Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles introduced the report and explained that Creative Tourist Consults had been commissioned by the council to develop a new strategic approach to tourism for the town. The key deliverable for the project was an outcomes proposition for Cheltenham’s tourism offer behind which all key stakeholders could align, that would boost the tourism economy and provide clarity on how the council delivers the proposition and how the council will measure success and the impact on public value in its widest sense.

The Cabinet Member reported that consultation formed a large part of the evidence gathering and had included 1-2-1 interviews with a wide range of stakeholders. Workshops were held with the Cheltenham Tourism Partnership and Cabinet Member working group. She reported that Overview and Scrutiny had also considered the draft report and endorsed its recommendations and they had also received a presentation from Creative Tourist Consults.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles explained that the outcomes proposition included an action plan with a large number of measures within which the consultants were recommending some priority actions. These were as set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report. She highlighted that the stakeholders on the Cheltenham Tourism Partnership were key to the delivery of the action plan and their priorities moving forward were laid down in 4.3 of the report.

In conclusion the Cabinet Member welcomed the new and clear strategic evidence based approach which recognised the importance of tourism in its broadest sense to Cheltenham’s economy and residents. It was imperative that in moving forward links were made to the corporate plan, the Athey report and the BID to ensure the council’s activity was complementary and cohesive. She explained over the coming months the Managing Director Place and Economic Development would use these recommendations and action plan to work up a more detailed work plan with timescales and performance indicators that would be brought back to scrutiny and Cabinet for monitoring and review in October 2016.

Finally, the Cabinet Member gave thanks to all those who had contributed to the document, members, stakeholders, the commissioning group, Creative Tourist Consults and Gill Morris, Client Officer.

Members believed the strategy provided a focused message and a programme of marketing to target the right offers to the right people. It was a good basis to go forward and linked tourism with retail.

The Leader highlighted that in his Cabinet economic development role he had worked together with The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles on the strategy and it was important that a strong base was built. Alongside the strategy ran the BID which would generate more investment in the town. He added that the LEP had agreed to look at the strategy in more detail going forward and would feedback in due course.

RESOLVED THAT

1.     the consultant’s report be accepted

2.     authority be delegated to the Managing Director, Place & Economic Development to further consider the delivery plan and the proposed delivery mechanism in consultation with the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles

3.     authority be delegated to the Managing Director, Place & Economic Development to consider, in consultation with the Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles, how the £50,000 funding set aside to support strategic tourism should be allocated