Town Centre Manager's report: 21st May 2013

1. Introduction

This report is for information.

2. Trading in Herne Bay

The first four months of the year have been difficult for traders, mainly due to the inclement weather and a national dip in retail sales. The May bank holiday weekend was the start of the tourist season, with lots of visitors to the town and seafront. The retail offer in the town is changing and we have seen two large retail units become vacant, Stead & Simpson’s in Mortimer Street and Odyssey in William Street. There has been a lot of interest in the units, but it appears that high rents are putting off interested parties.

Two new micro pubs have recently opened The Firkin Frog in Station Road and the Bouncing Barrel in Bank Street.

Beano’s in Mortimer Street has acquired Fusions Hair, the next door premises and will be extending the café.

Pizza Direct in Central Parade, have acquired Shore Play next door and will be opening a pizza restaurant.

Mushy Peas Fish & Chip Shop and Restaurant opened in Central Parade; Dolcies have re-located to new premises in William Street and the former Jade Garden Chinese Restaurant is under new management.

3. Independent Business

Nigel Handcock from Grass Media has formed the Herne Bay Independent Retailers Group to actively promote independent businesses in the town. The TCM is working with the group to offer support and to advise and assist in creating events for the National Independent Traders week in July.

4. Free Car Parking Trial

Throughout April the city council trialled free parking in the Kings Road Car Park for cars parked up to 11am, Monday to Friday. This offer attracted more people to the car park, with a 66% increase in cars parked at these times in April compared to March. (1048 cars parked in the car park until 11am for the month of April, averaging 35 cars per day).

5. Christmas Lights 2013

Herne Bay Community Group Projects Ltd are taking over management of the existing Christmas Lights. They are currently fund raising and hope to create an outstanding display in Herne Bay next Christmas. Depending on the success of their funding drive they hope to increase the displays in the town to include Mortimer Street, William Street and High Street. Other community groups including: Herne Bay Town Partners, Herne Bay in Bloom, Bay Promo Team and Beach Creative are supporting this work.

6. Events

• Sci-Fi by the Sea: 16 June 2013 organised by the Bay Promo Team.
• Kings Hall Centenary Celebrations: throughout July 2013
• Herne Bay Carnival 10th August 2013
• Herne Bay Festival: 17th – 25 August 2013, organised by Same Sky. Forty people attended the recent meeting called by Same Sky, the organisers of this year’s Herne Bay Festival. The majority of the attendees were from local community groups.
• Herne Bay Motor Show Sunday 18 August 2013, organised by Herne Bay Town Partners.

Contact Officer: Chris West Telephone: 01227 868515

New organisers for classic car shows

The city council has announced that Herne Bay Town Partners will organise this year’s Classic Car and Bike Shows in Herne Bay and Whitstable.

The events take place on Saturday 8 June in Whitstable and Sunday 18 August in Herne Bay and continue the tradition of creating great family days out that support the local economy and encourage visitors to the town.

All previous participants have already been contacted to advise them of the new organisers’ details.

For more information, or to get involved in this year’s shows, contact Herne Bay Town Partners on 07841 598 076 or email hernebaytp@gmail.com

CCC 6th May 2013

A golden opportunity - blink and you've missed it

In the interests of saving money, CCC is "privatising"​ (i.e. putting out to tender) a number of local events - the Herne Bay Festival, the Herne Bay and Whitstable Classic Car Shows, and now the Canterbury Food and Drink Festival.

This may or may not be a well-conceived idea, but it is certainly being very poorly executed. Despite the fact that (presumably) this stems from a strategic decision taken some ago, CCC has left it till the last moment to advertise each of these opportunities.

On 3rd April 2013, CCC announced on their website that the Food & Drink Festival was up for grabs. The closing date was 19th April 2013.

Do they honestly think they'll get the best tenders by leaving so little time for anyone to prepare a bid? Or did they already have someone lined up, and were only going through the motions of competitive tendering because they're legally obliged to? What do you think?

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Council seeks food festival delivery partner

The city council is looking for organisations or individuals who think they have what it takes to build on the success of the Canterbury Food and Drink Festival in 2013.

The successful delivery partners will take the established festival brands and develop an exciting programme of events and activities to take them to the next level.

Managing and delivering this popular event that regularly attracts around 20,000 people each year, the successful organisation will actively work with the local business community to shape this popular event, continuing to attract shoppers to Canterbury and supporting the local economy.

The council is keen to make sure that events and activities that are important to the local community, economy and visitors, such as the food festival, are led by those that have the experience, specialisms and networks to ensure their future growth and success.

The council will be looking to contract a new delivery partner in May 2013. Expressions of interest are being sought through the south east business portal at www.businessportal.southeastiep.gov.uk , where the opportunities and individual requirements for the festival are set out. The closing date for expressions of interest is Friday 19 April.

The council’s Head of Culture and Enterprise, Janice McGuinness, said:

“Festivals are an excellent example of how culture, tourism and our local economy can enhance our communities by promoting and celebrating what’s great about where we live. Ensuring our festivals are rooted within our local communities is key to their future development and growth, and the council looks forward to working with the new delivery partners.”

