Keith Thomas PER Consulting Minehead Economic Plan Coastal Community Team January 2016
Keith Thomas
PER Consulting
Minehead Economic Plan
Coastal Community Team
January 2016
CONTENTS
Foreword 1 1. Coastal Community Team Contacts 2
2. Coastal Community Team Members 2 3. Other Partners and Stakeholders 2 4. CCT Accountable Body 2 5. Local Area – Background 3 6. Community Context 3 7. The Local Economy 3 8. Related Activity 4 9. CCT Vision & Ambition 5 10. SWOT Analysis 5 11. Local Needs & Opportunities 6 12. Delivering the Plan 10 13. Consultation & Communication 11 14. CCT Management & Logistics 12 Appendix 1 – Background Analysis Appendix 2 – Action Plans
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Foreword
We are truly excited about the future potential for Minehead. We are all very proud of the superb physical environment in which we are lucky to live but recognise we need to evolve to maintain contact with changing market demands and the expectations and desires of our visitors.
Minehead is a fabulous seaside resort and we don’t envisage changing that but we can no longer rest on our laurels and past glory and have to work hard to maintain and grow our market share, develop our local businesses and nurture the talent and skills of our people.
There is a strong community spirit in Minehead and we benefit greatly from an established process of partnership working through the Minehead Vision Group, who’s previous success has laid the foundations for this next chapter of development.
The Coastal Community Team brings together the commitment of local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, the Voluntary & Community Sector together with the strengths of the Town Council, District Council and County Council.
Whilst we are clear about our short-term priorities we are also focused on reaping the benefits of wider opportunities in the longer term including the billions being invested in the new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point and the future potential for tidal energy in the Bay and prospects for collaboration across West Somerset/North Devon and South Wales.
This document presents our new Economic Plan and forms a blue-print to guide our future activity. We have worked hard to develop this plan over the past few weeks and consulted widely through workshops and local debates. This isn’t the end of our hard work, however, and the plan will continue to evolve as we respond to funding opportunities and market changes in the future.
Cllr Roger Thomas Chair of the Minehead Coastal Community Team
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1. Minehead Coastal Community Team – Single Point of Contact Katrina Midgley
Chief Officer – Engage Voluntary Sector Development Ground Floor, Alcombe Village Hall
Marshfield Road Alcombe, Minehead TA24 6AQ
Tel: 01643 707123
Mob: 07827 337 687 Email: [email protected]
2. Minehead Coastal Community Team Members Katrina Midgley, Chief Officer Engage VSD
Cllr Karen Mills Cllr Roger Thomas Cllr David Archer
West Somerset Council
Cllr Andrew Parbrook Cllr Andrew Kingston-James
Cllr Gail Everitt
Minehead Town Council
Cllr Terry Venner Somerset County Council Graham Sizer, Director/Resident Minehead Development Trust
Alex de Mendoza, Chairman/Hotelier Minehead Chamber of Commerce Ray Tew, Vice Chair/Resident Regal Theatre
Naomi Griffith, Director Minehead Eye (Youth Provision) Elke Winzer, Marketing Officer West Somerset Community College
Colin Howard, Head of Commercial Services
West Somerset Railway
Kelly Quenault Butlins – Bourne Leisure Mel Hammond, Hotel Manager Foxes Academy
Maureen Smith, Resident Transition Minehead & Alcombe
3. Other Partners and/or Stakeholders Involved Dave Jackson, Beach Hotel Manager Somerset Coach YMCA
Avon & Somerset Police (Community Safety)
Minehead Hoteliers Association Exmoor Tourism Association
Somerset Tourism Association Friends of the Steam Coast Trail
Minehead Events Group 4. Minehead Coastal Community Team – Accountable Body
Corinne Matthews Economic Regeneration Manager
West Somerset Council West Somerset House,
Killick Way, Williton,
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Somerset TA44QA T: 01984 635287 M: 07825 154 735
E: [email protected] 5. LOCAL AREA – BACKGROUND
Minehead is a seaside resort within the District of West Somerset. Situated on the south bank of the Bristol Channel and on the border of Exmoor National Park, the town benefits from a magnificent sandy beach, a mile-long promenade, historic harbour quarter and is also the start of the 630-mile South West Coastal Path.
Road access is via the A39 from the M5 at Bridgwater 27 miles to the east or the A358 from the County town of Taunton – 25 miles to the south. The A39 continues further west linking Minehead with other resorts along the North Devon Coast. Minehead is also connected locally by the longest heritage railway in England. The West Somerset Railway links the coastal communities together and in future is hoped to connect with the main line services from Bishops Lydeard.
Minehead has been home to the Butlins holiday resort since the 1960s and has recently benefited from £30 million of investment to upgrade the facilities and create high quality chalet accommodation. Butlins alone contributes some £60 million of economic value to the town, supporting over 1,000 jobs and attracting 400-500 thousand staying visits per annum. This is in addition to the estimated £53 million of tourism benefits from some 118,000 staying visitors and over 900,000 day visits to Minehead generally.
6. COMMUNITY CONTEXT
Minehead is home to around 12,000 people (Census 2011) and is the largest town in the rural district of West Somerset. The population is considerably older than the rest of Somerset with some 30% over 65 years compared with 21% across the County and 16% nationally. Those aged over 80 years are even more pronounced, 11% of the town’s population compared with 6% in the County and less than 5% nationally. This puts considerable pressure on the town to provide services for the elderly with considerable growth in care homes and care services being a feature of the local area.
Retaining young people in the town is also a critical challenge especially with no University presence anywhere in the County. Whilst the overall working age population is lower, however, there is a relatively healthy labour market in Minehead with above national average levels of economic activity and a high level of local self-employment in the town. Unemployment is generally low although there are considerable seasonal variations reflecting the demands in the local tourism economy. Nevertheless, there is considerable concern over in-work poverty in Minehead as wage levels are generally low.
The population of Minehead presents a strong level of technical qualifications compared to the national average but is generally below national and regional trends at the higher skill levels. There are more people in Minehead with no qualifications than elsewhere in the region.
Further details on the local community context are provided in the accompanying topic paper in Appendix 1.
7. THE LOCAL ECONOMY
Minehead is the primary economic centre in West Somerset with around 5,400 employee jobs in the town (48% of the District total) in 2014. Tourism dominates the town’s economy with an estimated 55% of all employment either directly or indirectly linked to tourism services. Total employment has fallen slightly since 2009 with particular changes experienced in retail, local manufacturing and financial/business services. Wider tourism employment appears to have remained fairly stable over the years since the global economic recession.
A key priority for Minehead is to provide additional opportunities for young people to live and work in Minehead. Evidence suggests that there is a strong appetite, particularly generally amongst young people, to start and grow their own business. In West Somerset, the relative
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lack of job opportunities means that this driver is a more permanent feature of the environment – if skilled young people from the area want to stay, to pursue careers in their chosen area, the only local option often is to start their own enterprise.
Further details on the local economy, health of the town centre and the tourism market context are set out in the accompanying topic papers in Appendix 1. 8. RELATED ACTIVITY
West Somerset is situated in the Heart of the South West LEP area covering Somerset, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. The local authority partners are currently preparing a Devolution proposal to government, which focuses on:
• Skills • Health Care & Wellbeing • Infrastructure Resilience • Globalising our economy
The LEP Strategic Economic Plan recognizes the great diversity of communities and economic activity across a wide rural area and the importance of Tourism to local markets. The ambitions for the LEP, however, are to raise skill levels and prospects targeting key economic sectors including:
• New Nuclear • Aerospace • Marine Industries • Environmental Futures
Of particular local significance is the planned development of Hinkley Point C, which will be the UK’s first new nuclear power station in 25 years; situated just 20 miles from Minehead. Led by EDF Energy, the £16bn project will be Europe’s largest construction scheme, and the UK’s largest inward investment project, employing 5,600 individuals at peak and providing in the region of £100m/year additional GVA into the local economy during the construction process. In operation, the station will provide electricity to around 6m homes over a 60-year life cycle, contributing roughly 7% of the UK’s overall national requirements.
Key activities engaging with the local economy include:
• Local Supply Chain Development • Site Services Contracts including the Somerset Larder Initiative / HOST – connecting
Food & Drink Suppliers / hotel and hospitality functions. • Hinkley Tourism Strategy & Action Plan • Employment & Skills
It is expected that the development will provide positive opportunities for Minehead businesses, who may be able to access some of the site services type supply chain. Local residents may also benefit from additional job and career opportunities. Tourism could benefit from an influx of construction workers and their families who will be keen to explore the recreational opportunities within the area. The requirement will be to maximise these opportunities while mitigating some of the challenges that this project could also bring. Displacement within the current workforce, additional traffic congestion, the wider perception of the area as a ‘building site’ could all become real and live economic issues, if we adopt a ‘do nothing approach’ to supporting the local community to maximise the positives and minimise the negatives. The West Somerset Local Plan is well advanced and is expected to go through Pubic Inquiry in March 2016. This provides the important spatial context for future development in Minehead. Meanwhile, this Economic Plan sets out the local community priorities for driving the local economy and provides a framework for potential funding support through local planning obligations.
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On a more micro level, Minehead has successfully won funding for a Coastal Revival Fund project that will provide some funding to support the future development potential of the Esplanade and restore an Edwardian feature known as the Zig Zags. CCT will be taking overall responsibility for this project, and it will provide a positive ‘quick win’ for the Team. Minehead already has a wealth of project champions who are taking responsibility for a series of socio-economic activities. These include Minehead Town Council and their desire to bring back community swimming facilities to the Town, Minehead Development Trust who are taking the lead on creating a community hub within the former hospital building. Minehead Eye, who lead on a large and diverse range of youth provision. Minehead Chamber of Trade who serve as the voice for business and are scoping out a number of initiatives to help support the resilience of Traders. This is not an exhaustive list, but a snapshot of current activity.
