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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED: - That the following changes to be included in the forthcoming work programme: · A report on Smart Towns will be considered by the Committee in January 2023, to also include detail of the development of a Wrexham mobile app. · The Business Support report will be considered for February 2023. · A report regarding Business Improvement District will be brought to Committee in March 2023 and it will include available information for both City and Industrial Estate BIDs. · An Employment Support report will be discussed at the April 2023 meeting.
AGREED:- i) That the Committee endorses the draft plan for approval by the Executive Board. ii) That the Destination Management Plan be updated to include culture and arts in addition to heritage. iii) That an information report be submitted outlining the achievements of the Civic Leadership Group and the current work of the Group. iv) That the Committee supports the request in the report for funding the future funding requirements identified for marketing that supports the delivery of the Plan. v) That a future report on this matter contain performance data relating to the “This is Wrexham Tourism Partnership” vi) That provision of a mobile app, be considered in the report on Smart Towns, which is being considered at the January 2023 meeting. vii) That the Committee receives an update in 6 months on progress of the Plan, against its priorities and action plan, together with details of how the Wrexham offer is being maximised. viii) That an information report be provided on the business plan and performance of the Visitor Centre. ix) That Information be provided on town centre footfall on future agendas for the committee. x) That the committee recognises Wrexham’s decade long strong performance in this area, and continued recovery post Covid. xi) That the committee recognises the strong partnership work evidenced in the continued growth and development of the ‘This is Wrexham Partnership’.
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor John McCusker. Councillor Andy Williams was absent.
Item 25 – Place Shaping and Making Charter Members agreed to change the Place Making Plan to Place Making Strategy in the following sentence: Members were assured that there was a Place Making Strategy in place. AGREED:- That the minutes of the meeting held on 7th December 2022 be signed as a correct record.
Members were reminded of their responsibility under Paragraph 11 of the Members’ Code of Conduct to declare the existence and nature of any personal interest in respect of any of the business to be transaction at this meeting. The following declarations were made:- Agenda Item 5- Tourism Destination Management Plan Councillor Andy Gallanders-Personal and non-prejudicial – The Councillor runs a business in the Wrexham City Centre and was a paid member of the ‘This Is Wrexham partnership until 2019’. Councillor Gary Brown-Personal and non-prejudicial – The Councillor worked for Brymbo Heritage Trust.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: - That the following changes to be included in the forthcoming work programme: · A report on Smart Towns will be considered by the Committee in January 2023, to also include detail of the development of a Wrexham mobile app. · The Business Support report will be considered for February 2023. · A report regarding Business Improvement District will be brought to Committee in March 2023 and it will include available information for both City and Industrial Estate BIDs. · An Employment Support report will be discussed at the April 2023 meeting.
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The Chief Officer Governance & Customer submitted a report (COGC/114/22s) asking Members to consider the Committee’s Work Programme. The Scrutiny Facilitator presented the report and highlighted the main points contained within it. During discussion a Member requested that the Business Improvement District report included updates on both the city and the Industrial Estate BIDs (BID). AGREED: - That the following changes to be included in the forthcoming work programme: · A report on Smart Towns will be considered by the Committee in January 2023, to also include detail of the development of a Wrexham mobile app. · The Business Support report will be considered for February 2023. · A report regarding Business Improvement District will be brought to Committee in March 2023 and it will include available information for both City and Industrial Estate BIDs. · An Employment Support report will be discussed at the April 2023 meeting.
Decision as recorded
AGREED:- i) That the Committee endorses the draft plan for approval by the Executive Board. ii) That the Destination Management Plan be updated to include culture and arts in addition to heritage. iii) That an information report be submitted outlining the achievements of the Civic Leadership Group and the current work of the Group. iv) That the Committee supports the request in the report for funding the future funding requirements identified for marketing that supports the delivery of the Plan. v) That a future report on this matter contain performance data relating to the “This is Wrexham Tourism Partnership” vi) That provision of a mobile app, be considered in the report on Smart Towns, which is being considered at the January 2023 meeting. vii) That the Committee receives an update in 6 months on progress of the Plan, against its priorities and action plan, together with details of how the Wrexham offer is being maximised. viii) That an information report be provided on the business plan and performance of the Visitor Centre. ix) That Information be provided on town centre footfall on future agendas for the committee. x) That the committee recognises Wrexham’s decade long strong performance in this area, and continued recovery post Covid. xi) That the committee recognises the strong partnership work evidenced in the continued growth and development of the ‘This is Wrexham Partnership’.
The Chief Officer for Economy and Planning submitted a report (COEP/60/22) that provided an overview of the draft 2023-26 Destination Management Plan (DMP), for Wrexham County Borough for consideration. The report included a summary of the key priorities set out within the Plan and the role for the Local authority in contributing to the delivery of its outputs to ensure the continued growth of our tourism economy. The Lead Member for Economy and Regeneration introduced the report and highlighted the main points within it. The Strategy and Business and Investment Lead, the Regeneration Project Manager and the Chair for ‘This is Wrexham Partnership’ gave a presentation that focused on the Wrexham Destination Management Plan and it covered the following: · Economic Impact – Historic Prices and Visitor Numbers total; · Tourism milestones since last report in 2017; · Priorities · Current marketing and Promotion – Regional & National; · Why we need a DM Plan? · This is Wrexham Tourism Partnership; and · Visit Wrexham Safely. The Head of Service Regeneration informed Members that there had been a Destination Plan in place for a number of years. The Destination Management Plan was a very collaborative effort which included TEAM tourism and local businesses and aimed to maximise business and visitor economic benefits. During consideration of the report the following matters were discussed: · It was clarified that the visitor numbers for tourism performance covering the periods 2012 to 2014 should have shown positive year on year percentages. · Members will be provided with an updated visitor number graph for tourism in Wrexham County Borough. · Members were informed that TEAM Tourism were a group of tourism consultants that helped inform the first and second Destination Management Plans (2012-16 and 2017-2020). · TEAM Tourism had the capacity to carry out consultations and research out on site and were therefore commissioned again to help inform the content of the DMP 2023-2026. · The Destination Management Partnership Board (This is Wrexham partnership) was the key consultee for decisions that impacted tourism and the visitor economy in Wrexham County Borough. · The achievements of the Civic Leadership Group and their current work. · Members were informed that the Destination Management Advisory Group was an independent group made up of stakeholders and Council representatives which brought all different sectors and areas together that informed the draft Destination Management Plan. · The Place Making Strategy had a number of projects, with a key piece of work that included developing Wrexham as a place where people wanted to live, visit and invest. · The Wrexham Gateway contained aspects beyond those covered by the levelling up fund bid. · The Government had confirmed the business plans for the shared prosperity fund. · It was envisaged that in 2023-24 there may be new grants that will be awarded to cater for different destination management projects such as signage and other improvements. Any pots of funding will also be competitive and not certain. · Members were informed that ways of identifying funding to support the delivery of the new Destination Management Plan were being explored. · The ‘This is Wrexham partnership’ had discussed the reinstatement of the Membership fees, however, due to increases in the cost of living they decided to put issue on hold. · The Chair for ‘This is Wrexham partnership’ explained that if they generated £5K per annum then they would be able to apply for match-funding contributions to draw down more significant amounts from relevant funding programmes. An example of a proposed scheme would provide a short project of induction training videos for businesses. · Wrexham was unique in North Wales as it had a 12 month tourism economy. · There was a demand for more tourism investment and the Plan would help in realising this. · The Council did not have a direct tourism budget, but the business support team supported all sectors and generally the tourism work was carried out by them. · There was significant investment in tourism, with the new Visitor Centre being such an example. · The Lead Member had asked Officers to list and provide budgets for their proposed event schemes and plans. · Officers outlined the level of staff resources within business support. · It was recognised that there needed to be links between events and related attractions. · There was outstanding needs for a coach park and related facilities in Wrexham. · Possibility of the app purchased for the ‘hello Wrexham” campaign being updated and further developed. · Members were informed that Coleg Cambria had set up a stakeholder advisory group and that they would be looking at the resource shortfalls within the tourism industry. · The Lead Member referenced the recent recruitment job fairs that involved Community Plus and he has requested that future job fairs would also focus on the hospitality and tourism sector. · It was confirmed that the provision of adequate car parking was included in the Place Making Strategy. · The Chair for the ‘This is Wrexham partnership’ informed Members that he was also the vice Chair for the North Wales regional forum that dealt with the North Wales region for tourism. Their consensus was that the tourism industry did not support the proposed tourism tax. In terms of employment Wrexham had a consistent tourism market that offered good corporate trade and longevity compared to the other areas of North Wales where tourism was seasonal. AGREED:- i) That the Committee endorses the draft plan for approval by the Executive Board. ii) That the Destination Management Plan be updated to include culture and arts in addition to heritage. iii) That an information report be submitted outlining the achievements of the Civic Leadership Group and the current work of the Group. iv) That the Committee supports the request in the report for funding the future funding requirements identified for marketing that supports the delivery of the Plan. v) That a future report on this matter contain performance data relating to the “This is Wrexham Tourism Partnership” vi) That provision of a mobile app, be considered in the report on Smart Towns, which is being considered at the January 2023 meeting. vii) That the Committee receives an update in 6 months on progress of the Plan, against its priorities and action plan, together with details of how the Wrexham offer is being maximised. viii) That an information report be provided on the business plan and performance of the Visitor Centre. ix) That Information be provided on town centre footfall on future agendas for the committee. x) That the committee recognises Wrexham’s decade long strong performance in this area, and continued recovery post Covid. xi) That the committee recognises the strong partnership work evidenced in the continued growth and development of the ‘This is Wrexham Partnership’.