By François Vincent, Local Democracy Reporter
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council spends £1.6m annually on events throughout the borough, and as there are several Council bodies supporting these, a ‘one-council approach’ will now ensure that Council involvement is streamlined, and that no part of the borough is ‘events deprived’.
The council hosts and supports a wide range of events throughout the year, including eight signature and regional events, 126 international, large and small events supported through the Financial Assistance Programme Grants, and over 300 events supported by the Building Maintenance Team through the lending of equipment and setup.
The growing number and size of events means that there is a need for a more co-ordinated approach.
A first step being suggested is the merger of the Christmas Working Group into the Events Working Group as they are both intrinsically linked.
Council officers have consulted with ABC party leaders and they are content with this proposed change.
The first meeting of the revamped Events Working Group is scheduled to take place on January 30.
Speaking at a Governance, Resources & Strategy Committee meeting held on January 17, councillor Joy Ferguson (Alliance, Banbridge DEA) welcomed the events review, and said she was keen to find out more: “[I would like] to get some more information on the actual scope of the events review, particularly the first section around resourcing.
“I’m just hoping I can get a few answers to questions around this partnership working with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board being considered within this review.
“Is there any intention to bid for events that are unique to our borough?
“[Will] the economic impact of our events be calculated as part of this review, to understand the true return on investment for the money that we spend on events across the borough?”
Caroline Leonard, interim strategy director, Community and Growth, explained that the events review would have a significant impact: “In line with the recommendations of the internal audit on the review of events, [we will make sure] that we have robust and consistent methodologies used to determine the overall evaluation and impact of the events that we have.
“[We will] work to make sure that we maximise any opportunities to attract funding and to support events unique to the borough, but also that we take a holistic view of the totality of the events programme in Council [with] a bit of geo-mapping as well, to make sure that we cover all parts of the borough.”
The geo-mapping element is one which councillor Kyle Savage (UUP, Lagan River DEA) particularly welcomed: “I’m glad to see that this has been streamlined here, because there’s a lot of duplication going on between those two working groups.
“I’m glad to hear Caroline talk about the geo-mapping of the events throughout the borough [and] the economic return to our Council area from existing events that go on.
“But we also have to look to new events and bring in as much as possible into the borough area, and to exploit some of our hidden gems that we have, i.e. Lurgan Park and all these areas.
“[We have] to utilise the assets that we have to get a better economic return for all Council areas.”
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