£600,000 fund will help South Hams get ready for influx of tourists
Many people are expected to choose a staycation in the UK this year
A £600,000 fund to support the economic recovery in the South Hams’ main towns and to prepare for the influx of tourists has been agreed.
With many people expected to choose a staycation in the UK this year, Thursday’s South Hams District Council full council meeting heard they the council was keen to provide its main towns with the support they need to deliver an excellent and safe tourist experience that follows the Government roadmap out of lockdown.
The tourism industry in the South Hams is estimated to be worth about £260 million, with ‘summer 2021’ beginning at Easter and although the main restrictions on holiday stays are not lifted until April 12, all expectations are that by this point visitor numbers will be present in record numbers.
The council unanimously agreed to use £600,000 of funding from the money earmarked for strategic economic recovery projects and business support, as well as some of its own reserves, to fund some key initiatives this spring and summer.
These include an enhanced street cleaning and litter picking service, with additional officers to ensure that the streets and beaches remain safe for the public, extending the Covid-19 compliance officers that have been supporting businesses to operate safely and a match funding scheme to support the towns with projects that will enhance their key areas and support businesses in the towns.
And by extending pavement licences for a further 12 months, the council will to act on Government advice to support the reopening of hospitality businesses and by making it easier and cheaper for pubs, restaurants and cafes to continue to make al fresco dining a reality with outside seating, tables and street stalls to serve food and drinks.
Initial recommendations were for a £500,000 package of investment, but following the announcement of the Welcome Back Fund from the Government, a further £100,000, which will go towards improving the built/natural environment and to deliver economic improvements within the smaller coastal communities and tourism centre, was also agreed to.
Cllr Judy Pearce, leader of South Hams District Council said: “Over the next few months as we come out of lockdown, we are going to have to strike a delicate balance between promoting and encouraging the recovery of our tourism sector, while at the same time enabling our businesses to operate in a safe and secure way.
“These proposals will provide a range of extra support and resources that will support that recovery as we follow the Government’s steps to reopening. For that reason this fund will provide a mixture of physical support, such as street cleaning, advice and guidance from extra staffing and funding for marketing.”
She added: “We want to improve the South Hams not only for residents but for the visitors as well, and it is important that the street scene is as welcoming as possible so people want to sample and experience the many outdoor, and later, indoor hospitality opportunities and tempting shops we offer.
“This is good news for residents living here or making a living and everyone will have an enhanced experience in the South Hams.
“We recognise the important role that the five main towns in South Hams play in supporting the tourism sector and the wider economy. This is why the council is proposing the creation of a Town High Street Investment Fund, and each town will be able to bid for 50:50 match funding of up to a maximum £50,000 per town for the five main towns.
“With this and the other town marketing activities we are proposing, I am hopeful for a very good summer. So many of our hospitality businesses have suffered terribly during the pandemic and I hope that this will be the beginning of their much needed recovery.”
Cllr Pearce added that last summer the ‘invasion’ was unprecedented, but that this summer was expecting to be in a similar vein.
She added: “This summer people will be stir crazy as they have been cooped up indoors and if people cannot go abroad then there will be a real influx of people and possibly not the sort of people we are used to seeing here, so it may be a different type of clientele compared to the usual.
“This is a really good package in terms of what we can do for towns and smaller communities and tourism centres.”
Under the agreed proposals, South Hams will move to a ‘summer service’ from April 1, which will mean the additional ‘twilight’ emptying of litter bins and extra litter bin rounds for mid-afternoons at weekends at key locations.
There will be extra bins at Hope Cove, Bigbury, Torcross–Memorial-Strete Gate, North Sands & South Sands, Dartmouth Embankment., dedicated cleansing operative located in Salcombe and Dartmouth on, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, a dedicated Bigbury cleansing attendant, on the Slapton Line additional litter picking/clean up and doubling of recycling bank vehicle capacity.
There will be an additional two ‘seasonal’ posts this summer to ensure that the council has the ability of respond quickly to any issues, can carry out education and enforcement patrols in more areas over a wider timeframe, maintains an on-street presence in key locations, and there is sufficient monitoring of the street services
The employment of the Covid compliance officers will be extended until the end of September and there will be the funding of ‘Town marketing activities’, including a programme of vacant shop window dressing.
And in recognition of the important role that the five major towns (Ivybridge, Totnes, Kingsbridge, Dartmouth, Salcombe) play in supporting the tourism sector and the wider economy, the council will create a Town High Street Investment Fund where each town will be able to bid for 50:50 match funding of up to a maximum £50,000 per town for the five main towns.
Cllr Mark Long said that he would support and did welcome the funds coming into the area, and that he hoped the increased level and standard of service would be kept on year after year, and that it wasn’t just going to be seen in the tourist areas but also in residential parts of the district.
Cllr Barrie Spencer added: “I have some concern about all the funding on tourism and I know that this is what this is about, but some areas of the South Hams that don’t have the influx of tourism and that visitors from London do not necessarily want to go.
“We do have some areas where tourism isn’t seen as anything meaningful, and I will vote for it, but some residents such as mine won’t benefit at all.”
Cllr John Birch had put forward an amendment that would have seen a delay in agreeing to the spending to enable overview and scrutiny to look into the proposals and that the views of town and parish councils, residents and local businesses would be sought, but setting aside £50,000 for ‘urgent spending’ that could not be done before the meetings next month.
He added: “What concerns me is the lack of opportunity for members to give and scrutinise the proposals and go into the detail and for the input to be taken on-board. It has the feel of the rushed set of proposals. A substantial sum of money is at stake and the council’s normal procedure appears to have been completely ignored.”
Cllr Julian Brazil added: “It would be churlish not to welcome the investment in the town, but the concern is that too many times the council decides what is best for towns and businesses without asking them what they want, and I don’t want to fall into that trap as we have so many times.”
But Cllr Dan Brown said that as High Streets can open on April 12, it was imperative the funds are available then so the reopening can be made a success, while Cllr Peter Smerdon said: “This will just delay getting the money out into the community where it needs to go.”
Via the chairman’s casting vote, councillors rejected Cllr Birch’s amendment to delay the sign off of the full spending until further scrutiny of the proposals, after the vote finished 15-15.
Councillors then unanimously voted in favour of the £600,000 to support economic recovery, the major towns and the visitor economy of the South Hams.