmas should John agree and that the times when Father Christmas appears should be more clearly publicised to avoid last year’s disappointment from children who thought Santa would be around all day.

NOTED: RI said he knows several candidates for Father Christmas who are also CRB-checked.

Town Band

There was discussion around how to use the Town Band, ie, should they open up the event or perhaps split into smaller groups and ‘busk’ around the town at strategic places like Golden Square.

ACTION:

  • Town band needs to be booked and asked what they are prepared to do and how much they would charge. CG – FK to speak to CG
  • FK to speak to CG about how we might approach and use Seaford College as an alternative (for the record, CG is happy to book the relevant choirs and organise their timetable again)

Fair (Burnets)

Burnets usually have 1 ride and a burger bar but would like to bring more kit. CK stated that the square cannot take any more fair rides but suggested they be placed up the road between NatWest and Cotton Wool Store up towards the junction with Park Street since the road closures should allow this.

We also need to be mindful of not obstructing shops/restaurants along this street.

Window Competition

JC suggested it is best not to have a theme but perhaps have categories such as (TBC) ‘best dressed’, ‘most creative’ or ‘funniest’.

ACTION:

  • CK to speak to Simon Knight about judging the competition again and to approach Jo Cartwright, GM of Petworth House
  • CK to ask (via PBA) whether Upperton Vineyard could donate the prizes this year
  • JC to speak to Margaret Grimwood about judging the competition again (although this is doubtful)

Invitation to Lord Egremont and Esme

AGREED:

  • Decorate the trailer more (RI and KI kindly offered the use of their light curtain, snow machine and confetti blower – THANK YOU!)
  • More balls needed for Christmas tree in Market Square

ACTION:

  • CK to approach Lord Egremont about both his grandchildren switching on the lights and perhaps say a few words
  • CK to speak to John Riddell about obtaining a bigger trailer
  • CK to speak to NatWest about putting up lights outside their premises

Next meeting

The next meeting takes place at 7pm on Monday, 14th September at Petworth Town Council Offices.

The meeting closed at 8.30pm.

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