Sustainable access, sustainable travel Building on the Countryside Agency’s recreational transport experience
John Dower House, Crescent Place Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 3RA Tel: 01242 521381 Fax: 01242 584270 www.countryside.gov.uk
CA 212 This document is printed on recycled paper comprising 75% recycled post consumer waste. May 2005
The Countryside Agency is changing
Sustainable access, sustainable travel Building on the Countryside Agency’s recreational transport experience
Defra’s Rural Strategy, published in July 2004, announced the Government’s intention to establish a smaller, well-focussed new Countryside Agency with a role to act as a rural advocate, expert adviser and independent watchdog, with a particular focus on rural disadvantage. The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill, published on 10 February 2005 for pre-legislative scrutiny, sets out provisions to establish a new integrated agency comprising land, access and recreation activities of the Countryside Agency, English Nature and most of the Rural Delivery Service of Defra and the Commission for Rural Communities to carry out the role of rural advocate expert adviser and independent watchdog. Until legislation is passed and the new bodies formally established, the Countryside Agency is organising its work into two main divisions: the Landscape, Access and Recreation division, which will begin to carry out the functions envisaged for the new body, and Commission for Rural Communities division. By 1 April 2005: • We will have established the new, well-focussed division called the Commission for Rural Communities, paying special attention to rural disadvantage. • Our landscape, access and recreation teams will have already begun to work with our partners, English Nature and the Rural Development Service, regionally and nationally, bringing together our activities to improve services for customers. • We will have transferred most of our current socio-economic delivery functions to Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and Defra for delivery through Government Offices. We may be changing – but our skills, knowledge and enthusiasm will continue to support and help the interests of people in rural England. www.countryside.gov.uk
Distributed by: Countryside Agency Publications PO Box 125 Wetherby West Yorkshire LS23 7EP Telephone: Fax: Email: Website: Minicom:
0870 120 6466 0870 120 6467
[email protected] www.countryside.gov.uk 0870 120 7405 (for the hard of hearing)
© Countryside Agency May 2005
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
Contents
Introduction Introduction Planning a Project
3 6
Delivering the Project
11
Developing and Sustaining the Project
15
Developing Good Practice Between Spring 2001 and Spring 2005, the Countryside Agency supported more than 100 new transport projects to encourage access to the English countryside. The Countryside Agency used the Wider Welcome Rural Transport Partnership programme to demonstrate schemes designed to make the countryside more accessible to visitors, whether they lived in urban or rural parts of England and whether or not they had access to a car. It also supported schemes to give visitors who had their own transport greater choice to travel to or through the countryside in greener, more sustainable ways, including the ability to undertake linear or point-topoint walks without having to return to a parked vehicle. It included supporting new bus, train and even boat services to improve access for everyone. Wider Welcome RTP schemes were about encouraging walking, cycling, sustainable tourism and greater visitor spend in the countryside in ways which caused least harm to the environment.
Tackling Social Inclusion and Supporting Visitor Management High on the list of funding priorities for the Countryside Agency were schemes which enabled people who, for whatever reason, experienced difficulties in reaching and enjoying the countryside because of lack of transport. This included people on low incomes, or with physical or learning difficulties for whom the costs or availability of transport to the countryside was a problem. It also included developing alternatives to the car as a way of helping to manage visitors to the countryside, reducing the problems of congestion and pollution in sensitive landscapes such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) or Nature Reserves.
2
3
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
Piloting new approaches Wider Welcome RTP was never intended to provide a long-term solution to rural transport problems. It was primarily a ‘pump priming exercise’, to enable new and in some cases experimental rural transport schemes to be tried out and, if they were successful, generate their own succession strategy. This meant that stakeholders – local authorities, countryside and tourism managers, transport operators and users of the service – were then responsible for finding ways for the best schemes to continue, with sufficient resources to meet their operating and marketing costs. Rural public transport in the 21st century rarely covers its operating costs, so unless one or more partners can fund a particular project, it is unlikely to survive. However, some former WW RTP schemes have now become part of ‘mainstream’ rural transport provision, supported by local authorities, recreation managers and other agencies.