9. CCT VISION & AMBITION
The priorities of the Coastal team are to build on the strengths of Minehead, enhance the town’s key assets and future proof it to be a vital and vibrant community where the local population have access to the appropriate skills and training they need to realise potential, gain employment and grow business. Additionally the ambition is for there to be exciting cultural and leisure provision and, most importantly, that our residents and visitors can access a wide range of services and facilities.
Sustainable tourism will remain at the heart of our economy but the ambition is to raise the quality of service and widen the range of activity available in Minehead. We want to re-position Minehead as a strong, multi-faceted destination in its own right taking advantage of its location, facilities and local distinctiveness and extending our reach across different target markets – from families to active older (higher spending) visitors.
Crucially the ambition for Minehead is to deliver a:
Better Place| Better Experience | Better Prospects
This will be evidenced by:
More people, visiting more often and doing more things locally.
10. SWOT ANALYSIS
Whilst Minehead may lack the economic drivers more typical of higher value, growth-focused economies, there remains a fundamentally sound local economy with significant potential to diversify and continue to add value to the quality of the place and support the local community. Building on the data analysis summarised above and presented in Appendix 1 and from detailed local conversations with the community and stakeholders the following Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats have been identified which underpin this Economic Plan and inform future activity.
Strengths • Stable employment base – strengths in Tourism & Care Sector • High economic activity • High level of self employment • High quality built environment • Good quality coastal environment • Tourism Gems – Coast Path, WSR, Edwardian Parks, Butlins etc. • Strong community engagement/activity
Weaknesses • Relatively poor physical connectivity • Limited ‘access’ to water • No ‘wet weather’ attraction • Low skills base • Low Wage economy
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• Ageing Population • Seasonality of market capacity • Limited “high-end” offer • Confusion over market brand
Opportunities • Supply chain to Hinkley Investment • Supply chain improvement to Butlins • Digital Connectivity advantage • Severn Tidal Energy • Broaden market appeal • Positive Planning for Business • Economic linkages across coastal area – South West & Wales
Threats
• Labour market capacity • Hinkley could affect perceptions • Lack of co-ordination of events • Lacking active destination management/promotion • Funding constraints – low regional impact • Silo management – fail to see wider impacts • Too many different projects vying for limited funding
11. LOCAL NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES
There isn’t the physical space, infrastructure capacity or local desire to see Minehead grow substantially to broaden its economic base. The focus, therefore, is to nurture and enhance the quality assets that are already here, diversify our tourism offer to enhance the quality experience for visitors and residents and strengthen our local enterprise potential.
The proposed interventions for Minehead’s Economic Plan have been structured under the following key themes:
• People • Place • Business
The rationale for intervention, the broad aims and opportunities under each theme are described further below.
11.1 MINEHEAD – PEOPLE
Rationale There is a critical need to enhance local skill levels to improve local employment prospects, increase earnings and stimulate local ambition and entrepreneurial spirit.
Careful consideration is also needed to maintain local community cohesion and improve access to local services in a rural context. Opportunities for change
Youth Enterprise & Innovation – build on past programmes and activity to stimulate innovative ideas and prospects for new businesses and local mentoring.
Project Champions: West Somerset College/Minehead Eye Outcomes: Reduced youth unemployment Increased new business starts Timescales: 3-5 years on-going programme
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Community Employment Hub – The Bridge – part of a network of community Hubs in West Somerset with support from DWP supporting people back/into work through community volunteer advice and employer links.
Project Champions: Minehead Baptist Church Outcomes: Stronger Community Engagement Improve individual self-esteem and confidence Improved pathways into work Timescales: Operational from January 2016
Minehead Community Radio – there is real prospect of establishing a local community radio station in Minehead with support from local businesses. This would provide a strong community based communication channel for people and business in the local area.
Project Champions: Local Business in partnership with Bridgwater ACCES FM Outcomes: Stronger community cohesion/local identity Improved communication and dialogues Better information/Local Promotion/Business engagement Timescales: 12-18 months
Minehead Community Swimming Pool – a common theme in local consultation has been concern over the loss of local facilities. Work is progressing to explore the potential for a community/volunteer run swimming pool on land in the ownership of the Town Council
Project Champions: Minehead Town Council Outcomes: Community cohesion Health & Well-being benefits Volunteering opportunities & local employment Visitor attraction and footfall to town centre Timescales: 2-3 year delivery Tourism Service Training Academy – the ambition is to raise quality standards and service excellence in tourism. Minehead is already home to two strong tourism training organisations – Foxes Academy and YMCA Somerset Coast Group - working with young people. This can provide a platform for further growth and encourage enhanced service excellence among existing tourism operations in the area. The CCT will work with existing partners and in the context of the regional skills and learning review across Somerset.
Project Champions: CCT to explore feasibility Outcomes: Centre of training excellence Local skill development Raise local ambition and aspiration Increase quality Timescales: 3 - 5 year delivery
11.2 MINEHEAD – PLACE
Rationale Minehead’s strength is the wonderful physical environment and a host of individually strong attractions and features. However, the place lacks cohesion of the underlying tourism offer and potential. There is a need to “join-things’ up more coherently – both through physical connections and in terms of marketing/promotion. A ‘total place’ approach to management and delivery is needed ensuring stronger unity among partners on opportunities, priorities and future prospects. It is also vital that Minehead’s infrastructure is maintained and improved over time as resources allow. Strategic road connectivity remains a major challenge. Opportunities to improve critical pinch-points need to be promoted in the wider regional context. Improved rail connectivity is also a long-term ambition for many partners. Whilst a mainline service may not be financially feasible given resource constraints, improvements to the current heritage services are to be encouraged and supported to ensure we don’t lose other opportunities in the future.
Opportunities for change
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Branding & Destination Management – Minehead has the potential for broad based tourism appeal benefitting from its proximity as a base for exploring Exmoor, the Quantock Hills and the Somerset Coast as well as a seaside resort destination in its own right. Whilst local businesses have good links with both Exmoor Tourism Association and Somerset Tourism Association there can be some dilution of the real Minehead potential. There is considerable potential to broaden Minehead’s appeal and attract wider range of tourist market, extending the holiday season and attracting high spending markets.
Project Champions: CCT working group Outcomes: Increased visitor numbers Increased visitor spending Increased frequency/length of stay Increased business prosperity Timescales: 3-5 years on-going programme Tourism Led Business Improvement District (BID) – there is a growing trend for local businesses to invest in town centre and area marketing and events and to support pro-active management of places.
Project Champions: Minehead Chamber of Commerce Outcomes: Improved business confidence and leadership Business plan led approach to marketing and event management Increased footfall and visitor numbers Timescales: Feasibility work – 6 months Business Planning & Promotion 12-18 months BID operations 2-3 years
Enterprising Esplanade – Minehead benefits from a mile-long esplanade stretching from Butlins to the historic Quay Town. Essential flood protection work along the sea front has unfortunately resulted in a bland concrete expanse which generally lacks any focal points and has lost the original visual impact and enjoyment expected by visitors.
Project Champions: CCT / MTC / West Somerset Council Outcomes: Stimulate activity on the sea-front Create new business opportunities
Improve local connectivity between the sea, key attractions and the town centre to enhance local business trade and footfall
Timescales: Business Plan – March 2016 Implementation 2-3 years
Minehead Old Hospital – situated at the heart of the town centre is a significant Grade II listed building which has been vacant since the new hospital opened in 2011. Although in private ownership, Minehead Development Trust is working with the owners to explore opportunities for enhanced community use to preserve the building for the future and enhance its contribution to the vibrancy of the town centre.
Project Champions: Minehead Development Trust Outcomes: Preserve and protect important historic building Create Central Hub of shared public services Reinvigorate activity in the town centre Timescales: 1-3 years
Clanville Gardens - Minehead’s ‘Secret Garden’ former Victorian Nursery, with the aspiration to restore and refurbish as part of Minehead’s wider transition town values, and also to create the horticultural heritage link with Blenheim Gardens and The Parks.
Project Champions: Transition Minehead & Alcombe Outcomes: Stronger Community Engagement Timescales: 2-3 years
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Minehead Marina/Jetty – Minehead has very limited (and tidal) opportunities for local berthing and is potentially missing an enormous tourism opportunity to take advantage of the water attraction.
Project Champions: CCT Working Group Outcomes: Create access to water Improve opportunities for boating Create future potential for ferry links/marina Timescales: Long term ambition – 5 years+
Improved Rail Connections – Minehead benefits from the successful heritage rail operations managed and run by West Somerset Rail. The opportunity exists to connect Minehead directly to the main line rail services when these are extended to Bishop Lydeard. Longer term potential to upgrade the local infrastructure in the future should also be explored.
Project Champions: CCT/WSR/Chamber of Commerce Working Group Outcomes: Improved rail connectivity/enhanced marketing profile Timescales: Long term ambition – 5 years+ Strategic Highway Improvements – Journey times from the M5 are variable and unpredictable and there are several major pinch points along the A39 strategic highway where HGV’s are unable to pass safely. A long-term plan for highway improvements has been established by SCC but cannot be delivered under current financial constraints.
Project Champions: SCC Outcomes: Road safety improvements Journey time reductions/reliability Enhanced road connectivity/marketing profile Timescales: Long term ambition – 5 years+ 11.3 MINEHEAD – BUSINESS
Rationale Whilst recognizing Minehead’s continued focus on the tourism market there is need to strengthen the wider economy and encourage greater diversity where possible.
Opportunities for change
Local Supply Chain Development – with Hinkley investment on the horizon there are significant opportunities to strengthen local supply chain linkages at all stages of operation. Opportunities also exist to improve relationships with other major businesses such as Butlins and public sector purchasing organisations.