CCC 3rd Apr 2013

Classic Cars: punny headlines, good news

Big crowd drawn to May fiesta

Parking was at a premium around Herne Bay on Saturday but for once no one was complaining. The town was swamped with vehicles as motorists flocked to take part in a classic car rally and show off their gleaming machines. Organisers also staged plenty of entertainment to keep visitors amused, including May Day morris dancing and live music. Coastal towns manager Chris West said:

"There was such a wide selection and I was delighted with the turnout. Classic car owners are notorious for not wanting to turn up if there is a spot of rain, but we had a full house. The feedback from people has been excellent, and the entertainment was a success because there really was something for everyone to enjoy"

 The cars and motorbikes were parked all around the town centre, and visitors also flocked to the cafes and restaurants, giving them a bank holiday boost. Chris added:

"The idea of an event like this is to give people a good experience of Herne Bay so they will come back on other occasions."

HB Times 6th May 2010

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Mustangs and Cadillacs make day a Triumph!

They may have been armed with extra shammy leathers, but vehicle owners were not deterred by the threat of rain to miss the increasingly popular Herne Bay Classic Car Show on Saturday. The event was described by coastal towns manager Chris West as the most successful in its five year history, with 212 cars and motorcycles from all over the South East converging on the town centre. He said:

"I really thought the dodgy weather forecast would put a lot of them off because I know they don't like their cars getting wet. So I was surprised and delighted that so many owners turned up and put on a really great show for the people and visitors to Herne Bay"

Several town centre roads including William Street were closed for the show, which included a variety of musical entertainment, from morris dancing to a Sixties pop group and a jazz band. Among the cars were 12 Panthers, a 1918 Model T Ford, a collection of American cars, including Mustangs and Cadillacs and the ever popular Morris Minors, MGs and Triumphs. They were also 40 classic motorbikes, including BSAs and Nortons. Mr West said:

"We had owners from as far away as Surrey, Sussex and Essex so clearly the show is becoming a favourite on the classic car calendar. I think they like the fact that Herne Bay is a nice place to visit and their cars are on hard standing, instead of the muddy fields they sometimes have to park in. I think it's a great way of promoting the town and showing people what we have to offer."

Mr West said that hoteliers and guest house owners were already reporting forward bookings for the summer season which was encouraging. He said:

"I think a lot of people are choosing to holiday in the UK because it is so expensive in the Euro zone."

The next show in the town will be a custom car and motor show on August 21.

HB Gazette 6th May 2010

Shiny cars, happy throng

Classic Car Show is a triumph. Again.

I'm a long way from being any kind of petrolhead, grease monkey or Clarkson fan, but I've got to say the Classic Car & Bike Show was fun. It's curious the feelings of puzzlement, wonder, affection or nostalgia that mere machinery can induce. There were some mighty fine machines on display, and the general feeling of bonhomie that results from having a lot of like-minded harmless nutters in one place.

There will be another Show in August, so if you missed this one, do try to catch the next. Hopefully, the organisers will manage to promote August's show more effectively. It would be so easy for CCC to produce some tempting promotional blurb - the range, numbers, ages of cars and bikes; a little street map to show where to find the Morris Minors, the MGs, the vintage bikes, etc.

Inexplicably (and unforgivably, to my mind) there was only the bare minimum of information available for this Show. It's one of the biggest draws for our town, consistently pulling in thousands of visitors. So next time, dear whoever it is in CCC, pull your finger out, don't be shy, get on your soapbox, get out your megaphone, AND SHOUT ABOUT IT!

Classic Car Show May 2010

I've been searching around all over the place, but haven't managed to find much more than a couple of sentences about we've got in store for this year's show, but if it's anything like last year, it's going to be a cracker - about 8,000 people tipped up to leave smudgy little finger prints on the immaculate paintwork and gleaming chrome on display...

(2009 Show) More than 150 classic cars and bikes will be on display along Mortimer Street, William Street and Bank Street between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Cars on show include a Ford Model T, originally a 1913 town car that has been painstakingly reconstructed by its owner over a period of two and a half years using photographs, a black 1924 Tourer, a genuine Detroit open top car and a Yellow Spitfire 1500, which was originally a racing car and was converted in later years to a road car.

There will also be a 1970s Triumph 1360 Convertible, which was raffled in the Daily Telegraph in 2001, a variety of Morris Minors and Minis and a wide selection of American cars that have been lovingly renovated by UK enthusiasts, including Cadillacs and Chevrolets.

Motorbikes appearing at the event include a highly sought-after Triton. Made from a 1960s Norton frame and a Triumph engine, this was the crème-de-la-crème of bikes to have in the 1960s. Its owner, Brian Smith, will also be exhibiting a number of motorbikes from his collection including a 500 Royal Enfield, a bike he was keen to obtain and spent months searching for on eBay, only to finally find one collecting dust in a garage no more than 25 yards away from his house.