Case Study
Gateway Wheelers is a voluntary organisation providing cycling opportunities for people with severe physical and mental disabilities in the North East.The Road to Freedom project increased the number of specially adapted cycles available to members and worked in partnership with Langley Community Transport to jointly purchase a minibus with cycle carrying capacity which could be used by members to extend the number of destinations they could access.When not in use by the Gateway Wheelers, the vehicle also forms part of the Community Transport fleet. What we like . . . • This innovative project is making a major contribution to social inclusion for those suffering a range of disabilities, enabling them to access and enjoy the countryside. • The support of the Countryside Agency has enabled the group to draw down further funding to extend the fleet of bikes to 36 and there are currently 157 members of the group benefiting from the scheme. • The partnership with the Langley Community Transport has not only increased the mobility of members, but provided guaranteed revenue support to the community transport association.
What makes a good recreational transport project? The simplest answer is one that meets real market needs; that is, one that attracts and is used by significant numbers of people, so that even if all costs are not covered by the fare box, the supported service can be seen to be directly benefiting visitors to and within the countryside. It should also be a scheme which is indirectly or directly benefiting local residents when visitors spend money on goods and services in local shops, accommodation and other businesses or when the service is available to take residents into market towns or other service centres. However, there are cases where a service or facility may be carrying less people but is achieving its core objectives; for example, meeting the special needs of particular groups, such as people with disabilities or on low incomes, or helping a local authority or agency to meet its wider visitor management objectives. The four years of Wider Welcome RTP have therefore provided valuable practical experience of developing sustainable access in the English countryside.There have been important lessons learned and success stories which have resulted in schemes that are now among the best of their kind in Europe. Equally, there are schemes that have not succeeded, sometimes through lack of a realistic Business Plan, or in other cases because a key element, such as effective monitoring, was missing. This brief guide is intended to build on this experience and offer local authorities, transport operators and countryside managers support in developing new forms of sustainable access into and through the countryside.
GATEWAY WHEELERS
Details: Brian Milner of Gateway Wheelers on 07764 495902
Case Study
923 RURAL BUS: OTLEY, WETHERBY & HAREWOOD HOUSE A new service linking local rural communities with two market towns, Otley and Wetherby, and Menston railway station for connections into Leeds and Bradford.The service also serves Harewood House, a major regional visitor attraction. Harewood House has been actively involved in developing green travel options and the 923 bus links with an electric shuttle service taking visitors up the mile-long drive from the entrance of the estate to the House. What we like . . . • Multi-purpose service providing an important link into the countryside of Lower Wharfedale and also a parcel carrying service. • Quality marketing featuring attractive leaflet and ticketing deals. • Bus passengers receive half price entry to Harewood House. • High quality service using accessible vehicle. • Good integration with other rail and bus services. • Success of service led to increased operation from 4 to 5 days a week. The 923 now meets the minimum criteria for West Yorkshire PTE for rural funding for the service to become a permanent part of West Yorkshire’s rural bus network. Details: Alan Bishop of WYPTE on 0113 2517410
4
5
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
Planning a Project
in kind (services and facilities, including volunteer support) that the project is likely to need to succeed, which have not been provided by one organisation alone. Some partners may be able to access external funding that is not available to the main partner – for example, money from Charitable Trusts or European Funding through projects such as LEADER+. The success of a partnership depends critically on the leadership of one or more project champions, the ‘mover and shaker’ who can ensure the project delivers.
