Cllr Healy Welcomes Relocation Of Beverley’s Tourist Information Centre

This article has 11 Comments

1. No, Councillor Healy, and the other councillors responsible for this idiotic decision, it is an extraordinarily bad idea to move the TIC from a highly visible location especially to visitors from out of Beverley to somewhere only locals (and not all of them) know. How much walk past publicity in their window displays and walk in sales will they and the groups that sell tickets through them lose as a result of this? I would like to see the comparable statistics a year from now if this goes ahead. This is just another example of ERYC cutting costs to the detriment of local people, groups and businesses. But Councillor Healy doesn’t live in Beverley so he wouldn’t know.

2. We are currently ruled by the Visit Hull and East Yorkshire tourism strategy 2014-2018, one of its published aims being to ‘Deliver high quality visitor information ‘. Tourism is worth, East Riding tells us, £757 million each year, and hundreds of jobs. How can it be sensible to remove the Beverley TIC, to save the rent? Visitors are essential to the town and the whole East Riding. As well as visitors, we locals rely on the TIC to tell us what is happening with its excellent window displays, poster board, accommodation information and sale of events tickets. An upstairs landing in the Treasure House is a very poor substitute. Being Christmas, the proverb ‘Kill the goose’ comes to mind.
   Why was there no consultation with the town? Please rethink this disastrous move.

3. Council may as well close the Information Office if they move it from the TOURIST route through the town. What a shambles.

4. I find this devision perplexing. Surely the TIC needs to be where tourists can easily find it. Those of us who promote events on the town need it to where posters can be easily seen and tickets purchased. If this is purely a financial decision it is short sighted. Perhaps a fuller discussion of rents and business rates in the town needs to take place. Was this decusion out for consultation through the local papers? Reverse it. Our town relies partly on tourism for its economic wellbeing.

5. Margaret. I wasn’t responsible for this decision. In fact I wasn’t even consulted about it. I found out about it from the press release.

6. By the way, Margaret, making personal insults is beneath you really, and doesn’t reflect the courteous dealings I have always enjoyed with your Labour colleagues on the Council.

7. If you desperately wanted to advertise an event & sell tickets would you tuck the Box Office away in the Treasure House or put it in purpose made premises in the main thoroughfare of the Town?

   For tourists, the first option would mean searching out the Treasure House rather than being drawn into the TIC by a poster or window display. They would rather make the most of their time in Beverley than go in search of tickets.

   For locals, it is just much more convenient to use the Butchers Row TIC & it encourages impulse buying of tickets. Not everyone wants to wander away from their busy shopping trail to buy tickets, especially if the show/event is a bit of a unknown quantity.

   The margins for most local events are tiny. Why would the Council not do everything they can to help promote them by making best use of their premises & staff in the middle of Town to bring in those vital sales? Instead they are erecting an unnecessary & frustrating barrier.

   I fear ticket sales will drop dramatically & local groups will fail. This is especially likely to affect groups which have no fixed venue or their own Box Office.

   If this happens the cultural & entertainment life of Beverley will suffer & we will attract far fewer visitors. We are constantly told our economy depends on bringing in tourists which local groups work so hard to do. So support them ERYC by being aware of the difficulties involved & doing everything in your power to help.

   Please think again and leave these vital services in full view of tourists & locals alike.

8. Now that both Beverley ERYC Councillors Elvidge and Healey have told the media said that they were not consulted on the move of Beverley TIC, may we ask why not? We thought we voters were in the dark….

9. I suspected that this might happen when the Council started selling tickets for some concerts from the Library. It is just an excuse to say no-one uses it now – because they can’t find it – and it will soon be closed. A disaster for the town – were the organisations that represent business consulted? Just renewthe lease.
   And to close it the week before Christmas, the busiest week of the year!
   There is no space in the already overcrowded Treasure House.
   If necessary surely a space with street frontage could be found in the main Council buildings, there is a nice building facing the Post Office (not the Guildhall)>

10. I oppose the move to the Treasure House. Many people do not know where the Treasure House is located. Many others do not know what it is. On the first floor there is very little space and no viable window to advertise events. How are people going to be helped to find the TIC in such an out of the way location? Footfall past the Treasure House is low compared to Butcher Row. East Yorkshire has a very important tourism sector and this is a retrograde step.

    At a recent VHEY conference we were encouraged, among other things to highlight successful festivals. Beverley has lots of these and the TIC shop window and obvious location makes it a key advertising point. The draft ER plan stresses the importance of tourism to the local economy of our towns. Tourism is the fastest growing economic sector in the UK, which is why the government are now developing a national strategy for tourism. How can we close a key information centre?

    When the new location fails, which it will, no doubt the staff will be blamed.

    Who made the decision if two Councillors appear to know nothing about it? Surely Councillor Burton, who is the portfolio holder would have wanted to ensure that a wide ranging debate took place prior to any change? Local businesses should have had the chance to input their views.

11. What a terrible surprise !! Only via friends do I learn that out TIC is going to be relocated. When was this important decision made? I have seen no consultation nor any mention in any local media. As a citizen of Beverley I frequently use the TIC for information on” What`s on” , ticket buying , bus times etc. My overseas friends make frequent use of it being there — when they stroll through the town on their the way to the Minster.
    Please reconsider this decision — Beverley is going to loose a lot more than rent revenue if TIC moves to “the back of beyond” Treasure House. A TIC must be easy access able for both locals and tourists. I wonder how many
    customers have been through the doors of the present TIC? Can we be informed?