Agenda item

            The Chairperson reminded the Committee that it had agreed, at its meeting on 9th May, to receive a presentation from the consultants which had been commissioned to undertake the feasibility work on a new visitor destination in the city centre at a future meeting.

            The Strategic Director of Place and Economy advised the Members that the presentation contained commercially sensitive information and, as such, the Committee agreed that all Members of the public and press were required to leave the room for the duration of the discussion and that it would not be audio recorded.

            He welcomed Mr. C. Mounstephen, Deloitte, and Mr. M. Counahan, CHL, to the meeting.

            He advised the Committee that the consultants would present their ideas on the Emerging Concept, the Governance and Organisational Structure of the project and an Outline Business Case.  He pointed out that the Council hoped to submit the project as part of the Belfast Region City Deal submission.

            The Chairperson advised the Members that Ms. Rosemarie McHugh, Director of Product Development in Tourism NI, was in attendance and she was also welcomed to the meeting.

            The Strategic Director reminded the Committee that a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) had been completed in June 2016 based on the Belfast City Centre and Regeneration Strategy.  He explained that it had recommended that serious consideration should be given to developing an international visitor destination in the city centre to complement Titanic Belfast.  He explained that Deloitte and CHL had been selected to take forward the recommendations from the SOC and to progress a number of work streams.

            Mr. Mounstephen explained to the Committee that the new world-class facility had the potential to make a real and lasting impact for Belfast through increasing visitor trips, as well as by increasing footfall in the city centre, and thereby supporting retail and the wider daytime and evening economy.

            Mr. Counahan provided the Members with an overview of the work streams and the progress which had been made to date.  He emphasised that the design of the new building should be flexible in terms of its internal layout and visually iconic externally. 

            A number of Members expressed their support for the work which had been carried out on the proposals to date.

            In response to a Member’s question in relation to how the new attraction would fare alongside the City’s existing attractions, the consultants advised the Committee that the new attraction would act as a complementary asset within the city centre and that it would direct visitors to other key sites across the City in order to enhance the experience of visitors to Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole. 

            In response to a Member’s query regarding the work which was ongoing in relation to the community tourism infrastructure, the Chief Executive confirmed that a separate report on neighbourhood tourism changes would be submitted to a future meeting.

            Ms. McHugh advised the Committee that market testing had shown that the wider story of Northern Ireland was not currently being presented to visitors in an easily accessible format.  Additionally, she advised that the proposals had been well received at a recent meeting of the Tourism NI board.

            In response to a further Member’s question regarding a potential standalone art gallery in Belfast, Mr. Mounstephen advised the Committee that there was little appetite to take on a National Gallery given the high running costs associated with them.  He pointed out, however, that the proposed attraction would have the space and the ability to exhibit collections on both a permanent and temporary basis.

            The Committee:

·        noted the work undertaken to date by the expert advisory team producing the Destination Hub Outline Business Case, including extensive engagement with key statutory and cultural stakeholders, and the intention to include this project within the Belfast Region City Deal;

·        noted that an update on Community Tourism Infrastructure would be provided to the Committee at a future meeting; and

·        agreed to receive a further report which sets out details of the outline business case, recommendations and a future work programme.