Issue - meetings

That the report be noted.                         

The Chairman introduced Mr. Jon Les Tomos from the Mold Food Festival to the Committee.    

Mold Food Festival

Mr. Tomos provided a detailed presentation on the Mold Food Festival, the main features of which were:-

·        The first meeting – 28 September 2005

·        February 2006

·        At the beginning and now

·        Aims

·        Benefits

·        Developing skills and knowledge

·        Management and Leadership

·        Working partners

·        Future:- finance

·        Future development

·        2014

The Chairman also welcomed Councillor Derek Butler to the meeting, in his new role as Cabinet Member for Economic Development.  The Cabinet Member thanked Mr. Tomos for the presentation and welcomed the growth in attendees and stall holders since the first Food Festival but raised concern about the funding for the future. 

            Councillor Peter Curtis asked about the involvement of Flintshire County Council financially and in terms of resources and also queried what funding was received from Welsh Government (WG).  The Head of Regeneration said that essentially it was a volunteer driven project and explained that Flintshire County Council supported the event financially and that a commitment had been given to provide funding of £3,000 per year for the next three years.  He added that the authority also provided the car park and the shuttle bus as other forms of assistance to the festival.  Mr. Tomos said that the contribution of Flintshire County Council had been critical for the Mold Food Festival from the very start.  The support from WG had reduced and had to be applied for each year.  The maximum that could be applied for this year was £9,000 and even though the application had been submitted, a response was still awaited. 

            Councillor Carolyn Thomas said that in the past, funding had also been received from the Rural Development Partnership and Cadwyn Clwyd.  Mr. Tomos acknowledged the support from the RDP and said that it was essential to build reserves and added that any contributions received were vital for the future sustainability of the festival. 

            Councillor Thomas welcomed the extra events that had been included at this year’s festival and said stallholders had indicated to her that the festival was sited at the best venue due to the hard standing.  She asked that it remain in Flintshire as it meant a lot to local businesses and entrepreneurs as it was a very successful way of promoting their products. 

            The Chairman said that he had attended the Conwy Food Festival and concluded that he preferred the event at Mold.  He said that the music side of the event made it exciting and interesting and promoted local music.  However, he said that when the shuttle bus dropped those attending the festival at the bus station, the signage to the festival site was confusing.  Mr. Tomos said that other methods of directing attendees to the festival were being considered such as ambassadors similar to those that had assisted the Olympics. 

            The Chairman thanked Mr. Tomos for his presentation and for the work that he put into organising the food festival. 

Rural Development Plan (RDP) 

            Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39