Members were requested to review the allocation of funding for visitor events in light of the impact of COVID-19 on the events industry.  In June 2019, Cabinet had approved the recommendations from the Tourism Task and Finish Group that included a recommendation to consolidate the visitor events funding into a single programme for the whole of the district, with effect from April 2020.

The events budget was managed by officers in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Communities, Culture and Tourism.  The budget available was £18,000 per annum and covered Bexhill, Rye and rural Rother, but not Battle which had a separate arrangement in which £9,000 funding was allocated to the area, as detailed in the report.

The COVID-19 crisis had resulted in the cancellation of all events planned for the year which would otherwise have received Council support and accordingly all applications had been postponed.  Funding that would have been allocated towards events during the current year had therefore not been spent and it was recommended that this funding be rolled forward to the next financial year.  This would enable the Council to support more events to assist with restarting the visitor economy in 2021.

The Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Communities, Culture and Tourism had indicated a wish to establish a Marketing Group for Bexhill, to co-ordinate local marketing and promotion for Bexhill, in much the same way as existed in Battle.  A Bexhill Marketing Group would bring together key stakeholders including Rother District Council, Bexhill Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill Museum and others.  A suggested Terms of Reference was attached at Appendix A to the report.

It was proposed that £9,000 of the events budget (equivalent to the amount previously ringfenced for Bexhill events), be devolved to the Bexhill Marketing Group and for a legally constituted Accountable Body to be identified in the future to enter into a Service Level Agreement with the Council to receive and pay funds and be accountable for the use of the Council’s funding.  Rother District Council could undertake this role for the first year of the arrangement but could not provide secretariat support.  Members were keen to ensure that the emphasis remained on the supporting of events and agreed to re-look at the Terms of Reference, with a revised version to be presented to Cabinet that included other organisations such as the Bexhill Old Town Preservation Society.

A request had been received by Rye Bay Marketing Ltd to assist with the shortfall in the 2021 funding for their annual Rye Visitor Guide.  Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the summer season, only 50% of their 130,000 guides had been distributed, which were privately funded through advertising revenue (many of the contributing businesses had experienced significant losses, therefore the future of the guide remained in doubt).  In most years, £9,000 would have been spent on part-funding events in the town through the Council events budget, but as no events have been supported through this fund during the current year, it was recommended that Cabinet be requested to make this money available for one year only, to Rye Bay Marketing Ltd to ensure that they have sufficient funding to produce the 2021 visitor guide.  Members, however, did not support this and it was recommended and agreed that the funds be rolled forward and allocated to the Rye Events Group.

On-going, the remaining £9,000 from the annual budget would continue to be ringfenced for the support of events in Rye and rural Rother under the existing guidelines for events support and administered by Council officers in consultation with the Lead Member.

RESOLVED:  That Cabinet be requested to:

1)         authorise the constitution of a Bexhill Events and Marketing Group under a revised Terms of Reference;

2)         allocate the £9,000 from the Council’s Events Budget to Bexhill Events and Marketing Group, to support the marketing, promotion and events of Bexhill from 2021/22 onwards;

3)         approve that £9,000 events funding for Bexhill not allocated in the 2020/21 financial year be carried forward to 2021/22; and

4)         the £9,000 usually allocated for Rye, to be awarded as a one-off grant to Rye Bay Marketing Ltd for their 2021 campaign not be supported and that the money be rolled forward and allocated to the Rye and rural Rother Events.

(Councillor Dixon declared a personal interest in this matter as a member Battle Marketing Group and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct remained in the meeting during the consideration thereof.)

(Councillors Gray and Madeley each declared a personal interest in this matter as members of the Bexhill Old Town Preservation Society and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct remained in the meeting during the consideration thereof.)