Taste Tideswell. 2. Organisation Summary

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1 2. Organisation Summary The Tideswell and District Community Association was established over 20 years ago, and has led a number of small and large projects in Tideswell including a major initiative to secure National Lottery 'Sports For All' funding to create first-class sporting facilities in the village. A group was formed as a subgroup of the Community Association to explore 'Tideswell s Big Idea' when the Big Lottery Fund s Village SOS programme was announced. This subgroup engaged with villagers to help identify a potential project for Tideswell to deliver the Village SOS programme outcomes. These consultations generated a wide range of ideas ranging from alternative energy projects to multicultural ideas. However one common theme emerged: the community wanted to build on something Tideswell is good at and wanted to do something to actively ensure we remain a thriving village (unlike many others in the Peak District). Thus the Taste Tideswell concept was born and became the preferred idea. Once this preferred idea emerged from the various consultations, the 'Tideswell Big Idea' group changed its name to the Taste Tideswell Group and was tasked with working up a bid for the Village SOS programme. A formal constitution was established in November 2009 after being shortlisted by BIG to be part of the Business Planning Phase of the Village SOS programme. The Taste Tideswell Group is working closely with a range of other village groups to generate momentum behind the Taste Tideswell project - including the Parochial Church Council, the Parish Council and the Community Association. The group solely exists for the purpose of launching the Taste Tideswell enterprise, thus it currently does not deliver any other services. Current Group Structure During the Business Development phase, the Taste Tideswell group has been governed by a main committee comprising a core group of 8, supported and mentored by our Village Champion, Tim Nicol. Other experts have been co-opted onto the committee as required to define the detail of launching the enterprise, including legal expertise and e-commerce specialists. Four subcommittees, each led by a member of the main committee, were responsible for progressing the detailed thinking for their areas. Once the funding from BIG is confirmed, the above organisation structure will change and a Village Trust and Company Limited by Guarantee will be constituted who will deliver the project. 9 of 181

2 Future Structure Once incorporated, the Taste Tideswell delivery organisation will be structured as follows: The Village Trust will be responsible for the charity and community elements of the Taste Tideswell activities. These will include: - Grow It activities around the village - Taste Tideswell themed village events 10 of 181

3 - Coordination of courses and other skill-building events for community members - Village branding and marketing strategy The Taste Tideswell Trading Company will be responsible for the commercial aspects of the enterprise, the profits from which will be ploughed back into Taste Tideswell s charitable aims. The for profit elements of the project include: - Cookery school classes for fee-paying learners - Local Educational Authority contracts for home economics/food nutrition etc. courses - Future revenue streams including commission on e-commerce and hamper sales of Taste Tideswell products, Farmers Market rents, venue hire, etc. Taste Tideswell Future Trustees A Board of Trustees will sit across all elements of the project, including acting as board members for the trading company. The anticipated trustees for the group are: - Chair Pete Hawkins - Treasurer Gill Turner - Secretary Paul Thorn - Plus 7 general trustees, each chosen for their specific skill-sets. See Appendix 1 for brief biographies of each of the confirmed Trustees. The trustees (and our village champion) have much experience relevant to the Taste Tideswell enterprise. These include: - Marketing knowledge and expertise: Tim Nicol, Phil Ward, Simon Cookson, Juliet Waugh - Experience of delivering community projects and projects in the not-for-profit sector: Pete Hawkins, Simon Cookson, Tim Nicol, Rod Baraona, Carrie War, Juliet Waugh - Horticulture/growing expertise: Simon and Amanda Cookson, Sara Price, Phil Ward, Rod Baraona - Cookery/food enterprise expertise: Sara Price, Phil Ward, Tim Nicol - Educational experience: Rod Baraona, Pete Hawkins, Juliet Waugh, Amanda Cookson 11 of 181

4 Taste Tideswell Management Day-to-day management of Taste Tideswell project delivery will be the responsibility of the Taste Tideswell Manager. During the first 9 months of the project, the Taste Tideswell Manager role will be performed by Tim Nicol as Village Champion. Tim and the delivery team will report to the Board of Trustees. The management structure of the Taste Tideswell will be: The staff of Taste Tideswell will comprise a mixture of permanently employed staff, volunteer staff, and experts bought in via service contracts for ad hoc involvement. The total number of permanently employed staff will be 5.5 FTEs (7 individuals). It is anticipated that these posts will be filled by local people, as will the many volunteer roles that will be created, although due process will be followed in recruitment. See Appendix 2 for Person Specifications for the key Taste Tideswell jobs that will be created by the project. Partners A wide range of other village stakeholders will work with us during the delivery of the Taste Tideswell project. The input from some stakeholders will be delivered via formal Partnership Agreements; others will be more informal arrangements. Formal Partnership Agreements will be developed once funding for Taste Tideswell has been confirmed. The letters of support received for the project to date (see Appendix 10) demonstrate significant interest and commitment from many organisations to work in partnership with Taste Tideswell, and have provided us with a rich source of ideas for partnership working. Key stakeholders and likely areas for partnership working will include: 12 of 181

