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Ok here goes (how to condense 6 pages of notes into a couple of paragraphs)
The meeting was chaired by Ronnie Philpott and the discussions etc lead by Cllr Sue Jones and had a good attendance with a mix of representatives from businesses and community organisations. The Mayor opened it by saying the objective was to bring the community together to assist with taking on the Olympic Torch and Jubilee celebrations for the whole of Dover and creating a legacy for the future, this leads on from the DTC "2012 & Beyond" working group and its outputs. Cllr Jones then took over and started by saying that there have been numerous opportunities in the past where the DTC have sought feedback from the community and now was the time to kick start delivering these things. The working group had produced a list of project proposals, but these will require partners from the community to deliver them; DTC are keen to work with everyone and ensure that we get the "feel good" factor out into the wards, creating a body of enthusiasm we can build on in future years.
Cllr Jones then briefly ran through the Project Proposals:
Improving the A2 roundabouts - DHB have donated items of old port and ship equipment and the Sea Scouts have agreed to refurbish/paint these. These will then be installed on two of the roundabouts.
Travel in the Town - DTC are seeking partnership with one or more local travel providers to open up access to all the sites of interest in the town.
Co-ordinated Promotion - here DTC are seeking to work with event organisers to create a web portal allowing access for visitors and townsfolk alike to all the events running in the town from a single location.
Ward Events & Projects - DTC have put aside small sums of money to sponsor ward based events and projects; they are looking to Community Associations & Forums to put proposals to them that they can (part) fund and also work with other agencies to provide benefit in kind - e.g. resources, assistance in planning, interfaces with other organisations etc.
Business Promotion - DTC recognise there is a need to co-ordinate the promotion of businesses outside of the main LOCOG Olympic Torch route and are seeking partners from the business community to help with this.
Town Planting - DTC have taken over responsibility for the town centre hanging baskets. They have also available grants of up to £100 for community groups or businesses to plant/clear/tidy up green spaces in the town, they are asking all to come forward with identified spaces in their areas that could benefit from this.
Safety - Whilst DDC have a statutory responsibility for community safety DTC are looking at ways they can assist with this and are seeking ideas and volunteers to increase the visible presence in the town. An example of which is the Dover Greeters.
Other Items - Both The Princes Trust and South Foreland Rotary have offered labour/assistance for these proposals and the latter is about to start on some work cleaning and repainting the town centre seating and bollards. DTC is also looking to co-ordinate with Art Groups etc to help put up things like murals, art on hoardings etc.
Cllr Jones then opened the meeting to the floor these are some of the items raised:
Dover CoC advised that the first part of the Pfizer site had been sold and a formal announcement would be made tomorrow, they also stressed their support for these initiatives and were looking forward to working with DTC etc
what plans are there to use the DTC web site as a comms tool/portal for these projects so all could feedback and see progress - the Councillors agreed to take this back to their officers and ask that this was done
The meeting was advised that WHPS are prepared to ensure volunteers are available to meet buses at the Western Heights when the travel initiative is delivered.
There was a lot of discussion of what symbols and colours could be used for planters etc. The meeting was advised that great care has to be taken with the Olympic symbols and colours due to commerciality, however the Diamond Jubilee colours of Red, White and Blue or Purple and Silver can be freely used along with the Royal crown. DDC & DTC have agreed to use the Red, White and Blue colour scheme for their planters.
Regarding meeters and greeters for visitors there was concern that too few people in the town know enough about the place they live (directions, pubs, restaurants, sites of interest) - the meeting was asked to consider ways this could be improved.
Olympic Torch - the dressing of the town will commence 1st May though teh route cannot be disclosed because of security concerns. DADS advised that they will be putting up their knitted bunting and are working on smartening up the underpass at Bench Street.
A number of points were made around Cruise calls and were we ready and whether we could be more receptive to special holidays for visitors - mention being made of Bastille Day (14th July) and the lack of any visible evidence of this in the town last year when the town had many French visitors. This is something that needs to be co-ordinated by businesses themselves to make as much advantage as they can.
The perennial subjects of Toilets, Litter and Dog Fouling were raised - the DTC are working closely with DDC & DHB to resolve the issue of toilets and there are a number of ideas in the planning stage. It was also noted that there is money available for partnerships seeking to r-use existing facilities. The other two items are a broader societal issue and require co-ordination with neighbourhood forums, though re-instatement of rubbish bins would certainly assist with litter.
Finally the issue of Cultural Events was raised and DTc advised they are looking to maximise use of the pavilion in Pencester and the Town Centre, by not only local bands, but also theatre groups, artists etc.
Overall it was a successful start - the important thing is not to build on this for the future not only for this year (which is an incredibly full and busy one for the town) but more importantly for future years.