The potential market The Vision
6
The first requirement for any successful sustainable rural access project is to have a clear purpose for the project. What are you trying to achieve? Is the scheme related to the wider visitor management of a particular area of countryside or heritage attraction, or are you hoping to develop more sustainable forms of access, on foot, by cycle or by bus as an alternative to the problems of visitors’ cars? Perhaps a green travel or a park and ride service is perceived as a positive inducement or ‘carrot’ to make it politically easier to bring in the ‘stick’ of parking controls, traffic regulation or even removal of cars from certain sensitive locations. Or is it a concern that certain groups of people do not or rarely visit your particular area of countryside or visitor attraction? Providing affordable public transport is one way of enabling those without cars to reach the countryside. This is not just the socially excluded, but also many younger people, students, older people who are no longer physically able to drive or who choose not to, and many overseas visitors who are environmentally conscious or who are nervous about driving on what for them is the ‘wrong’ side of the road.
The next requirement is an understanding of your market. Who are you trying to influence? Whose behaviour are you trying to change? Where do they live or, if they are holidaymakers, where do they stay? Are you seeking particular kinds of people in terms of age, income, ethnic origin, physical activity or geographic location? Are there particular segments of these key markets whose behaviour you are trying to influence? Understanding and communicating with your market is the key to all successful transport projects. Some people are difficult to influence because they are firmly set in their ways; others are more susceptible to changing their travel habits if what is available is attractive enough – a fun trip in its own right. You may find it useful to think in terms of ‘deep green’ visitors who will come all the way from their home or overnight accommodation by bus, train or bike, and ‘pale greens’ who can be best intercepted at a fringe car park, from where walking and cycling opportunities and local bus services are available. Both have a role in reducing environmental impact and social exclusion; the deep green solution, if harder to achieve, has greater benefits in both areas.
Building a strong partnership
Designing your scheme
Understanding your objectives is therefore the first step to building the kind of partnership that is essential to develop or improve a sustainable transport service. For example, if you are a local authority Countryside Department there may be many other departments within your own and neighbouring authorities (District, County and Unitary) such as transport, economic development or planning, which share your objectives. Government Agencies (including English Nature and English Heritage), Regional and Sub Regional Development Agencies and Sport England are likely to support what you are doing, as are a wide range of voluntary bodies such as the National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, Tourism Associations and local user groups. Depending on your objectives, this list might also include Social Services, the Ramblers Association, local community groups and Primary Care Trusts. A partnership is essential. A number of individual organisations may together be able to offer the cash (revenue support) and help
With a clear idea of your objectives and your priority markets, you are now in a position to offer the kind of project in terms of travel mode or choice to meet both the needs of the market and your own objectives. It might be a conventional or demand-responsive bus service, promotional activity or even shared taxis, a train service or a new cycle or walking route. Wherever possible, seasonal or weekend leisure services should be fully integrated with the area’s regular, weekday services so local people are also encouraged to use the leisure services for their own recreational needs, and visitors use the local networks for recreational travel. In many cases the priority will be about promoting what is already there – local rural buses and train services (perhaps underused with plenty of seats to fill, especially at weekends), linked to walking trails and cycle ways. The services might be underused simply because people do not know about them, do not understand them, or because they are 7
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
not motivated to use them to access the countryside. Generating new business for existing services by high quality promotional activity, and thereby reducing public financial subsidy, is a highly cost-effective way of using scarce resources; everyone gains – service users, the local community, transport and tourism operators and local authorities.
The value of a Business Plan Making your project happen requires a well thought through Business Plan. This should set out clearly and logically what you want to achieve and how it can be achieved within the resources available to you in terms of funding, and the necessary human and other resources to deliver the product on the ground. It is important to be realistic. Whilst costs are relatively easy to predict, income is not. It can take up to three years for a new rural transport service to build up to its potential. Leisure-based transport services are notoriously weatherdependent. A poor summer can deter users no matter how excellent the publicity. Predictions on visitor or fare box income, especially in the initial stages, need to be extremely cautious, with modest upward revisions in the light of real experience A Business Plan should also be an advocacy document that can be used to attract funding to the project and broaden the partnership.
