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SusSET – Sustaining Small Expanding Towns
Scottish Conference
Workshop Feedback -
Future Goals & Problem Solving
from Stonehaven afternoon session
on Friday 1st September 2006
STROMSTAD
Future Goal – Town Team Project - To Improve/Change City Centre and make it sustainable. Initial meetings of stakeholders - businesses, officers, politicians, inhabitants. Need to improve attendance at the meetings. Need to get better engagement. Have offered meals at the meetings, but this was not enough motivation.
1. Send out personal invitations
2. Instil a ‘sense of belonging’
3. After sending out invitations to meetings, follow these up with a phone call reminder
4. Ask open, big picture, non-directed questions
5. Contact/communication needs to be made preferably on a one to one basis.
6. Emphasise the benefits to those invited and then in a stronger message to those attending.
7. Structure of partnerships – borrow good models
HEL
Future Goal – Military Base – still under army ownership. People wish to make a tourist facility, in a very beautiful location. It is still in a closed military zone – the town cannot prepare any planning documents. Goal – to change area to an open zone. There is a long bureaucratic process. Great advantage financially to get the project underway. Need to establish phased action plan.
1. How have other communities approached reclamation of military areas – any methods already identified?
2. Ensure that it goes through the correct planning process for smooth transition.
3. Ensure correct infrastructure in place.
4. Effective engagement of people to lobby government to enable a speed up of the process.
5. Mayor or Town Council represent people to government level. A petition from people could give weight to argument, but this would be difficult, as no system in place for petitions.
6. Sell the benefits of the project to government and so they really want to implement your ideas. Create a business plan for use with this.
MESSOLONGHI
Future Goal – Lagoon with healing water. Had problems with red tape. University has tested the mud and identified it has potential healing properties.
1. Improve marketing
2. Currently attracts many ‘local’ tourists that do not stay in the town – how to enhance their stay and encourage them to spend money
3. Develop specialist spa treatment centre
4. Attract tourists from further afield - wider marketing.
5. Use therapists/experts/people who have used treatments for testimonials and marketing
6. Conservation area, so limitations to offering food, etc and other added value products for sale.
7. Improve signage, interpretation, rangers/guides
8. Use research from University as marketing material – proven
9. Lack of political support – create interest group, who has a major interest in the water/mud to build business case - investment
10. Corporate tourism
11. Target marketing
12. Sell the benefits of the water along with the whole town image. Build packages of all towns attractions.
STONEHAVEN
Future Goal – Need to improve recreation facilities and programmes, especially for Youth of all ages. Will deter youth anti-social behaviour.
1. Find the activities that appeal to youth
2. Tennis/Bowling in Sweden very popular.
3. One to one contact through volunteers with young people at Youth concerts/events.
4. Encourage more youth sections of existing clubs – improve access.
5. Parents can be more persuasive and take more action – help activities run
6. Tennis club, etc offering courses, equipment to borrow to get young people involved initially.
7. In Sweden clubs receive funding directly in proportion to the amount of young people that they have involved.
8. School taster events.
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