FESTIVALS and events in Evesham boosted the town’s economy by £4.8million last year, according to a new report.
The staggering figure was revealed to Evesham Town Council on Monday by Wychavon Council’s Inward Investment Manager Sean Riley in his annual report on the viability and vibrancy of the town centre.
The study details how the two council’s investments have benefited the Vale. Last year both councils stumped up £37,000, with an additional funding of £1.3million secured from Wychavon’s economic development team, to support businesses and the nine major festivals in Evesham.
The report claims this generated a total of £4.8million to Evesham and the Vale.
To arrive at that figure, the benefits to the economy are calculated from Advertising Value Equivalent – this is the amount of free positive publicity generated for the town from its events and festivals which help boosts the number of visitors.
Mr Riley’s report to town councillors was his eighth since the Joint Projects began between the town councils.
In that time the fund has supported 58 businesses and the creation of 129 full-time jobs and 73 part-time jobs.
The number of festivals in the Vale has also increased, with the fund supporting just four in 2010 to nine major festivals receiving help in 2017.
The report also claims that clear evidence can be seen in the long-term progress in attracting inward investment to Evesham. This includes the construction of the Waitrose store, the reopening of the former PJ’s unit, and Orto Lounge and Katie’s Bar and Grill opening in the Market Square.
Although the report recognises there are still challenges facing Evesham, including the empty units in the town centre, a number of ambitions have been set out for next year.
This includes helping the new owners of the Riverside Shopping Centre to attract national retailers to the site, investing in infrastructure and supporting growth of Evesham’s business parks to enable firms to expand and hire more people.
And in a bid to help support those goals, town councillors agreed to stump up £15,000 to support next year’s Joint Projects fund.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting, Mr Riley said: “This is my eighth report and in that time our joint ambition to improve the viability and vibrancy of Evesham Town Centre has been consistent.
“The strategy has been to provide immediate support for the town whilst working on long-term activities such as securing infrastructure investment.
“Looking ahead as some long-term events become less reliant on financial support, it provides us with opportunities to come up with new ideas.
“Investor interest is creating new opportunities and we need to ensure we attract occupiers who align with our long-term aspirations.”
