Agenda item

When the O&S Board considered this issue prior to the Summer the Board requested a further update to include a review of the Seasonal Response Plan.

The attached report provides a full review of the seasonal response delivery which ran from 29 March to 19 September 2021.

Relevant Officers and Cabinet Portfolio Holders will be in attendance at the meeting to respond to questions from Board members.

The Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health and the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport, supported by the Head of Seasonal Response and the Head of Operations for Tourism presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Portfolio Holders and Officers responded to comments and requests for clarification, details included:

·       On the matter of anti-litter signage, the Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health explained that this was a pilot scheme, and that feedback was important. He acknowledged that the language on the signs may not be to everyone’s tastes but expressed that the priority was for the signs to be effective.

·       On the matters of footfall figures and traffic counts, it was explained that there was no way to differentiate between the number of petrol/diesel vehicles and the number of electric vehicles that were used to travel to and from the beaches during Summer. Furthermore, Members heard that footfall cameras at Pier Approach were utilised in order to capture an accurate figure for the number of people who passed through that area during Summer. It was explained that the Council were looking at other ways of using digital technology to collect visitor data and that this was being proposed across different areas of beach.

·       On Park and Ride, it was acknowledged that the numbers of people that used the park and ride service, particularly from the Poole Civic Centre, were low and that this should be reviewed for next year. The Portfolio Holder for Transport and Sustainability welcomed comments and suggestions on the park and ride service, including the possibility of a centralised park and ride location that could link to all three towns, different pricing rates for residents and visitors and congestion zones in particularly busy areas.

·       On the matter of towing, the decision was made to locate the contracted tow trucks in areas they would have the greatest effect as a deterrent to illegal parking. The Board heard that a total of 43 vehicles were towed during the Summer and that the Council would review this when looking ahead to next Summer.

·       The cost of fines that can be issued to illegally parked cars is set by national government. Members heard that the Council had been lobbying and meeting with ministers to convince the Department for Transport to increase the level of fines. Proposals on this matter going forward would be made available for people to see.

·       On the matter of government funding, the Board were informed that £3.5million was awarded to BCP Council to fund their seasonal response. Members heard that there was an underspend of £800,000 which therefore left some flexibility in their seasonal response budget. It was acknowledged that this funding may not be available every year but the Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health confirmed that they would be applying for any and all available funding in future.

·       The Board heard that the Beach Check app was used by 37,000 people over the Summer. It was confirmed that the app did include the Christchurch beaches but a slightly different approach was taken for the Mudeford sandbank area where it was flagged as a ‘red’ zone in order to deter too many people from visiting due to the nature of the sight.

In concluding the discussion, the Chairman referred to the issues seen with the park and ride service but thanked the Seasonal Response Team for their hard work and high standards over the Summer months.  The Chairman acknowledged the quality of the response and hoped that the requisite funding would be in place to maintain the standard set over the Summer.