Minutes:
The Council noted a report from Councillor A Hopgood, Leader of the Council as follows:
The summer events season was in full-swing and hoped those who attended the Brass events across the county had a great time.
Events were not only fun, they were a major driver of footfall and spending in the local economy. There was another cause for celebration in the shape of some newly released tourism figures. Visitor spend in the county passed the £1billion mark for the first time ever in 2022 and new figures released last week confirmed that visitor spend had risen again, climbing to record high of £1.23billion in 2023. That only told part of the story, as visitor numbers and the number of people employed in tourism had both surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time. The Leader highlighted that there was a lot to be positive about, with much more to look forward to, including the up and coming Durham City Run Festival and Seaham Food Festival.
On a related note, Councillor Hopgood confirmed her formal appointment as the Culture, Creative, Tourism and Sport portfolio holder for the North East Combined Authority, further to fulfilling the role on an interim basis throughout the period of gearing up for the new combined authority. She looked forward in continuing to champion all that the county and the region had to offer.
Finally, the Leader of the Council was delighted to confirm the appointment of Michael Laing as the new Corporate Director for Adult and Health Services. Michael was joining the Council from his role as Director of Integrated Community Services with County Durham Care Partnership and would take up post later in the year following the announcement that Jane Robinson would be retiring in November. The Leader wished Michael every success in his new role.