Agenda and minutes

          An apology for inability to attend was reported from Councillor Webb.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report, together with the associated 2012/2013 Business Plan for the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau:

“1  Relevant Background Information

1.1Members received a performance update from Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau in September 2011 and agreed to receive a presentation on their 2012/2013 Business Plan on 24 January 2012.

1.2The Development Committee receive a presentation on BVCB’s Business Plan every year before agreeing Council’s financial contribution.  The request for financial support from Council for 2012/2013 is £1,842,465, approximately 9% of the Development Department’s budget.  This is the same level of support agreed in 2011/2012. 

1.3The Business Plan has been prepared by Dr John Heeley, Director of Best City Marketing and Chair of European Cities Marketing.  It represents the second year instalment of the Belfast City Region Marketing and Visitor Servicing Plan 2011–2014, presented and agreed by Council in February 2011.

2    Key Issues

2.1The Belfast City Region and Visitor Servicing Plan 2011- 2014 provided a fresh look at BVCB and established new performance measurements linked to campaigns, business tourism, generating bed nights and income generation to name a few.  It highlighted a number of areas that needed to be addressed including the need for BVCB to influence the marketing activity of NITB and Tourism Ireland; the importance of digital marketing, the need for better and more regular research and better defined roles and responsibilities around the Belfast Brand implementation.

2.2The Business Plan for Year 2, now focuses on:

-       realignment of resources to support implementation of key priority areas of work;

-       a more sales orientated approach;

-       further refinement of key performance indicators;

-       empowerment of the Board to oversee BVCB’s performance;

-       Change of name, website domain for BVCB;

-       A new core purpose statement – “To create and service visitors for Belfast in order to generate economic benefit for the city region”;

-       Introduction of a dedicated monitoring and evaluation framework and BVCB’s initiatives to calculate the organisations contribution to tourism growth.

2.3The attached plan also highlights the emerging role for BVCB to become an integrated city marketing agency and custodian of the Belfast B Brand.  Members will be aware that this is an area that the Development Committee has discussed previously in relation to an integrated approach to not only marketing Belfast as a tourist destination but also a place to invest in, work in and study in and indeed has invited Andrew Stokes, Chief Executive of Marketing Manchester to speak at the next State of the City Breakfast seminar on 24 January 2012.  This agency is responsible for the national and international promotion of the Manchester city-region.  Officers would recommend that Members if available attend this session.

2.4Members are also aware of previous discussions on the role of Belfast City Centre Management and the need to ensure that there are clear roles and responsibilities defined between BVCB and BCCM.  BCCM’s Business Plan and request for funding for 2012/2013 were presented to the Development Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

            (Mr. G. Copeland, Events Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1  Relevant Background Information

1.1Purpose of the Report

      The purpose of this report is to:

-        Request approval for the Council’s programme of events in 2012/13 inclusive of Olympic and Paralympic Games activity and the World Irish Dancing Championships.

-        Update Members on the Titanic Belfast Festival 2012 (It should be noted that Council approval exists for Titanic Centenary activity in February 2011)

1.2Background

      Over that last decade and half Belfast City Council has developed an annual programme of events alongside one-off events.  The programme spans the calendar year from the annual St Patrick’s Day concert and parade in the spring, to the Christmas Lights Switch-on in the winter, and includes major sporting events.

1.3The annual budget for the events in the 2012/13 period is £1.7mand was approved by the Development Committee at its meeting on 10 January 2012 and is subject to ratification by Council on 1 February 2012.

2    Key Issues

2.1Titanic Belfast Festival 2012 and 2012/13 Events Programme

      Details of the events programme, which is primarily based around key public and celebratory holidays and incorporates major sporting events, including the Belfast Marathon, is indicated in Table 1 below, with further detail on the Titanic Belfast Festival 2012 shown in Appendix 1. This event is being co-funded and coordinated with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

2.2Table 1

Event & Date(s)                       Additional Details

World Irish Dancing                This will be the fourth time that

Championships:                      Belfast has hosted the ‘Olympics’

30 March-7 April 2012              of Irish Dancing, which will see

                                                thousands of competitors from around the world come to our city.

                                                It should be noted a third venue is now required (St George’s Market) and there is a request to increase the original staging budget from £200k to £225k.  The need for the third venue is due to increasing numbers of competitors than when the Belfast bid was submitted in 2010.

                                                The additional £25,000 would be allocated from within the Council’s existing 2012 programme budgets.