5 Tideswell Retailers and Food Producers: As key beneficiaries of the Taste Tideswell project, it is important that current and future food retailers and producers are closely involved in the delivery. They will be instrumental in contributing to the definition of the 'Taste Tideswell' brand values, and will help shape the overall direction of the marketing campaign. All have indicated their support for the project. Parochial Church Council: working with Frank Yates, the Vicar of the Parish Church, and the church wardens, to encourage involvement of local parishioners in the Kitchen Garden and other Grow It/Community Kitchen activities. Parish Council: working with the Parish Council to encourage active involvement of all members of the village in Taste Tideswell and to establish effective links for Grow It! activities. Tideswell and District Community Association: Holding joint Taste Tideswell and Community Association events to encourage active citizenship within the village. Visit Tideswell and Visit Peak District: partnering with the local accommodation group (Visit Tideswell) to promote Taste Tideswell branded products and events to visitors; working with the Visit Peak District (tourist board) to promote the heritage and attraction of Tideswell as a foodie area. Local Schools and Local Educational Authority: We will establish formal service agreements with local schools and educational establishments to deliver classes to meet curriculum needs. Taste Tideswell is closely aligned with all five of the Governments Every Child Matters outcomes ('Be healthy', 'Stay safe', 'Enjoy and achieve', 'Achieve economic wellbeing' and 'Make a positive contribution') so will contribute more opportunities than just developing cookery skills and growing skills. See Appendix 7 for the Curriculum Plan developed by local Head Teachers to deliver primary school learning outcomes relating to Taste Tideswell. Losehill Hall Peak District National Park Environmental Educational Centre: We will work in partnership with Losehill Hall to provide cross-curricula educational opportunities for visiting schools, universities and local authorities from towns and cities surrounding the National Park. These will be delivered using the Taste Tideswell facilities in the village, and will focus on educating people about the importance of local food and local food enterprises within a National Park setting. Food from the Peak District : This University of Derby funded initiative, promotes locally produced food across the wider National Park and has similar aims to Taste Tideswell. There are many potential links and partnerships we hope to establish from jointly run food courses to links with the university's hospitality, events and tourism students. National initiatives promoting healthy eating, such as Jamie Oliver s 'Pass it On' campaign. We will also develop relationships with other Cookery Schools and training organisations, making the Taste Tideswell facilities available as a delivery venue for their courses. 13 of 181

6 Project Background Despite regular media campaigns to grow and shop local, there is a general decline in rural retailing that is threatening the vibrancy of village life. Competition from supermarkets in nearby cities (and their delivery services), are affecting rural economies like never before. Tideswell is no exception. On the surface, Tideswell appears to be a relatively thriving community. We have a selection of shops and food-related businesses, and are well-placed as a hub to capture trade from other local villages who have experienced serious decline and closure of their village shops. Our shops contribute to the vibrancy and social cohesion in the village, offering opportunity for people to meet and chat across generational boundaries. Our shops are an important part of the local economy and create employment directly and indirectly. Other Peak District villages have, over the past decade, experienced a domino effect resulting from shop closures if one shop ceases trading, and people can no longer get their 'full weekly shop' in one village, they change their shopping habits and take their entire custom elsewhere. Research shows that small shops clustered together rely on each other, as well as other local services, to generate consumer spend. Thus with one shop gone, the entire retail and food sector cannot continue to generate sufficient footfall to sustain the other shops and village retailing sector spirals into a decline. For example a nearby village to Tideswell (Bradwell - population: 1883) has lost at least three food shops since ** We can t sit back and let this happen in Tideswell ** The Taste Tideswell project has been established to help stem this decline before it can have a serious detrimental impact on our village. There are signs that a decline has already started two of the food retailers (The Fruit Shop and Gibbs Butchers) have recently concluded that opening on Saturday afternoon is not economic for them; and one retailer has confidentially informed us that they will cease trading when their lease next comes up for renewal. Additionally, village pubs are also showing symptoms of decline with The George having had 7 licensees in a period 3 years, and The Cross Daggers pub on the main street in the village closing in Achievements and Costs to date Since the Taste Tideswell Group was constituted, we are proud of what has been achieved. Achievements include: - Raising the profile of the local retailers amongst local residents, and stressing the importance of shopping locally. Our monthly village newsletter, The Village Voice, has featured Taste Tideswell and the project aims and objectives in every single issue since June. Thus, people s knowledge about the importance of local produce and local retailers has been raised through constant repetition. Interviews carried out in January 2010 with local retailers confirmed that the majority of them have already seen an increase in demand for local food in their stores. 14 of 181

7 - The consultation carried out as part of the Taste Tideswell project has brought together a range of villagers who would normally not have a reason to meet. They have met and chatted over one of society s oldest social traditions eating together. This can only help contribute social cohesion and feeling of inclusion within the village. Our evidence for this is only anecdotal at this stage but growing. - We have already stimulated ideas for food-related enterprise amongst local people. Through exploring potential funding streams, the group have been able to provide advice to people about securing funding for their entrepreneurial ambitions. For example, one person who attended a Taste Tideswell consultation is now pursuing funding from the Peak District Live and Work Rural Fund to develop his idea of a 'Mobile Wood Burning Stove' with the aim of launching a pizza/bread catering operation at local events. Another is investigating what would be involved in setting up a small-scale smokery, and a third is establishing a specialist glutenfree pudding business. During the Business Development Phase, the Taste Tideswell Group has incurred costs of approximately 16,000 The bulk of these costs have been incurred preparing the deliverables required for the Village SOS Capital Development Plan. Architect/quantity surveyor fees amount to 94% of this total, with the remainder being spent on advice about setting up the microbrewery, incidental expenses to visit other similar projects, and consultation events. Two sets of architect/quantity surveyor fees have been incurred The first relating to the Old Grammar School (which was an option we were forced to reject after the design/costings had been concluded, due to it being significantly over budget because of the building's condition and listed status); and secondly on the preferred option of the 'Old Stove Shop'. 15 of 181