Devising a business plan for recreational access schemes Ideally, the business plan should cover a three year period, and be revised annually to reflect the actual experience of project delivery, including possible opportunities to extend and develop the scheme. Due to the wide range of different types of recreational access projects, there can be no set template for a business plan. However, for a business plan to deliver as both an advocacy and management tool, the document needs to include the following elements: • details of the project proposed, how it will operate and whether there will be future phases of development within the period of the business plan; • plans for PR and publicity; • details of the expected outputs (i.e. the things that will actually be produced such as a continuation of a service) from the projects, and related outcomes (i.e. the consequences relating to the outputs such as more local residents being provided with transport to enable them to access local services); • tangible and intangible benefits of the project; • proposals for monitoring and evaluation; • overall costs, and annual cash flow projections; • details of committed and proposed sources of income; • the implementation, development strategy and timetable proposed; • milestones (i.e. significant dates or markers that will show that the project is on course) and targets (i.e. final dates when activities will be completed).
8
Case Study
BREEZE UP TO THE DOWNS Three bus services support the Breeze up to the Downs network, providing sustainable access to ‘honey pot’ destinations on the Sussex Downs including Ditchling Beacon, Stanmer Park and Devil’s Dyke. Despite their relative closeness to Brighton, these were all destinations which were difficult to reach without a car, and all were suffering from the impact of increasing visitor traffic and congestion.The Breeze up to the Downs network runs on Sundays and Bank Holidays throughout the year, with a Saturday service and daily service on one of the routes during the Summer months. It is hoped in the long term to use car parking charges to provide revenue support for the network. What we like . . . • Increasing patronage on the network – 84% passenger increase on the network between March 2002 and October 2004. • Modal Shift – while visitors have increased at some sites overall, the National Trust have confirmed the number of cars have not, enabling them to close their 200 space overflow car park. • High quality, promotion-strong brand used on leaflets, timetables, posters etc; website and 24 hour information line; partnership with South Central Thameslink to promote the network at 15 stations. • Good monitoring – regular passenger surveys. • Integrated ticketing and link to Brighton’s real time information system. Discounts for bus passengers at local pubs and tea shops. • Strong partnership – Brighton & Hove City Council developed a strong working relationship with both the National Trust and Sussex Downs Conservation Board which has enabled effective troubleshooting and joint promotion. Details: Richard Johnson, Brighton & Hove City Council on 01273 292480
9
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
Case Study
PEAK CONNECTIONS High quality marketing campaign to promote existing public transport links to and within the Peak District as an integrated network providing sustainable access to the National Park.The campaign is targeted at those less familiar with using buses and trains and a family of user-friendly guides has been produced to encourage visitors to sample days out by bus and train. What we like . . . • Strong partnership of National Park, local authorities and neighbouring Passenger Transport Executives. • Detailed Business Plan. • Support from tourism businesses, many of whom have agreed to offer discounts to public transport users. • Establishment of Village Transport Information Points in post offices and village halls to improve the availability of public transport information. • High quality publications – with plans to produce linear walks to encourage visitors to park their car, or arrive by public transport and explore the area on foot. Details: David Marsden, Peak Connections Marketing Officer on 01629 585550
Case Study
SPURN RANGER A summer Sunday bus serving Spurn Point Nature Reserve, designed to support visitor management objectives for a sensitive area and to provide access to the area from surrounding urban areas. What we like . . . • High quality marketing with strong brand. • Good integration with connecting services to main urban centres. • Joint partnership with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. • Evidence of modal switch. • Audio tour handsets to add to the overall visitor experience. • Detailed monitoring to create an evidence base to support new funding bids and the development of a succession strategy. Details: Colin Walker, Rural Transport Development Manager, Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council on 01377 255812
10
Delivering the Project Turning a Business Plan into reality requires skill, diplomacy, commitment and energy of a high order – as well as sufficient human and financial resources to make it happen. All successful rural transport projects require a champion, some individual or individuals leading the partnership who have the enthusiasm and energy to convince others that the project will indeed work – and who can back up the Business Plan with action.
