Agenda item

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 Paul Shotton welcomed the indicative increase in the European Structural Funds programme for east Wales from £110m to £330m.  He also highlighted the Flintshire Enterprise Bursary project which had awarded 58 bursaries and said that the original target had increased to 60 from 48 through an enhancement to the scheme in March 2013.  In response to a question from Councillor Shotton about an update on the Talacre Overspill car park area and the enhancement of the Daniel Owen Square in Mold, the Economic Development Manager said that an outline agreement had been reached for the Talacre car park area and that Cabinet had agreed to move the issue forward.  A planning application had been submitted to update the Daniel Owen Square and if planning approval was granted, work would commence on the scheme in January 2014. 

            Councillor Neville Phillips asked a question on behalf of Councillor Nancy Matthews about one of the bursaries referred to on page 22; it was agreed that a written response would be provided.  Councillor Phillips asked what proportion of the total fund was spent on administration at County Hall or Cadwyn Clwyd.  The Economic Development Manager said that the amount was capped at 10% of the programme value for Flintshire County Council and 15% of the value for Cadwyn Clwyd.  Councillor Colin Legg queried how much the bursaries were worth and whether there was a finite pot of money available.  The Economic Development Manager responded that the bursaries were worth up to £2000 with the total budget being £260,000.  Councillor Legg also suggested that some of the monies be moved to contribute to the Mold Food Festival to increase the amount from the £3000 currently provided.  In response, the Director of Environment said that £3000 was the amount of money given to the festival but reminded Members that the shuttle bus, car parking at County Hall, signage and Streetscene Services were all provided by the Council at no cost to the festival. 

            In response to a question from Councillor Haydn Bateman on whether the festival was reaching its capacity, Mr. Tomos said that a health and safety audit had been undertaken so that the number of visitors on the site at any one time could be identified.  He confirmed that the site was nearing capacity.

            Councillor Bateman also asked about the disputes about Interim Certificates on the Gronant Pegasus Scheme and the three costing options for the Talacre scheme which were reported on page 26.  The Director of Environment advised that the Pegasus Scheme was a complex set of works and that discussions were ongoing with the contractors for potential claims for those works.  On the Talacre scheme, the Economic Development Manager said that option B had been put forward to use a limestone crush and run for two sections to keep within the RDP budget.  He added that tarmac was more durable in the longer term but that each option was considered on its own merits. 

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.