|
City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
|
|
Meeting |
Shareholder Committee |
|
|
Date |
25 March 2019 |
|
|
Present
In attendance |
Councillors Gillies (Chair) and Ayre
Councillors Looker and Kramm |
|
|
Apologies |
Councillor Hayes |
|
18. Declarations of Interest
Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they might have in respect of business on the agenda.
Councillor Gillies stated that he was a Director of Visit York.
19. Minutes
Resolved: That the minutes of the last meeting held on 11 December 2018 were approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.
20. Public Participation
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme
21. Make it York - Managing Director's Report - March 2019
Members considered a report which provided summary financial performance figures for Mark It York for the financial year 2018-2019, together with projected budget figures for the financial year 2019-2020. It also laid out the new Managing Director’s early views on the broad direction of travel of the business and key areas of focus. The Managing Director attended the meeting to present the report and answer Members’ questions.
In response to Member questions he stated:
· In relation to revenue MIY was bullish in terms of where it could make more money. There were significant opportunities during the Christmas period and MIY was confident that there was scope to increase revenue from commercial activity;
· Overheads had increased due to marketing spend moving from projects into the overhead budget;
· There was further scope for the Shambles Market with opportunities for more food offerings. There had to be a balance between profit and the vibrancy of the City;
· The removal of stalls from Jubbergate was currently scheduled for the Autumn;
· There were issues, such as good weather, that had contributed to the dip in York Pass sales over the previous year;
· The risk register was under regular review;
· If York could create a sufficiently attractive proposition with travel, connectivity etc it should be an easy sell to attract inward investment, particularly if pushing key sectors. This would provide sustainable and long term jobs;
· MIY had a business ambassador programme and this would hopefully be able to showcase good examples of what was coming out of York;
· Nobody wanted to duplicate work in relation to inward investment and Make It York should perhaps focus on ‘bottom-up’ work; and
· The Ice Trail had been well received by residents and there would be a focus on the early evening economy and the offer to residents.
Resolved: That Members;
1. Note the report;
2. Approve the move to quarterly Board Meetings be held with the addition of an annual strategy session
Reason: To ensure the Committee is updated on financial performance figures, as required by the Shareholder Agreement.
Councillor Gillies, Chair
[The meeting started at 2.00 pm and finished at 2.50 pm].