Importance of brand Projects need a brand. A catchy name or title is more than just a gimmick. It is shorthand for a number of different activities and opportunities that the particular transport services makes possible. A brand name should capture the imagination. Names such as Breeze up to the Downs, the Cotswold Lion and Ironbridge Connect, immediately convey something about the product and the area they serve. A brand not only improves the visibility of the service, but also generates user confidence.
A high quality service Quality is of critical success to any initiative. If you are providing a bus service then a modern, clean vehicle is essential, ideally in an appropriate livery. Reliability is essential (preferably with backup), as are staff who are well trained, well presented and well informed about the area of countryside and attractions served. Bus drivers or train conductors are the prime customer contact who can positively influence a visit by their manner, local knowledge and helpful attitude. Infrastructure, such as bus shelters, must be clean and graffiti-free to offer users the assurance and security they need. Feedback needs to be actioned immediately, be it problems of routing or timekeeping, or lack of information at key outlets. Quality breeds confidence and confidence means repeat visitors and the best marketing of all – word-of-mouth. Equally, poor quality at any level can have the opposite effect, and once customer confidence is lost, services rarely, if ever, recover.
11
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
High quality promotion
Monitoring a project – measures of success
Information on the service needs to be easy to understand and attractively presented, particularly where a service is aimed at those less familiar with using rail and bus services. Attractive publications with single dimensional timetables, clear route maps, suggested days out backed up by telephone information lines and websites are all good practice. Crucially, there needs to be real commitment by the lead body at every level, including active promotion within other publicity and information produced by all partners. Small actions such as ensuring that leaflet racks are topped up and constant news items are drip-fed into the press and onto the internet, especially at the start of a school holiday period, can make an important difference in maintaining the profile of a service. Not everyone responds to a printed leaflet, however well produced. For an increasing number of people the Internet is their main mode of finding leisure information. For many others they can best be persuaded by peer group pressure or opinion formers within their group.
Establishing an evidence base to demonstrate the impact of a scheme is essential for a project’s continuation. There is a wide range of potential information which can be a powerful advocacy tool for approaching new funders, such as: • Number of users or passengers; • Fares (revenue), and the use of integrated ‘rover style’ ticketing if applicable; • User profile – age, gender, origin, including local people; • User behaviour – activity undertaken, length of journey; • User spend – to identify the contribution of the project to the local economy; • Evidence of modal switch – whether the user had a car available and would have used it had the scheme not been in existence; • Case studies of the experience of individual users – particularly where they demonstrate the project’s contribution to social inclusion; • Anecdotal evidence from local businesses on additional usage attributable from users of the scheme, particularly where businesses have offered additional incentives such as discounts to those arriving by green transport modes; • Anecdotal evidence from those involved in visitor management on impact of scheme e.g. use of car parks, or increase in numbers of visitors participating in linear walks.
