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Agenda item

Wye Valley River Festival 2016 reports.

Minutes:

We were presented with evaluation reports for the Wye Valley River Festival in 2016, and detailed discussion and decision was made as follows.

 

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6.1 WVRF 2016 Evaluation and Reflection Report.

 

The Festival Manager’s final report was received, following presentation of the main outcomes at the last meeting. The report will be published on the website and it was recognised that the event was a considerable success.  The Committee were reminded that the original business plan was to hold three biennial festivals (2014, 2016 and 2018). 

 

A query was raised regarding the concluding event at Chepstow Racecourse and it was confirmed that it is intended that the festivals will not necessarily follow the same format each time.  Each event is intended to be creative and different, explaining why the 2014  firework display in Chepstow was not repeated.  Linked to this point, it was explained that discussions were also held with Chepstow Town Council to ensure that there was clear separation between the River Festival and the celebrations to mark the Chepstow Bridge Bicentenary this year.  One of the lessons learned was that concluding the Festival on Sunday evening not a good time to attract visitors and this will be done differently in 2018.

 

Further information was sought regarding the involvement of young people in the 2016 event and ongoing to the 2018 event.  It was confirmed that engagement with young people this time was a great success, and the intention is to build upon this success for 2018. 

 

It was suggested that there would be a trees and woodland theme for the 2018 event which is with festival management team for consideration.  It was agreed that the proposed theme offered a lot of potential to utilise fresh sites and opportunity for artistic interpretation accordingly.  The suggestion was supported and it was agreed that this was a good opportunity to change perceptions and increase appreciation of the contribution and impact of woodlands and trees in the environment.  Dr. G. Peterken offered his expertise to the organisers. It was commented that the management of the trees in the Wye Valley has been neglected for many years affecting access to and enjoyment of the surroundings. 

 

The Committee were advised of the Bicentenary of Bigsweir Bridge is coming up and it was suggested that plans for a celebration should be considered as the bridge is a significant example of an elegant engineering solution to cross the river. 

 

It was commented that some Wye Valley views are inaccessible and that there was a need to reinstate access and refurbish some of the Picturesque walks to attract more visitors. It was suggested that this proposal could be added to the planning for the 2018 event. Reassurance was provided that the Overlooking the Wye project cleared several viewpoints and funding has been secured to conserve some of the of the views next year.   

 

It was suggested that there is not enough attention given to the industrial heritage of the area (quarrying, timber, bark for tanning leather etc.) and the point was revisited that the Wye Valley should be awarded World Heritage Site status in recognition of its industrial history.  It was noted that a previous application in 2011 was rejected.

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6.2  WVRF CCRI final report.

 

The Final Report of the Countryside and Community Research Institute was received.  The purpose of the report was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Wye Valley River Festival 2016 and it was reported that it was evident that it was a positive experience for those attending and also those participating.

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6.3  PR & media report.

 

Text Box: We resolved to accept the recommendations, that the JAC: A. Welcomes the evaluation reports for the Wye Valley River Festival 2016 and the conclusions and lessons learned; and B. Endorses commencing the development process for a Wye Valley River Festival 2018. A detailed report of Press and Media coverage of the Wye Valley River Festival 2016 was received.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: