Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Marie Gray.

No declaration of any interest were received.

To confirm the enclosed minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – Tourism and Promoting Chorley meeting held on 9 November 201.

That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – Tourism and Promoting Chorley meeting held on 12 October 2011 be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

A Spread sheet containing comparative statistics between Chorley and other districts of Lancashire presently available on the Visit England website is enclosed for background information.

Members of the Group received statistical information from the Visit England website that measured the number of trips made to an area, number of overnight stays and amount spent, between 2006 – 2010 for the fourteen districts across the Lancashire footprint.

The Communication Manager drew Members attention to the following:

·        As expected, across Lancashire, Blackpool were the best performers overall, followed by Lancaster and Preston.

·        Chorley fluctuated from being seventh in the table of Lancashire authorities to being 11th out of 14 authorities.

·        Overall, the number of trips made had not changed much, although there had been a dip in 2007-09.

·        The number of trips made to Chorley for holiday purposes had declined significantly over the period.

·        The number of nights spent in Chorley had declined over time, as had the number of nights spent here on holiday. This did seem to be a general trend across Lancashire, although Blackpool and Lancaster had remained steady and Wyre and West Lancashire had increased.

·        The amount spent in Chorley had increased from £4million in 2006-8 and 2007-9 to £5 million in 2008-10. This had moved us into equal ninth place.

Members commented that it was difficult to ascertain from the information if the spent actually related to visitors from outside the Borough or actual residents.

The representative from Park Hall, explained that Camelot Theme Park had been closed in 2008/9, so could be a major contributory factor for the dip in the number of trips to Chorley between 2007 and 2009.

RESOLVED – That the  report be noted.

As agreed at the last meeting of the Group, representatives from the following organisations have been invited to attend and answer questions about their involvement in tourism.

·         Camelot Theme Park – Sandra Dempsey

·         Chorley Little Theatre – Ian Robinson

·         Park Hall – Jeanette Marshall

·         Lancashire County Council – Marianne Howell

·         United Utilities – Neville Kidd and Hazel Gregory

Questions have been drafted and will be sent to the invitees in advance of the meeting. A copy for Members information is enclosed.

The majority of invitees have confirmed their attendance and those unable to attend have agreed to provide a written response.

The Committee heard from a number of representatives that had been invited to attend and answer questions about their involvement in tourism around three key areas:

·        What you do now in terms of tourism and events in Chorley.

·        What your plans are for the future.

·        How Chorley Council can work together with you in this area.

The Committee heard from:

1.    Sandra Dempsey - Camelot Theme Park

2.    Ian Robinson – Chorley Little Theatre

3.    Jeanette Marshall – Park Hall

4.    Marianne Howell and Diane Scarborough – Lancashire County Council

5.    Hazel Gregory – United Utilities

A summary of each of the representatives comments is detailed below:

Camelot

Visitor numbers for 2011 were around 225,000, which was down on the previous year, this was mainly down to a poor summer and there had been a trend for a decline in visitor numbers over the years.

There were no plans to change the offer, as such to their target market as Camelot had spent many years establishing itself as a ‘family attraction’. They did not promote any other places of interest within the borough, although they do work closely with Park Hall Hotel to offer the overall stay package, including the attraction Battlefield Live who were based at the same site.

Camelot had detailed records of where visitors come from by postcode, with their prime catchment area being an hour to an hour and half drive time away.

In previous years when Chorley Council had a designated Tourism Department, they had worked closely together to promote Camelot and Chorley whether this was in guides, at exhibitions or joint promotions. Camelot also felt that a more prominent presence on the Chorley website would be helpful as they had struggled recently to get any presence.

Chorley Little Theatre

The theatre had recently undergone major restoration work that had seen a £150,000 face lift.

The majority of people that attended the performances at the theatre were largely from across the Lancashire area, although they had visitors from as far as Wales.

The theatre had been recently successful in attracting a number of well known touring comedians, this had helped to put the theatre on the map and people were now coming from further afield for these shows. The theatre sent out information about up and coming shows and events to previous customers via email.

Another success had been the showing of ‘An Inspector Calls’, this had been on the school GCSE syllabus and the show had generated a large number of school based coach trips. It was not always possible to run this type of show, due to a number of different factors, but the theatre were considering showing Romeo and Juliet next season.

The theatre had tried to negotiate a deal with the local restaurants, whereby they would offer a nominated discount if the theatre recommended them. People often asked for this kind of information when attending one of the theatres performances, however after many efforts on behalf of the theatre, the take-up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.TPC.20