Project Champions: West Somerset Council Outcomes: Increased business awareness of market opportunities Increased business networking and linkages Opportunities for small business collaboration/joint ventures Strengthen local business capacity and integration Timescales: Current activity on-going Support business expansion – there is a recognized constraint on land availability for local business expansion with limited opportunities to designate specific sites for employment use through the Local Plan. The WSC Local Planning Authority, however, is keen to support business expansion and will explore specific opportunities and proposals with business on a project-by-project basis helping to find solutions to site constraints rather than placing barriers on future growth potential. This positive approach to land use planning needs to be communicated more to local business community to avoid constraining the market through negative perceptions.
Project Champions: West Somerset Council Outcomes: Greater dialogue with local business Innovative solutions to local planning issues Creative approach to site finding through local contacts Support for business expansion and growth
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Timescales: Current activity on-going Flexible Workspace – through the Rural Growth Network, Somerset County Council has encouraged the development of a pilot programme of flexible local workspace hubs, which can support micro-business and start-ups in rural areas with access to flexible workspace and facilities. Minehead has a high level of self-employment and home working and could benefit greatly from the stimulus of small business collaboration and support for business growth and start-up. A Minehead Hub would also benefit from linkages with the Somerset Energy Innovation and Collaboration Centre in Bridgwater and potential management support through the existing Minehead Enterprise Centre, which is one of the family of Somerset Enterprise Centre’s managed on behalf of SCC by a private operator.
Project Champions: SCC/West Somerset Council Outcomes: Increased business start-ups Greater networking among small/micro-business Greater visibility for home-based business Business support and leadership Timescales: 3-5 years Tidal Energy Network – there is considerable long-term potential to exploit sustainable energy potential of Minehead’s coast and foster stronger links throughout the Severn Estuary. Several private operators are considering future opportunities, including possible construction of tidal lagoons, although all remain subject to thorough environmental analysis and viability testing and are dependent on government policy support. The Heart of South West LEP is keen to explore and support the regional economic benefits of the environmental technology sector and the future potential for Minehead to benefit from these opportunities needs to be promoted with the LEP and the Somerset Growth Board.
Project Champions: West Somerset Council/Private Sector Outcomes: New Energy generation High value construction and technical job opportunities High value tourism potential Strong regional connectivity Timescales: 5 years plus 12. DELIVERING THE PLAN Further details on the deliverables and activities required to realise the Economic Plan for Minehead are set out in Appendix 2. These include identification of project leads, in-kind resources that will contribute to delivery and initial estimates of other costs. Full delivery of the Economic Plan will depend on successful bidding for funding which will in turn depend on the strength and viability of individual project plans and business cases.
An overview of short, medium and long-term actions is set out below.
12.1 SHORT-TERM ACTIONS
The priority actions over the next 6 months include:
• Community Employment Hub – The Bridge – operational • Restoration of the “Zig-Zag” connection to the Coastal Path • Enterprising Esplanade – Feasibility Study • Tourism BID – Scope & Feasibility • Business Supply Chain Programme – on-going • Hinkley Tourism Action Plan – on-going • Community Swimming Pool – Business Plan • Minehead Old Hospital – Business Plan
12.2 MEDIUM-TERM ACTIONS
The priority actions over the next 1-3 years include
• Minehead Community Radio established
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• Implementation Enterprising Esplanade proposals • Somerset Skills & Training Review • Tourism Training Academy – Feasibility Study • Minehead Community Swimming Pool operational • Minehead Old Hospital – Operational • Tourism BID – Business Plan established & referendum • Minehead Branding & Destination Management – market research • Flexible Workspace Hub – feasibility & market research
12.3 LONG-TERM ACTIONS
The priority actions over the next 3-5 years include
• Establish Destination Management Partnership • Establish Tourism Training Academy • Flexible Workspace Hub developed
12.4 ULTRA-LONG TERM ACTIONS Supporting activity to promote the potential of other initiatives will also be required although delivery I expected to extend beyond the 5 year programme.
• Tidal Energy • Strategic Road & Rail Connectivity Improvements
13. CONSULTATION & COMMUNICATION
The Economic Plan has been devised through extensive local consultation and engagement with stakeholders and partners. A series of focus groups were held in December 2015 to gather views and opinions from key stakeholders. There were organized under the following topics: business, tourism, people and skills, community and environment. All attendees, and those who were unable to attend, were invited back to a summit meeting in January 2016, where initial findings were presented and there was an opportunity for the whole group (40 people) to look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats around the economy of Minehead and its environs. Members of this group were very keen to be involved in progressing the plan, once it has been adopted and we see them as the nucleus of a forum for wider consultation with the sections of the local community that they represent. The additional information and ideas from this summit meeting have been incorporated in the plan. This plan will be a living document and, as new trends develop and potential new projects are identified, Minehead CCT will involve the initial summit group and utilise existing networks, social media and member websites to consult with segments of the community as appropriate to each development.
CCT members meet regularly and will use these meetings to update the whole team on activities carried out by discrete task and finish groups made up of team members and other relevant stakeholders. Minehead Town Council has an important leadership role in contributing to the work of the CCT and engaging with the local community and through regular reporting back to the Town Council on CCT activity.
The accountable body is also a member of the CCT and, as such, will be involved and up-to-date with all developments. Other interested bodies and stakeholders will be encouraged to sign-up for an email newsletter, which will be distributed periodically, with relevant information and updates on progress. Regular monitoring reports and updates will also be provided to government, the HoSW LEP and Coastal Community Association as required.
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Individual Minehead CCT members have between them a variety of networks and members that will be informed of progress through existing reporting and feedback mechanisms. In addition, we will create a dedicated page on the Minehead Town council website, where the economic plan will be available to download. The page will be updated with details of specific projects and funding streams as they come online. There will also be links to CCT member websites, DCLG and CCA.
We will inform local media via press releases. West Somerset has a schedule of Local Area Panel meetings, attended by representatives of statutory authorities, where members of the public are updated on community issues and can join in the dialogue, as they have an opportunity to bring their own issues to the table. We will use the Minehead panel as an opportunity to update the local community on developments and progress within the Minehead Economic Plan.
14. CCT MANAGEMENT & LOGISTICS
Minehead CCT meets no less than quarterly, and more frequently if required. The make-up of the team is such that, between them, its members represent the wider community within their own networks. The core CCT will be responsible for overseeing and monitoring general progress with projects delivered under the plan.
Task and finish groups will also be drawn together to cover specific aspects of the plan and project delivery. These groups will be able to draw on the wider expertise of members of the community and key stakeholders, who are not necessarily core CCT members.
14.1 SUPPORT STRUCTURES
As previously mentioned the Minehead CCT is made up of key representatives from all three tiers of Local Authority, the local business community and voluntary sector. Other key stakeholders have been identified and engaged with as part of the consultation process. These existing relationships will be maintained and others developed with additional stakeholders as they are identified.
The team also benefits from local authority officer support, which it is able to call upon when specific expertise is required.
14.2 OPERATING COSTS & FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY
Minehead CCT is currently resourced from in-kind support from Local Authorities and other member groups. Any additional resource identified as required to deliver particular projects will be included in the relevant funding bids.
The Minehead Economic Plan is a living document with wide community support and will be reviewed and refreshed at least annually. The team is already identifying potential project champions who will lead on specific projects that are of particular relevance to them and their members/communities of interest. Other project champions will come forward as new projects evolve. In this way the CCT will ensure that interest in the plan and its projects is constantly refreshed, and the activities delivered within it are owned by the community. 14.3 AREAS OF SPECIFIC INTEREST
Minehead CCT would be interested in participating with other Coastal Teams through working groups or virtual networks in the following key areas to share good practice, experience and learn from each other:
• Tourism Trends • Town Management/BID • Destination Management/Branding • Marina Development • Heritage Rail • Sea Transport • Coastal Energy Generation
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APPENDIX 1 – BACKGROUND ANALYSIS
TOPIC PAPERS: 1. People & Skills 2. Local Economy 3. Minehead Town Centre 4. Tourism Market
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Introduction
To help understand the potential of Minehead, a series of informal “Topic Papers”
have been prepared which distil the economic research and analysis and build on
local consultation and engagement with a range of stakeholders. This paper sets out
the key issues relating to People & Skills.
Population Overview
Minehead is home to around 12,000 people according to the 2011 Population
Census; around 35% of all those living in West Somerset. This figure has changed
very little over the past decade with around 11,700 people recorded as living in
Minehead in 2001.
The population of Minehead is considerably older than the rest of Somerset with
around 30% aged over 65 years compared with 21% for the County as a whole and
just 16% nationally. Again there has been very little change in the town’s age
structure since 2001 when some 29% of the population were aged 65+ and some
10.2% were aged over 80 compared with 10.8% in 2011.
Population Age Structure - 2011
Source: NOMIS/ONS Population Census 2011
Labour Market
Although the overall working age population is lower than elsewhere, there is a
relatively healthy labour market in Minehead with some 78% of the working age
population being economically active in 2011, slightly higher than the national
average. Furthermore, whilst the local employment rate is broadly similar to the
Age Group Minehead West
Somerset
Somerset South
West
England
0-15 13.7% 13.9% 17.8% 17.6% 18.9%
16-24 10.9% 9.2% 10.2% 11.3% 11.9%
25-39 14.5% 12.1% 15.5% 17.5% 20.2%
40-64 30.8% 35.7% 35.4% 34.0% 32.7%
65-79 19.3% 20.3% 14.8% 13.8% 11.7%
80+ 10.8% 8.7% 6.3% 5.8% 4.6%
All Ages 12,000 34,700 530,000 5,289,000 53
million
Minehead Wards Central North South Alcombe Total Total
%
England
%
Economically Active 2,577 746 918 1,023 5,264 78.2% 76.7%
Employees 2,122 555 691 813 4,181 62.1% 61.6%
Self Employed 352 150 175 162 839 12.5% 9.1%
Unemployed 103 41 52 48 244 4.6% 7.7%
Economically Inactive 547 303 366 251 1,467 21.8% 23.3%
Total 16-64 3,124 1,049 1,284 1,274 6,731
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national average, the level of self-employment at 12.5% is considerably higher as
shown in the table below.
Minehead Labour Supply – 2011 Source: NOMIS/ONS Population Census 2011 & ONS Annual Labour Force Survey % based on 16-64 except unemployed based on economically active
Employment & Occupations
The table below highlights the different occupations of people in employment in
Minehead compared with West Somerset overall and the national average from the
2011 Population Census. There is a strong bias towards Elementary Occupations
comprising some 19% of the Minehead workforce compared with 14% across West
Somerset and just 11% nationally.
This reflects the dominance of tourism businesses with activities in this category
including general cleaning, catering, security and unskilled construction work.
Nevertheless, there is a good representation of Managers & Senior Officials and
Skilled Trades in the Minehead workforce although the typically higher paid
Professional, Technical and Administrative occupations are less well developed
locally.
As expected, Caring and Leisure Service Occupations are strong in Minehead, nearly
10% and 4% of all employees respectively.
Minehead Occupations – 2011
Minehead Wards Central North South Alcombe Minehead
Total
Minehead
%
West
Somerset
%
England
%
1. Managers & Senior
Officials
258 129 104 117 608 11.5% 12.6% 10.9%
2. Professional 199 102 102 97 500 9.4% 11.7% 17.5%
3. Technical 210 58 89 75 432 8.2% 8.8% 12.8%
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
16
Source: NOMIS/ONS Population Census 2011
Average Earnings
Figures for average earnings are not available at the Minehead Ward level but are
shown
for West
Somerset overall in the table below compared to the national, regional and County
figures. The first table shows the “median” full-time weekly earnings of local
residents. This is the most appropriate data for statistical comparison as the
“median” is the mid-point salary of the all residents. However, due to low statistical
counts, the “median” earnings at the “workplace” are not reliable and the second
table, therefore, presents the “mean” or average weekly earnings for both the
resident and workplace data.
Resident Weekly Earnings (Median)
Source: NOMIS/ONS Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings
West Somerset resident earnings are consistently lower than those across the
County, Region (90% lower) and Nationally (c80% lower) a pattern that can be
expected to be repeated at the local Minehead level reflecting the nature of local
employment.
Resident & Workplace Weekly Earnings (Mean/Average) Source: NOMIS/ONS Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings
4. Admin &
Secretarial
173 52 102 80 407 7.7% 8.5% 11.5%
5. Skilled Trades 384 98 129 180 791 14.9% 18.3% 11.4%
6.1 Caring Services 227 79 95 124 525 9.9% 9.3% 7.0%
6.2 Leisure Services 124 35 28 33 220 4.2% 3.0% 2.3%
7. Sales & Customer
Services
226 65 87 117 495 9.3% 7.2% 8.4%
8. Process Plant &
Machine Ops
117 47 59 68 291 5.5% 6.1% 7.2%
9. Elementary
Occupations
651 104 136 139 1,030 19.4% 14.4% 11.1%
Totals 2,569 769 931 1,030 5,299
Median Resident Earnings
2011 2012 2013 2014
West Somerset £386.4 £338.6 £429.5 n/a
Somerset County £461.5 £464.2 £481.0 £488.9
South West Region £471.5 £477.4 £485.1 £495.8
England £504.7 £513.2 £520.6 £523.6
Mean Resident Earnings Workplace Earnings
2011 2012 2013 2014 2011 2012 2013 2014
West £399.1 £337.9 £382.9 £366.7 £461.1 £449.0 £482.2 £460.6
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
17
Unusually, the West Somerset ‘workplace” earnings are some 25% higher than the
“mean/average” resident based earnings as shown in the table above. The picture is
reversed at the wider County and South West Region level with residents earning
more than local workplace wages reflecting opportunities for commuting out of
area. Great care has to be taken with these figures, however, as this could simply be
a statistical distortion and more reflective of the wide range of wages paid locally
rather than the typical earning capacity of most workers.
Qualifications
The population of Minehead presents a strong level of technical qualifications
compared to the national average. Nearly 50% of the working age population hold
Apprenticeship or Vocational Qualifications/GCSE’s to NVQ Levels 1 or 2 compared
with around 40% nationally.
Whilst Level 3 qualifications (A’levels etc) are close to the national average,
Minehead performs less well with degree level qualifications (Level 4+) with only
21% of the working age population qualified to this higher level compared with
nearly 30% nationally.
The number of people without any formal qualifications is also of concern locally.
Some 16% of Minehead’s working age population were without qualifications in
2011 compared with 15% nationally and 13% for the South West region more
generally. Although more recent local data is not available the suspicion is this will
have changed very little in recent years given the general stability in the local
population, whereas the national and regional picture is improving considerably so
that only 9% of the working age population are without qualifications in 2014 and
just 6% across the South West Region.
Minehead Qualifications - 2011
Somerset
Somerset
County
£430.9 £444.1 £446.9 £452.6 £406.4 £412.6 £409.8 £427.7
South
West
Region
£443.8 £450.0 £456.1 £458.3 £428.2 £431.9 £443.7 £442.9
England £496.3 £500.4 £509.3 £509.6 £495.8 £499.7 £509.0 509.2 Minehead Wards Central North South Alcombe Minehead
Total
Minehead
%
West
Somerset
%
England
%
Level 4 + 602 271 284 258 1,415 21.0% 25.5% 29.8%
Level 3 399 161 174 174 908 13.5% 13.7% 14.5%
Level 2 647 190 267 283 1,387 20.6% 19.8% 17.1%
Level 1 568 173 235 240 1,216 18.1% 16.9% 15.2%
Apprentice/Other 429 101 86 120 736 10.9% 8.5% 8.7%
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
18
Source: NOMIS/ONS Population Census 2011
Registered Unemployed
The latest “claimant count” record of unemployment in Minehead indicates only 49
people are currently (November 2015) registered as “unemployed” in the town,
giving a rate of just 0.7% of the working age population. This is less than half the
national average unemployment rate. Whilst there are small seasonal variations, the
Minehead rate doesn’t vary much from around 1.0% through the main winter season
(Jan-Mar).
Furthermore, as shown in the table below, the majority of claimants in Minehead
are registered unemployed for 6 months or less (71% of the total) compared with
only 57% nationally.
Together with the labour force survey reported above, where only 244 people are
regarded as “seeking work” this indicates a very tight local labour market with close
to full employment locally. Whilst this is a positive trait in some respects it can also
be a constraint in attracting new investment as businesses may struggle to fill new
vacancies without “poaching” staff from existing employers.
Job Seekers Allowance Claimants – November 2015
Source: NOMIS/Job Centre Plus Records
Key Issues Arising
Reflecting on the People & Skill issues highlights the following Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths
Stable population
High level economic activity
High level of self-employment
Weaknesses
Ageing Population
Lacking high-level skills
Unskilled/Low Wage Occupations
No Qualifications 479 153 238 199 1,069 15.9% 15.6% 14.8%
Totals 16-64 3,124 1,049 1,284 1,274 6,731
Minehead
Wards
Central North South Alcombe Minehead
Total
Minehead
%
West
Somerset
%
England
%
All Ages 22 9 5 13 49 0.7% 0.6% 1.5%
18-24 5 5 0 0 10
25-49 10 0 5 5 20
50+ 5 5 0 5 15
6 months 15 5 5 10 35 71.4% 70.9% 56.9%
6-12 months 3 4 0 0 7 14.3% 15.4%
12 months + 3 0 0 4 7 14.3% 27.7%
Totals 16-64 3,124 1,049 1,284 1,274 6,731
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
19
Low/Zero Unemployment
Opportunities
Stimulate entrepreneurship
Could encourage population growth
Threats
Stable population
Labour market constrained/lack
growth
Introduction
To help understand the potential of Minehead, a series of informal “Topic Papers”
have been prepared which distil the economic research and analysis and build on
local consultation and engagement with a range of stakeholders. This paper sets out
the key issues relating to the Minehead local economy.
Economy Overview
Minehead is the primary economic centre in West Somerset. The town is home to
around 13,000 people (38% of the District total) and accommodates some 48% of all
jobs (5,400 in 2014).
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
20
As highlighted in the table below, the tourism sector dominates the town’s
economy, with over 31% directly employed in Accommodation & Food Services. A
further 19% of jobs are in Wholesale, Retail & Motor Trades with many of these
likely to be dependent on the influx of tourists and supply chain to other tourism
activities. A further challenge for Minehead is the continued dependency on public
sector employment, 37% of all jobs; which continues to be under pressure from
government expenditure constraint.
Minehead – Employees in Employment – 2014
Source: NOMIS/ONS business register and employment survey – figures rounded to 100.
The urban area of Minehead is taken to comprise the four wards of Central, North
and South Minehead together with the Alcombe ward where the main District
Hospital is located. Most employment is concentrated in Central Minehead with
3,400 jobs (63% of the total).
Employment Trends
Employment in the town has declined recently from a peak of 5,800 in 2012 to just
under 5,400 in 2014 and is now below the 2009 post-recession level of around 5,600.
Although still dominant in the wider West Somerset economy, the proportion has
fallen below 50% in the last couple of years.
Employees in Employment – 2009-2014
Minehead Wards Central North South Alcombe Total Total %
Manufacturing 200 - - - 200 3.7%
Construction 100 - - - 100 1.9%
Wholesale, Retail & Motor 700 200 - 100 1,000 18.5%
Transport & Storage 100 - - - 100 1.9%
Accommodation & Food 1,400 200 - 100 1,700 31.5%
Finance, ICT & Business 100 200 - - 300 5.6%
Public Admin, Health & Ed 800 400 200 600 2,000 37.0%
Total 3,400 1,000 200 800 5,400
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
21
Source: NOMIS/ONS business register and employment survey
Overall employment in the town declined around 7% between 2012 and 2014,
compared with a slight increase in employment across the rest of West Somerset
(although the wider district has since declined by around 5% between 2013 and
2014).
The main sectors that have seen a decline in local employment are shown in the
table below including Manufacturing, Wholesale/Retail and Finance & Business
Services. Although the changes appear large these are against relative small bases
locally.
Minehead Employment by Sector – 2012-2014
Source: NOMIS/ONS business register and
employment survey – figures rounded to 100
It is too early to
determine of course
whether this is a trend
that will continue to
affect the local
economy. Although ward level data for Minehead is not available prior to 2009, the
wider West Somerset economy remained fairly stable over the recent recession at
around 11,300 jobs between 2007 and 2009, suggesting there were also no major
shocks in the Minehead economy. Whilst the Minehead economy appears to have
peaked in 2012, underlying employment levels appear to be around the 5,300-5,500
generally. This will need to be monitored closely in the future as new data emerges
for 2015 towards the end of next year.
Sector Specialisation
Minehead 5,600 5,700 5,500 5,800 5,800 5,400
West
Somerset
11,300 11,500 10,900 11,200 11,900 11,300
Minehead % 49.5% 49.7% 50.6% 51.7% 48.5% 47.6%
Minehead 2012 2014 Diff % Change
Manufacturing 300 200 -100 -33%
Construction 100 100 - -
Wholesale, Retail & Motor 1,200 1,000 -200 -17%
Transport & Storage 100 100 - -
Accommodation & Food 1,700 1,700 - -
Finance, ICT & Business 400 300 -100 -25%
Public Admin, Health & Ed 2,000 2,000 - -
Total 5,800 5,400 -400 -7%
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
22
The importance of the tourism sector to the Minehead economy is highlighted
further in the table below comparing the sector specialisation in the town compared
with West Somerset generally, Somerset County overall, the wider South West and
overall GB economy.
Empl
oym
ent by Sector – 2014
Source: NOMIS/ONS business register and employment survey
Accommodation & Food comprises 31% of employment in Minehead, compared
with 24% across West Somerset and only 8% and 7% generally across the wider
County, South West region and nationally. Furthermore, for a relatively small area,
employment in Wholesale & Retail is also high at nearly 17% of the total jobs in
Minehead, compared with 14% across West Somerset and 16% in the South West
and GB. The marginally higher proportion at County level at 18% probably reflects
the strong regional distribution centres located along the M5.
Public sector services feature strongly across the South West economies, although is
more prominent locally in Minehead. In contrast, the private sector service economy
is less well developed at less than 6% of all Minehead jobs, compared with nearly
10% across West Somerset generally, 17% across the County and over 26% for the
wider South West region and nationally. These are the activities that typically
generate the higher value employment opportunities and are generally seen as
having strong growth potential in the future, underpinning strong city economies
generally.
Containment
The economy of Minehead is relatively self-contained with over 50% of local
residents in employment working in the town. The town is, however, an important
centre for employment with 60% of local jobs attracting people from outside the
town to work, although the vast majority of these come from elsewhere in West
Somerset as shown in the table below.
Employment Sector Minehead West
Somerset
Somerset South
West
GB
Agriculture & Mining - 0.5% 0.3% 0.4% 0.8%
Energy & Water - 8.1% 1.4% 1.0% 1.3%
Manufacturing 4.5% 5.9% 13.3% 8.5% 8.4%
Construction 1.5% 5.3% 5.1% 4.5% 4.5%
Wholesale, Retail & Motor 16.7% 13.7% 17.9% 15.9% 15.8%
Transport & Storage 3.2% 2.3% 3.5% 4.5% 4.5%
Accommodation & Food 31.1% 24.2% 8.4% 7.1% 7.1%
Finance, ICT & Business 5.9% 9.8% 16.6% 26.3% 26.2%
Public Admin, Health & Ed 37.1% 30.2% 33.5% 31.8% 31.6%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
23
Minehead – Commuting Flows 2011
Living in: Working in Minehead Working in: Living in Minehead
Number In-
Commuting
Number Out-
Communting
Minehead 1,300 39.5% Minehead 1,300 51.7%
Rest of W
Somerset
1,700 51.2% Rest of W
Somerset
800 32.1%
Rest of Somerset 240 7.2% Rest of Somerset 300 12.0%
Rest of SW 40 1.2% Rest of SW 70 2.7%
Rest of UK 30 0.9% Rest of UK 40 1.5%
Total Employed 3,310 Total Employed 2,510
Source: NOMIS/ONS Population Census 2011
Key Issues Arising
Reflecting on the local economy of Minehead highlights the following Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths
Relatively stable employment base
Self-contained economy
Strong Tourism base
Weaknesses
Poor regional connectivity
Over-exposure to tourism
Opportunities
Continued investment planned by Butlins
Supply chain opportunities from Hinkley
Threats
Potential early signs of decline?
Hinkley impact accessibility &
perceptions
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
24
INTRODUCTION
To help understand the potential of Minehead, a series of informal “Topic Papers” have
been prepared which distil the economic research and analysis and build on local
consultation and engagement with a range of stakeholders. This paper sets out the key
issues relating to Minehead town centre’s economic performance.
RETAIL RANKING
Retail specialists Javelin Venuescore prepare national retail rankings for over 3,000 centres
annually. Whilst these are a useful litmus test of the relative retail offer of different centres
they tend to be rather less relevant to smaller (lower-order) centres as they are strongly
influenced by the size of the retail floorspace offer and presence of national multiples and
major destination anchor stores.
Minehead is ranked at 1,096 in the UK and, although ranked higher than Ilfracombe (a town
often referred to as a competing location), it is considerably smaller/lower ranked than
other regional coastal towns including Bognor Regis and Skegness where Butlins also has a
strong presence.
Retail Rankings – Coastal Towns
Source: Javelin Venuescore National Retail Rankings 2014
Minehead primarily serves its own local market and tourist trade with the rest of Somerset
served by a wide range of strong regional shopping centres as highlighted in the table below.
Retail Rankings – Somerset Regional Centres Town/Location 2014 Retail Ranking
Bristol City Centre 15
Bath 19
Taunton 106
Yeovil 165
Bridgwater 307
Clarks Village (Street) 360
Wells City 824
Frome 935
Glastonbury 2,306
Source: Javelin Venuescore National Retail Rankings 2014
It is difficult for any town to substantially change its national retail ranking position without
accommodating significant additional development. In the context of Minehead, therefore,
it is more important to understand the nature of the town’s local offer and market appeal.
Town/Location 2014 Retail Ranking
Minehead 1,096
Ilfracombe 2,010
Brixham 1,406
Barry 569
Penzance 422
Bognor Regis 367
Skegness 335
Weymouth 211
Weston Super Mare 209
Barnstaple 197
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
25
TOWN CENTRE USES
Data on the mix of uses in Minehead town centre for 2011 and 2015 are shown in the table
below with the UK average for comparison. The 2011 data is drawn from West Somerset
Council’s own town centre survey which adopts a different classification of units to the
approach taken by PER Consulting in the updated survey completed during December 2015,
although a best fit comparison has been presented in the table.
The 2011 survey potentially underestimates the level of Retail Services in the town as these
are not specifically identified but have been calculated from other data in the Council report
as an approximation of the town centre uses. The broad trends illustrated between 2011
and 2015, however, still remain valid.
Minehead Town Centre Trends 2011-2015
Minehead National Average
2011 2015 2011 2014
Units % Units % % %
Comparison 93 51.7 79 42.5 42.9 40.5
Convenience 19 10.6 12 6.5 9.5 9.0
Retail Service
Hairdressers & Travel
Agents
9 5.0 24 12.9
10.3 11.7
Leisure Service
Bars & Cafes 31 17.2 46 24.7 15.1 16.5
Business Service
Banks/Estate Agents 16 8.9 20 10.8 8.7 9.8
Vacancies 12 6.7 5 2.7 13.5 12.5
TOTALS 180 100% 186 100% 100% 100% Source: West Somerset Town and Village Centres Study 2011, PER Consulting Town Centre Surveys 2015, Experian Goad
National Comparison
• Minehead’s vacancy rate has generally been well below the national average at 6.7% in
2011 improving to just 2.7% in 2015. This is surprisingly low and could actually become a
constraint on effective change in the town centre.
• The level of “comparison shopping” appears to have fallen from over 50% in 2011 to just
above the national average at 43% in 2015. This is a feature of town centres across the
country with much greater diversity in the local offering away from just traditional retail
activity.
• Minehead’s Leisure offering has increased substantially in recent years and now
represents nearly a quarter of all town centre units compared to 16.5% nationally.
• The level of town centre “Convenience Retail” has also declined having been above the
national average in 2011 to just 6.5% in 2015.
• Although difficult to be confident about the trends since 2011, the town’s Service offer
has undoubtedly increased to around 13% of all town centre units, which is above the
national average but also reflects Minehead’s important local service role to the wider
community.
• Unlike many towns, the level of Business Services in Minehead appears to have increased
in recent years to 10.8% of the total town centre units and is now above the national
average at 9.8%.
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
26
TOWN CENTRE COMPARISONS
To help put Minehead into context, the table below provides comparable data on town
centre uses for the five Mendip towns drawn from a recent study for MDC.
Comparable Town Centres - Retail Mix Town/Location Convenience Comparison Service Leisure Business Vacant
Shop Units %
UK Average 2014 9.0% 40.5% 11.7% 16.5% 9.8% 12.5%
Minehead 6.5% 42.5% 12.9% 24.75 10.8% 2.7%
Shepton Mallett 7.6% 31.4% 19.5% 14.4% 12.7% 14.4%
Frome 6.4% 40.1% 15.0% 12.0% 16.7% 9.8%
Street 4.4% 40.8% 23.4% 15.3% 8.8% 7.3%
Glastonbury 6.4% 49.0% 13.4% 16.6% 9.6% 5.1%
Wells 8.9% 41.7% 12.5% 17.7% 16.7% 2.6%
Source: PER Consulting Town Centre Surveys & Goad Experian for National Comparison
The table highlights Minehead’s relatively strong performance in terms of the very low
vacancy rate, comparable to that evidenced in Wells City Centre. Vacancy rates at this level
are considered to be among the top 5% of town centres across the UK.
The substantial Leisure offer in Minehead also stands out, even compared with the strong
tourism draw of Glastonbury and Wells.
Minehead’s comparison retail offer is broadly similar to the main Mendip towns, recognising
the more quirky comparison provision in Glastonbury being geared more to the mystical
tourism attractions than traditional comparison retailing.
CHARITY SHOPS & INDEPENDENT TRADERS
The table below highlights the level of Charity stores and the mix of national to
independent traders in Minehead and each of the Mendip towns, compared with the
national average. The UK average level of charity shops is a rough approximation based
on Experian Goad town centre surveys. The data captured includes “charity, pets and
other comparison stores not counted elsewhere”. Although this is likely to be
predominantly “charity shops”, the actual total count will, in practice, be somewhat
lower than the 4% identified overall.
Charity Stores & National : Independent Ratios
Source: PER Consulting Town Centre Surveys & Goad Experian for National Comparison
The number of Charity shops in Minehead is around the national average at just
4.3% of the total town centre offer. There is also a strong independent trader mix in
the town at 84% of all shop units compared with a 70/30 split nationally.
Town/Location Charity Stores
Number % National Independent
Minehead 8 4.3% 16% 84%
Frome 10 4.3% 12% 88%
Glastonbury 5 3.2% 3% 97%
Shepton Mallet 4 3.4% 9% 91%
Street 7 5.1% 16% 84%
Wells 7 3.6% 19% 81%
UK Average <4% 30% 70%
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
27
Key Issues Arising
Reflecting on the issues affecting Minehead town centre highlights the following
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Strengths
Very low vacancy rate
High quality urban environment
Good accessibility/movement
Weaknesses
Seasonality of market capacity
Tourism focus of some retail
Shrinking convenience offer
Local concerns over parking
Opportunities
Old Hospital site – key feature in town
BID potential – support
events/promotion
Better connectivity to Esplanade
Threats
Out of town competition
Uncertain trading performance/masking
underlying vibrancy
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
28
INTRODUCTION
To help understand the potential of Minehead, a series of informal “Topic Papers” have
been prepared which distil the economic research and analysis and build on local
consultation and engagement with a range of stakeholders. This paper has been prepared by
our co-consultant, Peter Cole of Cole & Shaw Ltd and sets out the key issues relating to the
Tourism Market in Minehead.
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
Tourism is a significant driver of the Minehead and wider West Somerset economy. The
town presents a strong “sea-side” destination but is also strongly positioned next to Exmoor
National Park and relates to the wider Somerset County offer as well.
West Somerset
The saved 2006 Local Plan for West Somerset identifies Tourism as one of four key economic
sectors. The new Draft Local Plan for West Somerset continues to be supportive of tourism
growth but is also concerned to address the quality of employment and experience eg :
‘The tourism industry will also have diversified with a wider range of sustainable enterprises
…Develop the quality of the tourism offer within the Local Plan area’
Visit Somerset
The Visit Somerset website and campaign activity is delivered by the Somerset Tourism
Association. This is the private sector led Destination Marketing Organisation for Somerset
undertaking brand and destination marketing for the County through funds raised from
memberships. Tourism strategy and action plans are then developed at a district (or national
park) level.
Greater Exmoor
The Exmoor Tourism Partnership has developed a Sustainable Tourism Strategy covering the
‘Greater Exmoor’ Area which, as well as the National Park, includes Minehead, the West
Somerset Coast east to Hinkley and the Quantock Hills AONB. The Objectives and key actions
to each are:
• To increase the value from domestic and international visitors by addressing
seasonality, length of stay and increasing numbers where appropriate, and by
positioning the area’s tourism products as being distinct, high quality and
competitive
• Promote Exmoor using a co-ordinated brand
• Market the area strategically, based on sound evidence and market trends
• Work in partnership with others to add value to marketing ambitions
• Maximise the potential of technology in marketing the area
• Work to reduce issues around seasonality
• To build on the destination’s position as a leader in sustainable tourism, managing
tourism to conserve and enhance the special qualities of the area that underpin the
tourism product, and increasing visitors understanding and enjoyment of the area
• Encourage, support and promote sustainable business practice
• Manage the negative impacts and enhance positive experiences of tourism in
protected landscapes
• Support and promote car free opportunities
• Support and encourage greater provision and uptake of local food and products
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
29
• Increase understanding and enjoyment through information & Interpretation
• Encourage the development of appropriate recreational products
• Develop the areas literary connections and package these as an enhanced product
• Maintain and enhance recreational infrastructure and use
• To take a joint leadership role with partners on issues affecting the tourism industry,
consult with stakeholders, encourage professional standards, identify issues, trends
and opportunities and coordinate partner actions, seeking funding and resources to
maximise potential
• To fulfil this objective partners will work to:
• Facilitate, collate and disseminate relevant research to guide the actions of the
sector and industry
• Operate as an effective, influential and respected tourism partnership
• Take joint leadership on key issues affecting the industry and support wider sector
projects
• Consult & Engage with stakeholders
• To support individual tourism businesses by all possible means and help build the
capacity of the tourism industry and wider sector, encourage quality, training and
networking, and help maximise the potential of trends and opportunities in order to
enhance business profitability and support sustained industry growth
• Facilitate industry & sector networking
• Promote the concept of quality within the industry
• Provide and promote training in accordance with industry needs
• Facilitate business support and infrastructure requirements
• Build the capacity of the industry
Hinkley Tourism Action Plan
Ahead of development at Hinkley partners have developed a strategy and action plan to
take advantage of the uplift in activity but mitigate any negative effects.
Three principle aims are identified as being the focus of strategic activity - improve visitor
experiences, attract and retain customers and increase industry resilience. These are
supported by nine key priorities and objectives that can be measured to gauge success. The
strategy will then be supported by annual action plans detailing specific activity and budgets.
Key Priorities
1. Fostering positive perception and awareness
2. Creating a welcoming and informed travel experience
3. Monitoring impacts on visitors and businesses
4. Evolving new products for changing customer needs
5. Capitalising on digital trends and partnerships
6. Evidence based, targeted marketing campaigns
7. Building long term capacity of industry
8. Encouraging higher value sustainable growth
9. Supporting local distinctiveness and action
TOURISM TRENDS
The South West Research Company, using the Cambridge model, provides tourism volume
and value data for the County and its Districts. For 2012 analysis for Minehead only was also
undertaken. This identified 118k staying trips and 909k day visits to the town generating
£52.7m direct spend delivering 1027 FTE jobs.
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
30
Normally SWRC analyse data on a District wide basis with the comparative 2014 figures for
West Somerset stated as 370k staying trips and 2.5m day trips generating £152.4m direct
spend delivering 2,583 FTE jobs. However the figures were reassessed in 2014 for the first
time to include Butlin’s inputs.
This raises the assessment of staying trips to 805k, the overall direct visitor spend to
£212.8m and the FTE jobs total to 3,675 – some 35% of total employment in the district.
(This latter figure is supported by Butlin’s own declaration of 1100-1300 on-site jobs, and
research from Sheffield Hallam University which identifies that 2000 tourism-related jobs in
Minehead can be specifically attributed to its seaside location).
The above suggests that the visitor economy of the town is roughly split 50/50 between
Butlin’s and other operations.
Exmoor uses a different model, STEAM, to measure Volume and Value. Over the ‘Greater
Exmoor’ area this suggests a marginal overall increase in cash value from £243.91m in 2009
to £252.82m in 2014, but this masks a healthy 11% increase in staying visits while Day Visits
have fallen by the same amount. Staying visits account for 4,237 fte jobs while Day Visits
support only 344. This fall in Day Visits is confirmed by trend analysis of the SWRC figures for
West Somerset.
The STEAM analysis also reminds us how visitors spend their money – the £252m is split
between, Accommodation £46.7m, Food and Drink £37.68m, Attractions/ Activities £13.7m,
Retail £39.76m, Transport £19.39m and VAT £31.45m. It is also possible to analyse
seasonality and this suggests that only 20% of tourism spend in the District is between
October and March. Contrast this with the Vale of Glamorgan just a few miles across the
Bristol Channel where the figure is 30%.
Recorded visitor satisfaction levels are high with 99% of visitors to Exmoor rating their
experience as excellent or good. First time visitors however are markedly less likely to rate
the experience as excellent. 90% of visitors state they will visit again.
Asked what they enjoyed about their visit 94% mentioned scenery, 73% coastline and
beaches and 79% tranquillity.
The Exmoor survey suggests that 47% of visitors are from the South West and 27% South
East of England, with only 2% from Wales and 3% from the Midlands. By contrast Butlin’s
pulls much larger numbers from South Wales and the Midlands suggesting that there are
different product/ market dynamics at play, but which can allow targeted niche marketing
activity.
When surveyed the industry stated that the priority for the public sector should continue to
be support for destination marketing and transport, while the industry itself should
concentrate on quality improvement, local supply chain and product marketing (esp social
media).
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
31
Visit England has developed a methodology for gauging overall visitor satisfaction with
destinations based on a wide range of criteria covering overall performance, likelihood to
recommend, likelihood to return and competitive advantage. The West Country achieves an
index score of 99 (the highest in England is the Lake District is 111) with Cornwall at 108,
Devon at 100 and Dorset at 91. Somerset scores 95. Overall seaside destinations outscore
countryside and city destinations in terms of satisfaction, although VE statistics show a small
average decline in visits (-0.4% pa) and nights (-1.4%pa) to the seaside since 2006.
For seaside destinations across England the VE research shows the following characteristics
against specific criteria in the study (these give some indication of the destination
management issues which Minehead needs to keep in mind):
Strengths Weaknesses
High level strengths
A04. A place where I feel safe and secure
Medium level strengths
A16. Good quality accommodation
A05. Clean and tidy environment
A02. Welcoming and friendly people
A33. Clean and well-maintained beaches
A18. Variety of accommodation to choose
from that suits my needs
A03. Very high levels of customer service
A17. Accommodation that offers value for
money
A34. Beaches which are safe and suitable for
bathing
Low level strengths
A08. Easy to find useful information about
the destination when planning the trip
A09. Easy to book your trip/different parts of
your trip in advance
High level weaknesses
None
Medium level weaknesses
None
Low level weaknesses
A32. Good range of outdoor activities
A19. Good quality food, drink and dining
A23. Wide range of attractions and things to
do
A20. Opportunities to eat/drink local food
and produce
A01. Good value for money generally
A21. Easy to find useful information about
the destination when you're there
A29. Attractive/well maintained town/city
centre
A35. Good range of water-based/beach
activities
A22. Availability of festivals, music, sporting
and cultural events
A15. Availability of reasonably priced car
parking
A12. A destination that is easy to get to by
public transport
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
32
Across the survey it should be noted that higher graded accommodation led to higher
satisfaction ratings.
In terms of attractions in Minehead, only one, the West Somerset Railway, with users back
up to 200k pa, makes it into the top 30 for the County overall (at No.3) on Trip Advisor.
Within the town’s offer there is considered to be an informal ‘big 3’ – Butlin’s, Dunster
Castle and the Railway. With a perceived lack of indoor family attractions, the proposed
redevelopment of the former town centre hospital is a key project. Minehead’s unique
status in respect of the South West Coast Path and its proximity to Exmoor are key
attributes.
Butlin’s continues to invest in upgrading its accommodation stock which will attract new
markets and improve yields but not add new capacity. Elsewhere in the town there is
anecdotal evidence that accommodation stock – especially B+Bs - is declining due to
retirements and house sales. There is a distinct lack of the kind of top end or boutique
accommodation which has helped spark regeneration in other destinations. Premier Inn is
due to open a 100 bedroom hotel in Minehead in 2017 which may also impact on current
providers, not least to set a consistent benchmark for standards of provision.
Visitor Services in the town are now increasingly offered through a strong voluntary sector
initiative, with the TIC now integrated into the Beach Hotel, itself saved from dereliction,
refurbished, reopened and managed by YMCA. Foxes Hotel is operated as a training hotel
for those with learning difficulties. The Hospital site is being redeveloped by the Minehead
Development Trust with a plan to being together a ‘blend’ of public and visitor services on
site. The Regal Theatre and Minehead Eye also make significant use of volunteer expertise.
In terms of urban design, connectivity, activities and its appeal to visitors, there are a range
of improvements which could be made, but overall Minehead remains a very attractive and
well-presented seaside town with only one prominently situated building, the Arkade on the
seafront, being particularly problematic in terms of ‘sense of place’.
CONSULTATION
Tourism issues pre-occupied each of the focus groups which met on 14th and 15th December.
In addition, one-to-one consultations have been held with key tourism stakeholders. The
results are summarised in the following SWOT Analysis:
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
33
Strengths Weaknesses
• Bay location and exceptional coastal
scenery
• Relative tranquillity, safety and
security
• Proximity to Exmoor National Park
and Quantocks AONB
• Sandy beach
• Attractive beachfront and harbour
area
• Quality of town centre built
environment
• Butlin’s improving offer for stay and
day visitors, employment and local
expenditure
• West Somerset Railway with station
on the seafront – heart of the
destination
• Start/ Finish point for South West
Coast National Trail and West
Somerset Way
• Range of accommodation
• Independent retailer base
• Strong volunteer ethic
• More than one access route to the
town by road
• Major high profile events eg Red
Arrows and thermal calendar
mechanism
• Track record of delivery on previous
strategies eg Community
Regeneration Plan and Minehead
Vision
• Tidal range and turbid water
• Ambivalence over Minehead Brand –
Somerset, Exmoor, Seaside or all 3?
• No clarity over market segments and
key experiences
• Poor sense of arrival and
expectation management on main
access routes
• ‘Disconnect’ between town and
seafront
• No active destination management
plan or partnership and lack of focus
or ‘go to’ individual
• Duplication and competition
between organisations with an
interest in the town
• Seasonality (despite Butlin’s year
round opening)
• Perceived remoteness from key
markets
• Limited high end accommodation,
experiences or food offer
• Inconsistent levels of customer
service
• Lack of community awareness of
tourism’s impact on wealth and
health of the town – eg
employment, retail offer, activities,
enhanced services, attractions
• Start of SW Coast Path but
Minehead is not a Walkers are
Welcome Town (Dunster, Porlock
and Lynton and Lynmouth are…)
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
34
Opportunities Threats
• Emerging adventure activities offer
using coast and countryside
• Repositioning as ‘base for’ rather
than ‘gateway to’ Exmoor – consider
‘Greater Minehead’ taking in wider
area offer
• Steam Coast Trail will give a more
varied and dynamic family and
couples offer
• Butlins continued reinvestment in
quality and different market
segments
• Increased beach and water-based
activities
• Inward investment from Premier Inn
will encourage others and set
benchmark quality in budget sector
• Reconnection of beachfront, harbour
and town centre through transport,
information, incentive and signage
initiatives
• (Tourism) Business Improvement
District as both mechanism for
cooperation and generation of useful
levels of funding
• LEADER and future Coastal
Communities Fund
• Coordinated Destination Planning
and Management – CCT to lead?
• Tidal lagoon could bring more
permanent high water regime
• Hinkley will compel stakeholders to
address positively access and
information provision for visitors
• Year round ‘Open for Business’
positioning to address seasonality
• WSR strengthening of links with
mainline system
• Improved offer to visitors through
old hospital
• Unsung cultural heritage eg ‘Obby
‘Oss and Coleridge
• Insensitive short-term decisions by
stakeholders with unforeseen
consequences for tourism eg parking
regime, road signing, planning for
key sites etc
• Poor publicity over traffic conditions
once Hinkley construction starts
• Limited external funding
opportunities may result in
disengagement by stakeholders and
continued fragmentation
• Central strategies (eg LEP) and LG
reorganisations continue to militate
against Minehead’s development
• WSR reinvestment not directly
impacting on Minehead offer
• Over-reliance on voluntarism may
result in ‘burn-out’ and lack of
continuity
• Increased costs and viability of
operation issues for some tourism
businesses eg Hinkley employment
effect, living wage increases etc.
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
35
POTENTIAL ACTIONS
Subject to further discussion, the potential actions for tourism emerging out of the analysis
are summarised below as follows:
Branding
• Reposition Minehead as the first choice base for exploring Exmoor, the Quantocks
and the Somerset Coast year round (linked to activities and unique cultural
connections)
• Restate the quality and family appeal of Minehead’s beach and waterfront offer -
perhaps through ‘Minehead Bay’ identity?
• Project a vibrant and ‘real’ town with a contemporary offer set in Edwardian
elegance – a market town by the sea
• ‘A day is not enough’ – look for stay not day visitors
• Seek Walkers are Welcome status
Destination Management
• Develop a destination plan with a clear set of principles, priorities and actions
looking at the destination offer from a visitor perspective before, during and after a
visit
• As a priority of the Plan consider parking regime, visitor management, connectivity
within the town and approach signage from M4
• Consider a BID as a mechanism to both develop the plan and fund destination
management investment and delivery alongside RDP
Quality shift
• Support continued reinvestment by Butlin’s and inward investment by other good
standard operators (eg Premier Inn) in accommodation while encouraging existing
businesses to upgrade facilities and levels of service.
• Support continued investment in the attractions/ activities offer in the locality eg
Steam Coast Trail, West Somerset Railway
• Encourage take up of ‘Walkers Welcome’ and similar activity-based accreditations
• Work with HE and other training providers to improve service level skills and fill key
skills gaps eg chefs/ cooks
Partnership and Governance
• Evolve CCT into an integrated and active destination partnership embracing all levels
of public sector, major stakeholders, landowners and relevant voluntary groups
(Group may be subsumed by BID process in due course)
• Participate fully in wider tourism groupings and initiatives eg Exmoor Tourism
Partnership and Somerset TA
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
36
APPENDIX 2 – ACTION PLAN
1. People Theme – Key Actions 2. Place Theme – Tourism Key Actions 3. Place Theme – Physical Key Actions 4. Business Theme – Key Actions
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
PEOPLE THEME - Activity Plan
Theme Programme Objectives Actions Cost1 Lead2 Timing
People Youth
Enterprise &
Innovation
Reduce youth unemployment
Increase ambition &
opportunities for young people
Increase new business starts
• Review current engagement
activity
• Plan forward programme of
engagement events
• Determine operational costs/plan
In-kind
resource
WSColl/ME
April-May
June-July
Community
Employment
Hub – The
Bridge
Support people into/back into
work
Improve individual self-esteem
& confidence
• Establish community hub in
Alcombe
• Recruit and support local
volunteers
• Weekly drop-in venue
Baptist
Church
Jan 2016
onwards
Minehead
Community
Radio
Strengthen local identity
Improve
communications/engagement
• Develop business partnership
• Formulate business plan/case
• Engage/Apply to Licensing
Authority
• Establish operating base and
launch
In-kind
resource
c£25k start-
up costs
Private
Sector
Jan-Mar
2016
1 Where no additional costs are incurred these items are left blank 2 Key to Acronyms
CCT Coastal Community Team
WSColl West Somerset College
ME Minehead Eye
LEP Local Enterprise Partnership
WSC West Somerset Council
SCC Somerset County Council
CoC Chamber of Commerce
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
Minehead
Community
Swimming
Pool
Promote health & wellbeing
Improve local facilities
Create employment/volunteer
opportunities
• Develop Business Plan – market
feasibility/viability on running
costs
• Subject to above explore design
options/determine development
costs
• Prepare funding
applications/source potential
crowd-funding options
In-kind
resource
Full costs to
be
determined
MTC
Funding
partners to
be
identified
Jan-Mar
2016
April-
ongoing
Tourism
Service
Training
Academy
Establish centre of training
excellence
Develop local skills
Raise ambition and aspiration
• Engage with training providers –
scope potential.
