Agenda and draft minutes

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Anderson.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

There was no public participation.

There were none.

 Lesley Crisp introduced the report, highlighting that during the first 3 dens (between 2012 – 2014). 26 businesses have benefitted from a total of £30,700 in grants. Most have received a £1000, with a small number receiving £2000 in special circumstances. Of these winners, 92% are still trading. She went on to add that between the winning businesses a further 25 additional jobs have been created which is a 52% increase in employment. Dacorum’s Den 2015 took place on Friday 12^th June and there were 7 winners taking a total of £10k in grants (sponsored by Symbio Energy and Maylands Partnership). These came from a pool of 38 initial applications. She then went on to introduce 2014 winners Kim Hurrell and Meena Wells, from the Cinnamon Travelling Café, who gave a presentation on their business and how winning Dacorum’s Den 2014 has impacted on their business.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe thanked them for their presentation and noted that every business started in a small way and is integral for ensuring a vibrant economic community.

Councillor S Hearn congratulated the winners on their success and noted the support they had received since winning the den, he went on to enquire as to whether they were confident that the support would still be useful and relevant as they expand their business and it continues to grow.

Meena Wells advised that they were confident as they take responsibility for themselves and willing to learn and educate themselves, with regards to things such as accounting and promotion of the business. She went on to advise that they have signed up to the Great British Start Up.

Rebecca Oblein advised that Lesley and the Maylands Business Centre, take businesses to a certain level of expansion and advised that the LEP has recently introduced a growth hub for businesses over 2 years old and they would then refer them to this.

Councillor S Hearn then enquired as to if this then meant that the businesses move away from Dacorum’s umbrella.

Rebecca Oblein advised that this was not the case and that hopefully they would still be working out of the Business Centre, but the Growth Hub has a bit more experience nd a few more connections, wider than Dacorum, that they can move the businesses into. She went on to advise that they are currently working with the LEP to try and put in place a standard level of small start up business support in place across Hertfordshire. The LEP are actually looking at what is being done in Dacorum as a model as we actually do far more than other areas do. She added that they are looking to put a bid in for some European funding to try and get a standard level of start up business support that will then be the step below the Growth Hub.

Councillor Birnie requested clarification on what WENTA represented.

Lesley Crisp advised this was the Watford Enterprise Agency, which has now spread right across Hertfordshire and that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Sue Lea introduced the report and advised that further to the decision to extend her role as Tourism Officer for a further additional 2 years, the strategy would build on the work that has previously been carried out and to set the structure for the next 2 years, and that it had been drafted in consultation with stakeholders. She went on to say that in March of this year a Tourism workshop took place where tourism businesses attended and offered their input and expertise in how to develop the strategy. She advised that the draft strategy included in the report sets out the visions,  objectives  and targets for the next 2 years. There will also be destination plans devised specifically for Berkhamsted and Tring. Following on from the workshop it became clear that partners and tourism businesses wanted to continue with the tourism partnership, however to make this possible a membership scheme needs to be devised to fund the future work.

Councillor Matthews noted that a lot of work had obviously gone into the strategy and referred to Page 44 of the report and the ‘Importance of Tourism’ and noted that the visitor economy is worth £218 million. He went on to enquire as to what a visitiors economy was.

Rebecca Oblein advised that the department invests in an annual report called the ‘Value of Volume’ survey which is an industry standard measure of the tourism economy countrywide and is then broken down into separate towns and Borough level, and that is where this figure has come from. It breaks down everything that is included in a visitor economy and includes all of the supporting businesses that include, hotels, food suppliers to those hotels and the jobs that are included in that, as well as attractions and shops in market towns. Anything that a visitor might come in and spend money on is included in visitor economy and the supply chain that goes around that. She further added that visitors also includes business travellers and that business tourism is a big part of Dacorum’s tourism.

Councillor Matthews then went on to enquire as to what the ‘key hallmark attractions’ were.

Rebecca Oblein advised that the hallmark attractions were things such as the Snow Centre, XC, Natural History Museum in Tring, Berkhamsted Castle and advised that Harry Potter World is also included as many visitors there stay in hotels in Kings Langley.

Councillor Hearn enquired that the strategy was available for public consumption, however noted that it is quite difficult to read and whether it would be possible to make it more reader friendly.

Rebecca Oblein advised that the strategy was not really devised as a document for visitors and that the plan is to take relevant information from the strategy and create a summary that would be more public friendly. She went on to advise that the strategy had been more devised for tourism businesses that are becoming our partners so that they can understand what they are investing in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

To consider passing a resolution in the following terms:

That, under s.100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A Part 1 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 the public be excluded during the item in Part II of the Agenda for this meeting, because it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that if members of the public were present during this item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information relating to: