The Council is asked to note any statements made by Members of the Cabinet (Portfolio Holders).
Councillors may then ask questions of the Portfolio Holders on their statements.
Minutes:
Clacton Air Show 2016
The Tourism and Culture Portfolio Holder (Councillor Ferguson) made the following statement on the Clacton Air Show 2016:-
“I am sure that Council will indulge me for a few minutes to mention the 2016 Air Show.
What an event, what a two days and what an experience!
I attended pre-show briefings that made me gasp with the attention to detail that was discussed and considered. There are many amazing people who put in hours and hours above and beyond their contracts ensuring the safety and enjoyment of our visitors. I have been truly humbled by their dedication, professionalism and positivity even in the face of security concerns after Nice and a small traveller incursion that nearly derailed the plans.
Estimates of visitor numbers seem to range from 250,000 to 330,000 but however many there were I think that everyone could not have been wowed by what Tendring District Council delivered.
It is too early to know the final totals for programme sales, bucket collections and total costs but I will let everyone know how it all panned out as soon as I know. What I do know though is that this must have been a massive boost for the local economy and that at the end of the day is what it is all about. I walked through the town on both days and was staggered at how busy it was.
The night flights seemed to have gone down really well this year and anyone who stayed on was treated to a spectacular display of neon lights and pyrotechnics, the like of which many of us had never seen before.
Many of us fell in love with Otto the Helicopter lighting up our skies. I was amazed to see tens of thousands of people still along the seafront and in town late into the evening. One of the long term traders on the seafront said that he thought that there were more people than during Clacton’s heydays of the 1950’s and speculated that some of the food outlets had probably had their best day EVER. Judging by the queues out of some of the outlets I think that he could well be right.
It was undoubtedly a massive party atmosphere, however, it was reassuring to know that behind the scenes security and safety was being closely monitored and controlled and we must not forget that back in the Council business still continued, thanks to the staff who make sure that it is business as usual.
For those Councillors and their guests who attended the VIP area I hope that you enjoyed your visit.
Every year dignitaries from across Essex attend the Air Show and wonder how Tendring does it. Well having now worked behind the scenes I have started to get an insight and I can tell you that it isn’t through luck but it is a very well honed and managed process that many people will never see. It is no wonder that places such as Jersey come to see how we do it.
I would also personally like to thank Councillor Stephenson for rallying his troops and helping out on the programme sales and bucket collection. I know from the officers and event staff that they were really grateful for the help they got, particularly on the Thursday evening, when staff who had been working all day were flagging. Thank you!
I hope you indulge me in thanking a few others; I worked alongside Mike Carran and his team pre and during the show and the hard work they put in made me very proud to be part of it all.
A few notable thank yous; Sarah Daniels, Jo Needham, Jennie Weavers, Chris Ball, Scott Lawrence, Tim Sutton, Mick Simpson, The parking teams, Catherine Boyer-Besant, Sam Wright - the tweet man, all the Emergency services and the security team headed up by Mark Peck - a nicer more hard working professional bunch of people I have ever had the good fortune to work alongside.
Special thanks must go to Mike Carran who brings all of these people together with his wonderful positivity and attention to detail. Paul Price and his hat, Nigel Brown, Martyn Knappett and the sartorially elegant Ian Davidson deserve a mention too.
Whilst I know that budgets are going to be tight going forward I hope that we can make an early decision to commit to the 2017 Air Show and let us see if we can make next years event even bigger and better than this years!”
Members showed their appreciation with a round of applause.
Councillor Ferguson then responded, as appropriate, to questions and matters raised on her statement asked by Councillors Parsons, Turner Scott, Raby and Broderick.