Titanic Belfast Festival:          This event programme will not

31 March – 22 April                 only mark the centenary of the

                                                sailing and sinking of the RMS

                                                Titanic, but also the opening of the Titanic Belfast attraction. The key elements of the programme are:

·        International Digital Lighting Show

·        MTV World Stage Concert

·        Titanic Memorial Garden and Commemorative event

·        Titanic ‘the Play’ with the MAC; Belfast Festival; Scottish National Theatre and Barbican

·        BBC Memorial Concert

·        BBC Proms concert

                                                These events will be complemented with a series of talks, tours, exhibitions, drama and music. In addition the planned programme will also have input from other Titanic locations in: Cobh, Co Cork, Cherbourg, Southampton and Liverpool.  There is also input from NITB; Titanic Belfast and Belfast Titanic Society.

Deep River Rock Belfast         This will be the 31st year of

City Marathon:                        Ireland’s biggest mass

7 May                                       participation event, which attracted over 20,000 competitors in 2011, a record  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 8th November, it had agreed that it would be represented at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference, which would take place in Austin, Texas, from 12th till 17th March. The Director pointed out that, subsequent to the aforementioned decision, an invitation had been received from the Irish Technology Leadership Group, a deputation from which had undertaken a study visit to Belfast in November, inviting the Council to be represented at its 5th Annual Innovation Summit, which would take place in San Jose, California, from 12th till 13th March. The Director then outlined the costs which would be incurred and the benefits which might be derived in agreeing to send an additional Council deputation to the Innovation Summit and requested that the Committee consider whether it wished to be represented at both events.

After discussion, the Committee agreed to the following:

·        that it be represented at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference from 12th till 17th March and authorised the attendance at the event of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and the Director, or their nominees, and agreed also to authorise the travel and subsistence payments in connection therewith. It was noted that the cost per delegate would not exceed £1,800; and

·        that the Head of Economic Initiatives liaise with representatives of Invest NI to establish whether it intended to  send a delegation to the Irish Technology Leadership Group’s Summit and to update Members in this regard at its meeting in February to enable the Committee to consider whether it wished to be represented thereat.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 12th January, 2011 it had agreed to extend the period for the operation of the St. George’s Sunday Market for a further year, subject to the Committee reviewing that decision in January, 2012.  Accordingly, the Director outlined the principal aspects of a report which indicated that there had been a significant increase in the number of customers attending the Market on a Sunday. In a survey carried out in November, 2011 it had been noted that 4,167 members of the public had attended the Market, which was almost double the numbers recorded twelve months’ previously. In addition, the Market had attracted 127 traders on a consistent basis and approximately twenty casual traders attended each Sunday to partake in the Market.  He pointed out that an estimated income to the Council of approximately £90,000 per year was generated by the holding of the Sunday Market.  He concluded by reporting that both customers and traders had expressed satisfaction with the running of the Market and that research had indicated that further businesses within the City Centre had, in turn, benefitted financially. Accordingly, he recommended that the Committee endorse the holding of the Sunday Market on a permanent basis.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.

            The Committee considered the contents of a report which outlined the progress achieved to date in the Council’s involvement in the above-mentioned programme. The Director outlined the principal aspects of the report and indicated that, to date, £483,000 of funding had been provided through the programme to projects within the Council area and that the total allocation for Belfast-based projects would be in the region of £1,100,000. He outlined the range of initiatives which had been funded through the programme, which included a Mountain Bike Trail and the Belfast Hills Strategic Tourism Project, and he reported that additional funding had been approved for the undernoted projects:

(i)          Belfast Hills Rural Heritage Project – a project aimed at protecting Belfast’s natural heritage and providing enhanced access to rural heritage sites;

(ii)         Village Plan for Hannahstown – a project aimed at delivering physical regeneration within the Hannahstown area; and

(iii)        ‘A Guide to the Lagan Canal’ – a publication by the Lagan Canal Trust which would provide additional tourist information.

            After discussion, during which the Director answered questions in respect of the feasibility of the Mountain Loney, which provided access to the Black Mountain and was located in the upper Whiterock area, and the Lagan Canal benefitting under the terms of the Programme, the Committee noted the information provided.

            The Committee was advised that a request for assistance in the sum of £2,500 had been received from Land and Property Services, which was the agency responsible for rating, valuation and land registration, seeking the Council’s support for the holding of a series of ‘Make a Difference’ awareness-raising sessions on the issue of rate relief in Belfast. These events would be aimed at providing advice and assistance on rate relief to those who worked directly with local communities and would be held between 10.00 a.m. and 12.00 noon on the following dates in the locations outlined:

·        21st February, Spectrum Centre, Shankill Road;

·        5th March, Whiterock Leisure Centre;

·        9th March, Dee Street Community Centre;

·        13th March, Olympia Community Centre; and

·        20th March, Groundwork Offices, Duncairn Gardens.

