Agenda and minutes

            Apologies were reported from Councillors Hendron, Hussey, Keenan and McVeigh.

            The minutes of the meetings of 12th and 26th June were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 2nd July.

            No declarations of interest were reported.

            The Democratic Services Officer reported that notification had been received from the National Association of Councillors regarding a conference which would examine issues concerning the contribution which the tourism and hospitality industries made to local economies.  It was reported that the conference would take place in the Skiddaw Hotel, Keswick, from 28th till 30th September; that the delegate fee would be £400 and that travel costs would be in the region of £200.

            The Committee agreed not to be represented at the conference.

            The Committee noted the contents of the Belfast Tourism Monitor for 2011, together with the findings of the Northern Ireland Visitor Attitude Survey for 2011, and noted further that the figures and comments contained therein would be used by the Department to develop and inform future tourism initiatives overseen by the Council.

            The Committee noted the contents of a report which provided an update on the arrangements for the hosting of the second Belfast Music Week in November, 2012.  In addition, the Committee agreed to the undernoted:

Music Week – External Showcase

            It was reported that the Council had been working in partnership with Tourism Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and Invest NI in securing funding for Belfast Music Week, a programme for which would be launched in September.  The official launch of Music Week would take place in London and would form part of a wider Belfast-flavoured showcase aimed at marketing the event to the wider music industry. It was anticipated that three bands from Belfast would be present at the showcase to promote Music Week.  Accordingly, the Director sought the Committee’s authority to cover the costs of flights and accommodation for the three bands, together with a publicist and a Council officer, to manage the event.  He added that the associated cost would be no more than £5,600.

            After discussion, during which it was agreed that the Corporate Communications Section would be consulted to determine whether the publicity associated with the showcase event could be managed by the Council, the Committee granted the approval sought.

Erection of Plaque to Good Vibrations

            The Committee was advised that a request had been received to erect a plaque to mark the contribution which had been made to the Belfast music scene by the record label Good Vibrations, which had been established by the Belfast music promoter Terri Hooley. The Committee was reminded of the role which Hooley and the Good Vibrations label had played in the promotion of punk and new wave music in the City during the late-1970s and early-1980s. It was suggested that the plaque could be erected at the site of the former Harp Bar in Hill Street, which had become synonymous with punk rock music in Belfast. The cost associated with the erection of the plaque was £600.

            The Committee granted the authority sought, subject to consideration being given to the formulation of a Council policy for the erection of future plaques to acknowledge prominent individuals associated with the music industry in Belfast.

            The Committee endorsed a Festivals’ Forum Action Plan, a copy of which was available on the Council’s Modern.gov website:

            The Committee agreed to the following:

-    Note the outputs from the stated events and approve future arrangements for the 2012 Christmas Lights Switch-on

-    Approve up to an additional £50,000 of expenditure for the All-Ireland Irish Dancing event in 2013 for an alternative second venue.  This would be subject to the Irish Dancing Commission agreeing to a second venue other than the Belfast Waterfront Studio

-    Seek approval to develop a Halloween event with Belfast Festival at Queen’s for 2013

-    Seek approval for the issuing of event tenders and to give the Director of Development delegated authority to approve suitable qualified contractors.

            The Committee agreed also that reports in respect of the undernoted matters would be submitted for consideration in due course:

·     the feasibility of the Council incorporating and promoting a specifically alcohol-free event within its St. Patrick’s Day celebrations; and

·     the feasibility of the Council bidding to host a major Europe-wide arts-based event in future years.

            The Committee considered the contents of a Belfast Creative Sector Review, which had been carried out by EKOS Consultants, together with Council Creative Industries Action Plan for 2012/ 2015, copies of both documents were available on the Modern.gov website.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed to the following course of action:

·        that an ad-hoc cross-party working group would be established to examine whether a consensus could be reached in respect of the Council’s preferred option for the re-development; and

·        that the findings of the working group would be presented for the Committee’s consideration in September to assist in the formulation of the Council’s response in the matter.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 20th March, it had endorsed two Council proposals for consideration under to the Department for Regional Development Active Travel initiative.  It was reported that the Council had been successful in securing £700,000 for the establishment of a Public Hire Bike Scheme, which would enable the establishment of 30 docking stations and provide 300 bikes for hire across the City.  The Director indicated that further reports would be submitted to the Committee outlining how the scheme would be implemented and managed, together with an outline of the potential revenue costs to the Council.

Noted.

            The Committee endorsed a programme of activities which would be held to coincide with the hosting by the City of the international ‘B-Team’ Dissemination event from 10th till 13th September.

Noted.

            The Committee noted the arrangements which had been put in place to co-ordinate a Council response to the above-mentioned consultation document and agreed to hold a special meeting, to which all Members of the Council would be invited, to consider the matter.

            The Committee agreed to:

    -    approve the continuation of the approach to the commercial contributions;

    -    endorse the proposed Renewing the Routes programme for Newtownards Road, Ormeau Road as summarised; and

    -    approve the proposed partnership working with BRO to secure additional funding to complement the activity outlined and additional work at Cromac Street.

            The Committee agreed to authorise the attendance at the event of the Waterfront Hall’s Revenue and Business Generation Manager and pointed out that the total costs of attending the event, including delegate fee, stall-hire, travel, accommodation and subsistence, would be £4,100.

Attendance at the Lammas Fair

            The Committee was advised that Moyle District Council had invited upwards of 40 traders from St. George’s Market to participate at the annual Lammas Fair in Ballycastle on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th August.  The Director reported that a significant portion of a marquee had been allocated to the Belfast traders and this would provide a valuable opportunity for the Council to promote St. George’s Market to a wider audience.

            The Committee agreed to allocate £1,000 towards the production of promotional literature for St. George’s Market which would be distributed at the Lammas Fair.

Loyalty Points Scheme for Casual Traders

            The Committee was advised that the Traders’ Committee of St. George’s Market was seeking authority to introduce a loyalty scheme to manage the allocation of stalls to casual traders at the market.  The Director reported that such a scheme would acknowledge the loyalty which certain casual traders had shown to the market and would eliminate the concept of ‘first come, first served’ in the allocation of stalls to casual traders, especially at busier times of the year.

            The Committee endorsed the introduction of the loyalty scheme.

            The Committee endorsed a response to the above-mentioned consultation, a copy of which was made available on the Council’s Modern.gov website.

The Committee agreed that it would accept the offer of financial assistance from Volunteer Now towards the events and agreed also that hospitality in the form of a finger buffet be provided at the ceremony on 5^th December.

            The Committee endorsed the Volunteer Framework and Pilot Investors Policy which was available for perusal on the Mobern.gov system.

            Councillor Kingston reminded the Committee that Belfast City Centre Management had been successful in the category ‘Developing the Evening and Night Time Economy’ at the Association of Town and Country Managementawards which had been held in July.

            The Committee agreed that a letter be forwarded to the Lord Mayor requesting that he consider hosting a reception to acknowledge the achievement of Belfast City Centre Management.