18 September 2008
Eastbourne Borough Council has agreed to add a Scrutiny Review of Airbourne 2008 to its current timetable. The review will be conducted by Councillor Graham Marsden, the Chairman of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee, and Councillor Neil Stanley, the controlling group lead spokesperson for Scrutiny. They will be supported by the Council’s Internal Audit Manager.
Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, Councillor David Tutt says, “Following the loss of the major sponsor of the Airbourne event two years ago, successive Administrations tried to find a replacement, without success. The Director of Tourism, recommended the introduction of a charge in order to avoid the cost falling upon the Eastbourne Council Taxpayer and provided a business case in support of this. Whilst expenditure was contained within the budget set, the income generated by Airbourne fell well short of that forecast and this was reported to Cabinet on 3 September. It is now important to understand why the estimated income was not achieved and it is the task of the Scrutiny review to establish this.”
The review team will gather evidence from a range of sources that will include relevant Council documentation, Councillor Portfolio Holder, relevant Director and Council staff, Police, Hospitality Association and Chamber of Commerce.
Chairman of Scrutiny, Councillor Graham Marsden says, “It is very important that residents, traders and hoteliers are given a clear explanation as to what went wrong and why the decision to charge backfired so badly. The review will look in detail at all of the documentary evidence and talk with a wide range of stakeholders so that we have a clear picture of the decision making process. Airbourne is a vital part of Eastbourne’s Events’ Programme and I for one want it to continue. However, it is essential that it has a business plan in which one has the confidence to believe that it will deliver on its forecasts.”
The review of Airbourne 2008, will look at the impact of the decision to charge for admission to Airbourne 2008. In particular the review will investigate the process of decision making, the development of the business plan, and resultant outcomes.