            The Director reported that the Council’s contribution towards the events would enable the provision of hospitality, room hire and the production of information leaflets. Accordingly, he recommended that the Committee accede to the request as outlined.

            The Committee agreed to authorise expenditure in the sum of £2,500 for the hosting of the ‘Make a Difference’ events.

The Committee was advised that the Director had, in response to a request from Belfast South Community Resources, met with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s Assistant Regional Director of Regeneration Services in respect of the potential for a joint feasibility study being carried out for the redevelopment of the former Gilpin’s site in Sandy Row. The Director reported that the site, which encompassed approximately 2.3 acres, had, for some time, lay vacant due to the fact that earlier plans by the owner to redevelop the site had been withdrawn due to significant local opposition and the impact of the economic downturn. It was reported that the owners of the site had since indicated that they would be willing to dispose of some or the entire site if a suitable social enterprise could be developed.  Accordingly, the Director reported that the Housing Executive had written to advise the Council that it was prepared to provide a sum of £10,000, which would represent 50% of the total cost of the feasibility study, on the basis that the Council would match fund this contribution.

The Director reminded the Committee that Sandy Row had been included within the Council’s Renewing the Routes Programme. He pointed out that two of the initiative’s objectives were to improve the physical environment of the area and to make it more attractive to investors. In this regard, he stated that a feasibility study into the future use of the site would complement the Council’s ongoing work. He added that the

Council’s contribution would be met from an anticipated underspend within the Department’s Strategic Neighbourhood Action Plan budget for 2011/2012 and, accordingly, he recommended that the Committee authorise expenditure for the purposes of the feasibility study, which would include also an economic appraisal of the site.

            The Committee agreed to authorise expenditure in the sum of £10,000 for the undertaking, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, of a feasibility study and economic appraisal at the site.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 “1 Relevant Background Information

1.1 Members will recall that Council’s Development Committee, at a meeting on 15th June 2011, agreed to embark on a major engagement exercise with every section of society in partnership with Titanic Foundation, ensuring that everyone across the city could benefit from Titanic developments and activities.

2    Key Issues

2.1A key objective of our community engagement plan is to work through, and with, key structures within local communities to promote Titanic and discussions with the community, voluntary and other public sector organisations are ongoing.

2.2As the Titanic theme has grown in momentum over recent months Council officers have been approached by a number of schools and community and youth organisations in developing Titanic themed projects across a wide range of areas from school resources to regeneration projects.

2.3   A number of these proposed projects are highlighted below:

§  Nettlefield Primary School (East Belfast) – this is a small project which will see the school work with a local residents group (Ravenslink Residents Association) to develop a photo mosaic of the Titanic containing Titanic facts about the ship.  This will involve research by the school children and the final art piece (lightweight aluminium) will be displayed at the school, near of similar art projects in the grounds.

§  ColaisteFeirste School (West Belfast) – this project will involve a number of teenagers at the school researching Irish Language and (more generally) Irelands links to the Titanic, with this work linking into a regeneration project in close proximity to the school (‘Giants Foot’ at Benview Park) and other working themes i.e. the 2012 Olympics.

§  Comhairlena Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) (City Wide) – working with and developing on the Colaiste Fierste project, CnaG aim to work with Boys Model School (North Belfast) and Ashfield Girls School (East Belfast) to research Irelands links to Titanic and develop an educational resource for use across all schools (also translated for use in Irish Medium Education).

§  The Hubb Community Centre (North Belfast) – the volunteers in this organisation wish to develop a cross community historical and cultural project, with initial youth workshops developing the theme and the final piece being a form of modern street art on an agreed location.

§  Greater Village Regeneration Trust (South Belfast) – there is the potential to tie the Titanic theme into an upcoming youth/regeneration project in the Sandy Row area, as well as possibly developing a tapestry project about the area’s relationship with the industrial age and the Titanic.

§  Malvern Primary School Shankill (Greater Shankill) – this photography project will give school children an opportunity to present their views of how they see modern Belfast and how it tells the story of the Titanic both past and present.  Pupils will be equipped with disposable cameras and project binders and will undertake pre-planned tours of associated sites such as the former Shipyard and City Hall etc.  The project will conclude in April with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.