Monday 30th June 2014
Notes from a meeting held between representatives from Warminster Information Centre and the Finance and Assets Committee of Warminster Town Council, held on Monday 30th June 2014 at 6.30 p.m.
Present: Councillors Steve Dancey, Keith Humphries, George Jolley and Pip Ridout, Michael Mounde and David Gill (rep. Warminster Information Centre), Heather Abernethie and Veronica Mills.
Pip Ridout asked whether the £7,000 that the Town Council pays to the Warminster and Villages Development Trust for Citizens Advice Bureau and Cornerstone covered the full running costs of the building. Michael Mounde said the money was for rent and was paid on to Wiltshire Council. The Development Trust subsidises the Information Centre. Pip Ridout felt there was the possibility of cross-subsidisation as the Town Council was contributing to all three groups that used the building. Michael Mounde did not agree. The Town Council funds Cornerstone for rent only while it becomes established, and Citizens Advice Bureau is a mixture of rent and services. The Warminster And Villages Development Trust pays a subsidy to the Information Centre from the monies it gets from a variety of sources.
David Gill suggested that the Council needed to establish whether it wanted the Information Centre, and why. There should be an overall marketing plan for the town. If that plan decrees the town wants an Information Centre then it was necessary to establish how to fund it. The Town Council should work in concert with Warminster Information Centre to establish a plan and how to execute it. Warminster needs an upbeat message to reflect the true vibrancy of the town. He felt that Enterprise Warminster was not able to develop a marketing plan and that leadership should come from the Town Clerk to improve the message. There was no clear way to measure the return on the Council’s marketing spend as it stood.
Keith Humphries felt that a specification could be drawn up and put out to tender – the Information Centre or Visit Wiltshire, for example, could bid for it. George Jolley was concerned that if there was no support from the Council for Warminster Information Centre this would result in job losses. There is £19,000 from the Council going into the building but the Council is not getting the service it would want. David Gill felt this was due to poor executive management from Warminster And Villages Development Trust and lack of leadership from the Council. Pip Ridout said this was because the Council had not been encouraged by Warminster And Villages Development TrustVDT to be involved in WIC. Heather Abernethie felt there was a difference of opinion over the issues, but that the town needs something other than the current service.
David Gill said there is a need to demonstrate how investment brings return in the long term. The skill sets in Warminster Information Centre and the Town Council can be used to bring more to the town. Keith Humphries pointed out that 52% of respondents from the recent campus consultation said tourist information was a high priority, and less than 10% said it was not important. Steve Dancey said that when Andover Tourist Information Centre closed three years ago there were complaints at the time but not for long. However
he would not wish to see Citizens Advice Bureau and Cornerstone threatened with closure. David Gill pointed out that Warminster Information Centre sold £10,000-worth of Christmas cards last year on behalf of charities with no income for themselves. This was good for the town. The coverage of the Warminster Wobble in The Guardian was thanks to Warminster Information Centre. Warminster And Villages Development Trust pays £750 membership fees to Visit Wiltshire so the coverage of the Wobble was as a result of this.