Monitoring Monitoring is vital at every level, both to ensure effective customer feedback which can change, improve or adjust a service to meet user needs, but also to provide the vital evidence base which present and future funders will need to prove that objectives are being met and outcomes are being achieved.This needs to be both quantitative – number of bottoms on seats, or feet or wheels along trails – and qualitative to prove that target audiences are being contacted and behaviour changed. Such information as visitor origin and destination, activity at the destination, age/gender, car ownership and tourism spend, provide valuable evidence around which to build political support, whilst anecdotal evidence can sometimes illuminate the degree to which a sense of community ownership is being built up. Assessing the wider social and economic benefits of a service is particularly important for the future viability of the service in winning wider political support and funding for its continuation. Information should also be collected from local organisations or businesses who are providing ancillary services such as guided walks linked to the bus service or discounts at cafes or visitor attractions. Evidence that local people are also benefiting from the service is also important, whether this is enabling them to travel on Sundays when no other service would be available, or providing new leisure opportunities close to where they live but which would be inaccessible without the new service. Good monitoring can provide opportunities for press stories. For example, soon after the launch of the enhanced Hadrian’s Wall Bus service, it was discovered that a lady aged 100 years old and her daughter were regular travellers on the bus. The ensuing press release and inevitable photographs filled the regional press and acted as a strong reminder to travellers of the existence of the Hadrian’s Wall bus during the holiday period. 12
Case Study
THAMES PATH ON LINE The Thames Path On line site www.nationaltrails.co.uk provides an online map and database to enable visitors and local residents to plan walks along the Trail.The site is particularly targeted at visitors who may have mobility impairments and need detailed information on path conditions, but there is also information on visitor attractions and transport links. What we like . . . • The site recognises that the access requirements of those with mobility problems, whether physical, or personal circumstances – for example, parents with young children in buggies – varies enormously. By giving information on path gradient, surface, location of steps and kerbs, individuals can decide for themselves whether a particular stretch of route is accessible to them and their particular disability. • Excellent working partnership with Transport for London which has adopted the path as one of London’s strategic routes, and is providing resources to improve the accessibility of certain section of the Trail. • The approach to using web based databases has wider applicability to countryside recreation and in particular the need for highway authorities to consider those with disabilities within the Rights of Way Improvement Plans. Details: Jos Joslin, Thames National Trail Officer on 01869 340096
13
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
Case Study
SHROPSHIRE SHUTTLES A network of five interlinking bus services providing car-free access to the Shropshire Hills including the Long Mynd, Stiperstones and the Secret Hills. Operated by mini buses between April and October, at weekends and Bank Holidays, the Shuttles are a key component of a visitor management strategy to reduce traffic on the area’s narrow and steep roads. What we like . . . • The appointment of a co-ordinator to manage, champion and develop the network and coordinate funding bids for its continuation. • Strong partnership involving the National Trust, English Nature, Shropshire Tourism Association, Transport for Everyone in South Transport (Community Transport Association) and Shropshire Museum Service who recognise the importance of the Shuttles in achieving visitor management objectives. • High quality promotion material with clear maps, and easy to read timetables, information on walking routes and visitor attractions. • The introduction of a programme of ‘Talking Buses’ in Summer 2004 in which guides (some in costume) gave talks on the buses on the history, folklore and natural heritage of the area. • Detailed monitoring of all the services including the spend per head of bus passengers, information which has been used to advocate the importance of the Shuttles to the local tourism businesses. • Modal shift – there has been a reduction in the number of visitors arriving at popular destinations, such as the Long Mynd, by car. Details: Mathew Mead, South Shropshire Rural Transport Partnership Officer on 01588 673665
Developing and Sustaining the Project Commitment and Continuity Launching a new service is perhaps the easy part. For the project to succeed it needs commitment from a wide range of individuals and organisations, over a long period of time, to build passenger numbers to a level which enables a service to be mainstreamed and thereby allows access to guaranteed revenue support from a local authority or other organisation such as a National Park or visitor attraction. Inevitably, leisure travel is often seen as a low priority by local transport authorities faced with budget cuts for ‘essential’ work, school or shopping services. Similarly faced with budget squeezes, many countryside managers will see sustainable access as a relatively low priority given the proportion of overall visitors arriving by public transport. Uncertainty of funding often means that publicity about recreational services can only appear a few weeks prior to the start of a Spring or Summer service, when the deadline for autumn produced tourism brochures will have long since elapsed. However, for recreational rural transport to be sustainable in the long term, continuity and commitment by partners is essential. User confidence depends on details of the service appearing in tourist brochures, on web sites and in individual attractions’ publicity, months before a service starts, so that a visitor planning a holiday can do so knowing that they can reach a destination without a car.
