Agenda item

To consider a briefing note of the Executive Director of Place providing a progress update following on from consideration of the Tourism Strategy by Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

(Note: Members of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) and the Cabinet Member for Community Development, Co-operatives and Social Enterprise, have been invited to attend the meeting for consideration of this item.)

The Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3) received a presentation and briefing note of the Executive Director of Place that provided background detail of the linked areas of destination and tourism, events and Coventry’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2021. Professor Jonothan Neelands, Associate Dean Creativity, Warwick University Business School who was leading the City of Culture bid and Laura McMillan, Manager of Coventry City Culture of Trust, attended the meeting to support this item. Members of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) and the Cabinet Member for Community Development, Co-operatives and Social Enterprise, were also invited to attend the meeting for consideration of this matter.

·  Coventry as a Destination – the objectives of Coventry City Council’s Plan 2014-2024 (‘Coventry – A Top Ten City’); The Coventry Tourism Economic Impact Assessment 2013 that evaluated the economic impact of tourism in the city; Recruitment to the Conferencing and Business Relationships posts and Destination Information and Marketing posts in the Council’s Destination and Business Relationships Team; and promoting Coventry as a destination for leisure visits and tourism

·  Cultural Strategy - the development of a new ten-year partnership cultural strategy for the city, due for renewal in 2017; matters to be included in the strategy process; and the establishment of a Cultural Strategy Steering Group

·  Tourism and Audience Development Research – the work of the University of Warwick in leading on commissioning: a new tourism profile study for the city to generate a better understanding of the visitor market and implications of recent trends, to identify new product and marketing opportunities and to incorporate opportunities into regional and local strategies; and new audience development research to map audience profiles across the city’s and County’s cultural venues building a view of cultural audiences, highlighting areas of commonality, difference and migration between venues.

·  City Centre Destination Leisure Facility - The brief for the facility and details of the external design of the building reflecting the city’s ribbon-weaving history with the internal central core of the building designed around a spiral ramp serving as an active entry to the waterpark area.

·  Coventry’s bid to be UK City of Culture – The role and remit of the Coventry City of Culture Steering Group; details of the Cabinet report in February 2016 on progress in developing bid governance structures; formation of the Coventry City of Culture Trust; recruitment of the bid Co-ordinator to the Coventry 2021 bid team; research; fundraising; marketing and communications; university support; workshops and open events; competing cities;  and key milestones and priorities in the bid work programme for 2015, 2016 and 2017

·  City-Wide Events Programme - samples of additions to the diverse Programme provided through the city’s cultural destinations and open spaces including: last year’s Coventry Godiva Festival successes including the Tourism Event of the Year award 2015 presented at the inaugural Coventry and Warwickshire Tourism and Culture Awards 2015 and the Best Live Event award in the Coventry Telegraph’s People’s Choice Awards, and this year’s Festival dates in July;  MTV Crashes Coventry in May 2016; Coventry’s Half Marathon event in February 2016; Great Britain Men’s Ice Hockey in April 2016 and a concert in May 2016 at the Coventry Skydome ; Coventry Motofest in June 2016; and proposals to develop a programme of events across late 2016 and into 2017, to celebrate and showcase the city’s cultural talents, capabilities and potential as a growing cultural destination, in support of the City’s bid in 2017 for the UK City of Culture 2021 title

The Board questioned officers and discussed the following issues:

·  City of Culture bid - the establishment of a company for the bid that was independent of the Local Authority and registered as a charity, and the recent implementation of a bid Team comprising roles of bid Manager, bid Advisor and bid Support Officers.

·  Support for the bid from the Warwick Business School - the role and remit of Jonothan Neelands, who was providing his services to the bid at no charge to the Local Authority.

·  The bid Programme - the current status of the details of the events programme, which was commercially sensitive at the present time.

·  Marketing and Promotion of the bid - the need for greater marketing and promotion of the City and of bid events including a request to the Council’s Communications Section for funding to develop a Visitors Guide, the co-ordination of linking culture, leisure and sporting events together; and the exploration of a ‘What’s On’ App offering a facility for individual organisations to upload their own events.

·  Bid Inclusion - the inclusion and involvement of all people, cultures, languages, education, with particular emphasis on young people, and engagement with Registered Social Landlords and the Coventry Society, in the development of the Cultural Strategy and the bid. The submission of an item of business on the bid to the Cabinet Member for Community Development, Co-operatives and Social Enterprise Disability Equality Advisory Panel.

·  CW8 – an independent network of 8 Coventry and Warwickshire partners working as a collaborative on culture.

·  Coventry City of Culture Steering Group - the composition and roles of representatives on the Steering Group.

·  Research  - the benefits of the evidence and data captured and the on-going audience research on the City and its people to assist the bid.

·  Sports and events for all religions and cultures represented in the bid – a sample of events and sports would be put forward as demonstration projects representative of the City, the detail of the bid, which was a later part of the process, considered the specifics to ensure complete inclusion of all groups. The importance of ensuring that all  sports and events, including food events and markets, community events and social activities, some of which were already in place and had been running for some time, were included in the bid. 

The Board requested that they be provided with the link to the ‘Visit Coventry and Warwickshire’ Website.

RESOLVED that the Business, Economy and Enterprise Scrutiny Board (3):

a)  Endorses the partnership work in progress to deliver a new Cultural Strategy for Coventry.

b)  Endorses new tourism and audience development research programmes being commissioned through the University of Warwick (Warwick Business School).

c)  Endorses current events secured within the Coventry city-wide Event Programme and plans for a further Events Programme for 2016-2017 linked to the build-up to Coventry bidding to be UK City of Culture 2021.

d)  Makes the following recommendation to the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Sports, Parks and Events:

The Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Sports, Parks and Events be requested to explore ways in which the University of Warwick Business School can continue to be engaged beyond the work of the bid.