• Raise business awareness/support.
• Contribute to Somerset Training
Review
In-kind
resource to
explore local
potential
CCT –
working
group
Apr – June
2016
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
PLACE Theme (Tourism) Activity Plan
Theme Programme Objectives Actions Cost3 Lead4 Timing
Place - Tourism Branding and
Marketing
Reposition Minehead as
the first choice base for
exploring Exmoor, the
Quantocks and the
Somerset Coast year
round
• Develop agreed overall brand
positioning and link destination and
individual marketing communications
to activities and unique cultural
connections
• Target staying visitors with ‘a day is
not enough’ message
• Seek ‘Walkers are Welcome Town’
status to underpin start/ finish point
for South West Coast Path and
Somerset Coast Path
Marketing
costs Circa
£5K
Costs for
works
leading to
accreditation
circa £3K
CCT/ DP
Industry
CCT/ Town
Council
Mar - May
2016 then
ongoing
Ongoing
Apr-Dec
2016
Restate the quality and
family appeal of
Minehead’s beach and
waterfront offer
• Support Butlin’s refreshed British
Seaside branding approach
• Consider ‘Minehead Bay’ as a
consumer brand identity
• Develop specific seafront plan through
next phase of feasibility funding
Circa £5K for
external PR
consultancy
£10k
(secured via
CRF Funding)
Butlin’s
CCT/ DP
CCT/
Butlin’s
Apr 2016
onwards
Feb/Mar
2016
Feb/Mar
2016
3 Where no additional costs are incurred these items are left blank 4 Key to Acronyms
CCT Coastal Community Team
DP Destination Partnership
FE Further Education
LEP Local Enterprise Partnership
WSC West Somerset Council
SCC Somerset County Council
HTAP Hinkley Tourism Action Partnership
CoC Chamber of Commerce
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
Project a vibrant and
‘real’ town with a
contemporary offer - a
market town by the sea
• Promote use of ‘thermal’ calendar
across visitor economy businesses and
outlets to underline regular and
special events across the year
In-kind
resource
CCT/ DP
Destination
Management
Develop an agreed
destination plan
• Undertake destination planning with a
clear set of principles, priorities and
actions looking at the destination offer
from a visitor perspective before,
during and after a visit
In-kind
resource
linked to
HPTA
CCT Apr- Jun
2016
Improve connectivity,
access and visibility of
destination in light of
Hinkley work
• Consider parking regime (to optimise
dwell time), visitor management,
connectivity within the town and
approach signage from M5
Unquantified
level of
resource
required
WSC/ SCC Apr 2016 –
Mar 2017
Develop a sustainable
form of funding for
marketing, events and
destination management
• Consider a BID as a mechanism to
both develop the plan and fund
destination management investment
and delivery
• Identify other funding opportunities
eg RDPE to fund one-off
improvements and/ or short term
campaigns
In-kind
resource
CoC / WSC
CCT/ DP
Apr/ Dec
2016
Ongoing
Tourism Led
Business
Improvement
District
Improved business
leadership & confidence
Private investment in
town improvement and
marketing/promotion
Increased footfall and
visitor numbers
• Market sounding on interest/business
plan proposals
• Explore scale and scope of BID
coverage – map business areas and
rates income
• Road test outline concept/proposals
• Develop full business plan/marketing
strategy/financial plan
• Prepare for local business referendum
In-kind
resource
£2-3k
support
£4-5k
£10k
CoC
Consultancy
Support
Mar/Apr ‘16
June/July
2016
Sept/Oct
2016
Late
2016/2017
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
Quality Shift Improve Accommodation
offer and choice
• Facilitate continued reinvestment by
Butlin’s and inward investment by
other good standard operators (eg
Premier Inn) in accommodation
including alternative/ boutique
segment
• Encourage existing businesses to
upgrade facilities and levels of service
• Encourage take up of ‘Walkers
Welcome’ and similar activity-based
accreditations
In-kind
resource &
localised
training
WSC
CCT/ DP/
HTAP
CCT/ DP /
HTAP
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Improve attractions and
activities offer
• Support continued investment in the
attractions/ activities offer in the
locality eg Steam Coast Trail, West
Somerset Railway, beach/ harbour
based activities
Unquantified
level of
resource
required
CCT/ DP Ongoing
Improve key hospitality
and tourism skills
• Work with HE and other training
providers to assess training needs
• Offer service level skills training and fill
key skills gaps eg chefs/ cooks
Link to HPTA
Strategy
Influence
wider
vocational
offer at WS
College
CCT/ FE
HE/
Industry
Apr-Jun
2016
Sep 2016
onwards
Partnership
and
governance
Establish basis for
delivery
• Evolve a Tourism sub-group of CCT
(Group may be subsumed by BID
process in due course)
In-kind
resource
CCT/ WSC Mar- Jun
2016
Maximise joint funding
opportunities for
Minehead
• Participate fully in wider tourism
groupings and initiatives eg Exmoor
Tourism Partnership and Somerset TA
CCT/ DP Ongoing
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
PLACE THEME - Activity Plan
Theme Programme Objectives Actions Cost5 Lead6 Timing
Place Minehead Old
Hospital
Preserve & protect important
historic building
Create central hub for shared
public services
Reinvigorate activity in the
town centre
• Complete Business Plan
• Ratify licence/lease options
• Negotiate with potential
occupiers
• Confirm design/capital costs
• Explore capital funding options
In-kind
resource
Further costs
to be
determined
MDT
Jan-March
2016
Ratify way
forward
April 2016
Clanville
Gardens
Develop Community Asset
Stimulate community
engagement
Support quality of life
opportunities
• Finalise concept/masterplan
• Develop financial business plan
Confirm design/capital costs
• Explore funding options
On-going
planning
engagement
Transition
Minehead &
Alcombe
Jan-Mar
2016
Ratify way
forward
April 2016
Minehead
Marina/Jetty
Create access to water
Improve opportunities for
boating
Create future potential for
ferry lingaes/marina
• Review past studies/technical
feasibility work
• Review good practice
experiences – issues and
opportunities
• Establish design/capital costs
• Explore funding options
In-kind
resource
CCT working
group
April –May
2016
June-July
2016
5 Where no additional costs are incurred these items are left blank 6 Key to Acronyms
CCT Coastal Community Team
WS FEC West Somerset FE College
ME Minehead Eye
LEP Local Enterprise Partnership
WSC West Somerset Council
SCC Somerset County Council
CoC Chamber of Commerce
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
Improved Rail
Connections
Maintain awareness of
opportunities
Enhance Minehead’s
connectivity
• Monitor plans for main services
connection to Bishop Lydeard
• Support WSR development to
provide local connectivity
• Continue to explore longer term
opportunities for enhanced
service improvements
In-kind
resource
Future costs
undertermined
CCT working
group
On-going
Strategic
Highway
Improvements
Reduce journey times to
Minehead
Improve reliability of road
connectivity
Manage road safety
• Monitor funding opportunities
• Promote potential with LEP and
Somerset Growth Board review
In-kind
resource
Future costs
undetermined
CCT to
promote
with SCC
Ongoing
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
BUSINESS THEME - Activity Plan
Theme Programme Objectives Actions Cost7 Lead8 Timing
Business Local Supply
Chain
Development
Increase business awareness of
market opportunities
Increase business networking
and linkages
Develop opportunities for
business collaboration/joint
ventures
• Manage local business
engagement in Hinkley
programmes
• Further explore
linkages/opportunities with
Butlins
• Promote local business
involvement
On-going
business
support
activity
WSC
April-May
June-July
Positive
Planning
Support –
business
expansion
Foster greater dialogue with
local business on planning
issues
Provide innovative and creative
planning solutions to local
needs
• Finalise and promote Local
Development Plan
• Engage with local business
owners – local events/drop in
workshops
• Publicise planning support
On-going
planning
engagement
WSC
Jan 2016
onwards
7 Where no additional costs are incurred these items are left blank 8 Key to Acronyms
CCT Coastal Community Team
WS FEC West Somerset FE College
ME Minehead Eye
LEP Local Enterprise Partnership
WSC West Somerset Council
SCC Somerset County Council
CoC Chamber of Commerce
Minehead Coastal Community Team Economic Plan – January 2016
Flexible
Workspace
Support business starts
Increase networking for
small/micro-businesses
Encourage business growth
• Review market research
• Promote through Somerset
Growth Board review
In-kind
resource
WSC/SCC April 2016
May-June
2016
Tidal Energy
Network
Encourage new energy
generation
Support high value construction
and technical job opportunities
Support high value tourism
potential
Strengthen regional
connectivity
• Monitor industry progress
• Promote potential with LEP and
Somerset Growth Board review
In-kind
resource
Future costs
undetermined
WSC to
promote
Private
Sector to be
responsible
for delivery
Ongoing
May-June
2016