Review, evaluate and evolve Successful projects need to be regularly reviewed and evaluated using information and comments from passengers, the transport operating company and feedback from countryside managers and attractions. Evaluation enables a project to evolve to become more responsive to its users and potential users and more effectively meet the wider objectives of the partners. Opportunities may be identified in the evaluation for route extensions or variations, additional days of service, ways to attract new markets or
14
15
Sustainable access, sustainable travel
involve new partners in joint ticketing or promotion. Services may need to be reduced or fares increased to cover revenue. The most successful recreational access schemes are those that have not been afraid to innovate even where this has meant delivering the service in a different way, or broadening the scope of a project to include new partners.
Case Study
Securing the future of a service Given the wide range of potential recreational access projects, there is no one solution to securing long term funding. Ideally, at the inception of the project, the main partners will have identified some potential opportunities and have had time to investigate these further as the actual experience of delivering the project on the ground unfolds. Experience from those projects supported by the Countryside Agency who have been able to find ways to continue beyond the period of grant support highlight a number of guiding principles:
GREENWAY – DART PLEASURE CRAFT The National Trust opened Greenway Gardens in 2002, but a condition of the planning permission of opening the house was to restrict parking and to develop and promote sustainable forms of access. Dart Pleasure Craft has operated a boat and ferry service to provide car free access from Dartmouth and Paignton.The ferry service performed well, but the bus was less successful.The ferry operator has therefore worked closely with Stage Coach to develop an integrated ticket valid on all Stage coach buses to link with the ferry service from Dartmouth Quay to Greenway. What we like . . . • The National Trust estimate that 62% of visitors arrive without a car at Greenway showing the effectiveness of physical restrictions on parking and car usage combined with a high quality public transport alternative. Visitors arriving by car have to pre-book a space prior to their visit, with spaces severely restricted. • Dart Pleasure Craft Ltd have been prepared to be flexible and look at new ways to deliver the service to Greenway when the initial bus service did not prove viable in the long term, resulting in an effective partnership with Stagecoach. • Strong support from the National Trust and more recently Stagecoach who will jointly promote the ferry and bus links. • The promotion of the ferry service to Greenway as part of the overall visitor experience. Details: Mike Palmer, Director of Dart Pleasure Craft Ltd on 01803 834488
1. Retain the vision: Believe and remain committed to the concept behind the scheme, but don’t be tied to the details of its delivery. 2. Evaluate the scheme: Review whether the scheme is achieving its aims and examine opportunities for development. 3. Build and strength partnerships: Work with key local stakeholders and engage with the community including tourism businesses to build ownership and long term commitment to the continuation of the project. 4. Build an evidence base and disseminate the key findings: Use data and case studies to demonstrate the projects achievements, particularly the broader social and economic benefits to an area, to help justify its continuation. The evidence base can be a powerful tool for advocacy and for generating positive local media interest. 5. Examine opportunities for income generation: Review fares or charging policies and opportunities for generating additional income for a scheme through contract work or diversification. 6. Identify potential funders: Understand what potential funders are looking for, their criteria and the evidence they will require to make a decision. Don’t be afraid to think ‘outside the box’, particularly for projects that are delivering on a wide social agenda. 7. Work to achieve mainstreaming: Accept that, ultimately, projects cannot survive long term on a series of short term grants, and begin to identify which bodies might be persuaded to offer long term core funding if the project can demonstrate that it is making a major contribution to overcoming social exclusion or meeting visitor management objectives of a sensitive landscape. 8. Understand the political environment: Understand the agendas of organisations such as the local authority, Regional Development Agencies and other key bodies who might influence the future of your rural access project. Use this understanding to make the case for the project to those organisations using the language and priorities of their strategies. Look at ways that the project can evolve, to better meet the agenda of those bodies, whilst at the same time not compromising on objectives of the service. 9. Be realistic: Be honest about whether the project is worth continuing, and if it is, ensure that it fits with current budget constraints, even if that means reducing the service or ending certain elements of the scheme. 10. Prepare a business plan: Use the discipline of preparing a written business plan to clearly articulate what the service aims to achieve in a form which can be easily communicated to partners and potential funders.
16
17
