Agenda and minutes

The Chair to note any apologies for absence.

There were none.

Members to state any interests.

Martin Sutherland, Co-Optee, declared a personal interest in item  5(a), as he is on the Board of the Britain’s Best Surprise.

The Chair to note public address requests.

The public can speak on any agenda item for a maximum of three minutes per speaker per item.  You are not required to register your intention to speak in advance but should arrive at the meeting a few minutes early, complete a Public Address Protocol and notify the Scrutiny Officer of your intention to speak.

There were none.

The Scrutiny Panel to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2018.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2018 were signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record.

The Scrutiny Panel to receive responses to its core questions from a variety of key expert advisors.

Kate Dent, Director, Britain’s Best Surprise, addressed the Scrutiny Panel and commented.

·      Britain’s Best Surprise is a campaign for the county launched March 2017

·      It promotes Northamptonshire and its many attractions.  It is positioned as a world class destination

·      The website objective started off as a “What’s on Diary” and snowballed from there

·      There are 20 million visitors to Northamptonshire, tourism supports 14,000 jobs and brings in £1 billion per year

·      Britain’s Best Surprise has plans to further develop its website, involve industry and direct traffic to the website.  15% of the traffic is from London  and 25% from Northampton

·      An Intern upkeeps the website and quickly updates it

·      There is a good presence on Social Media, around 8,000 followers

·      Leaflets are in production and will be distributed to various locations

·      Liaisons are taking place between Britain’s Best Surprise and Economic Development at the Boroughs and Districts in Northamptonshire regarding a Destination Management Plan

·      Britain’s Best Surprise is very keen to work with partners locally, in particular around the new Silverstone Heritage centre and the potential that brings

·      Links with the University are established and hugely important

·      Britain’s Best Surprise runs various campaigns such as churches, stately homes 

·      Themes are set:

Ø  2019         Sport

Ø  2020/21    Arts and Culture

Ø  2022        American Heritage and its links

Kate Dent was thanked for her informative address.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

The Chair advised that the Freeman was unable to attend and had asked to attend the meeting in April 2018.

Therefore consideration of this item was deferred to the next meeting.

The Cultural Services Manager to give  the Scrutiny Panel a presentation on the Northampton museum.

Consideration of this agenda item was deferred to the April meeting.

The Scrutiny Panel considered its report following its recent site visits, noting the conclusions.

The Chair commented on the value of the role of the Tourism Executive at Harborough and the value of the roles of Officers at Rugby regarding tourism.

The maintenance of monuments such as Eleanor Cross were highlighted as important.

Tourist Information Centres are very important and work well if linked to facilities such as cafes.

The Chair referred to the site visit of Delapre Abbey that the Panel had taken place earlier that day; commenting on the splendour of the restoration.

AGREED:  That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

The Scrutiny Panel considered a report that details the findings from recent desktop research.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.