Agenda item

To consider the following tourism related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 20 December:

·         Community Engagement Strategy

·         Fisherman’s Walk Super Hut Development

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Lewis Allison, Portfolio Holder for Tourism.

The Cabinet report will be published on 12 December 2019 and available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=4171&Ver=4

Community Engagement Strategy – The Chairman asked the Portfolio Holder to outline the report, which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet minutes of 20 December in the Minute Book. The Portfolio Holder answered a number of questions put to him by the Board including:

·       Whether there would be further consultation on the Strategy once it was produced. It was confirmed that there was.

·       The Portfolio Holder was asked to consider what was best practice from across the country and what information the preceding authorities already had. A Board Member suggested that the Council also needed to be mindful that Area Forums could be successful but not always. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that best practice would be looked at when forming the final document but that this needed to be based on local communities.

·       Board members expressed concern that there seemed to be a plan to consult different communities but without anything to consult on and that the preceding Council’s would have had data from previous resident satisfaction surveys. It was suggested that a strategy should be created first, prior to public consultation. The Portfolio Holder advised that a finalised strategy would be developed within the year and that it was important to be starting from somewhere completely new.

·       A Board member commented that there would always be winners and losers depending upon personal opinions which influenced whether people felt they had been listened to and questioned whether the Portfolio Holder was realistic in trying to achieve something different. The Portfolio Holder reiterated that this was a new Council with new services and things were being run differently to previous Councils.

There was concern from some Board members that the work of the preceding councils was not being utilised in the development of the new strategy it was therefore:

Resolved that Cabinet be recommended to build on known good practice and insight gathered by preceding authorities in the development of a Community Engagement Strategy.

Voting: For: 13, Against 0, 2 Abstentions

Super Hut Development, Fisherman’s Walk: The Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Leisure and Communities was asked to introduce the report which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet minutes of 20 December in the Minute Book. The following discussions raised a number of points including:

·       That there was limited land available for the development of the super huts and that the cost of them to the average resident was prohibitive. The Portfolio Holder responded that all beach huts were luxury items and inaccessible to many. However, in terms of the goal of the project, to raise capital, he considered the project to be good;

·       Other beach hut owners were often upset by new developments and asked what steps had been taken to ensure care for existing tenants. No tenants would be losing their beach hut, but the existing huts would be physically moved. All huts would retain a sea view. The super hut business model was already well established and demand for the new huts would be high.

·       In response to a question the Portfolio Holder advised that the new huts were not for overnight use but were slightly larger than standard huts. It was not possible to have overnight huts in this location due to regulations requiring a minimum height above sea level.

·       A Board member suggested that the hut design should work in harmony with nature and suggested that perhaps the huts could have green roofs. The Portfolio Holder welcomed this suggestion and that sustainability would be considered for all decisions.

The Board discussed whether the Council would be able to retain a hut so it could be used for charitable purposes to directly benefit those residents who were unable to afford to buy a super hut. The Board then:

Resolved that Cabinet be recommended to retain one of the proposed super huts for use by the Council for good causes and charitable purposes.

Voting: Unanimous