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Contents

• An introduction to the HVL Directors
• An introduction to HVL
• The opportunities 
• Lessons learned 
• The plan
• What we can do together

An introduction to the HVL Directors

Matt Biagetti (38)

Hoylake resident since 2005, and enjoys family life here with two young children. Has worked with communities from diverse backgrounds, and managed a broad range of town and city centre regeneration projects. Moved from Walsall, and says he chose Hoylake above anywhere on Merseyside due to: “the beauty of the beach; the sunset; the coastal birdlife; the range of shops, restaurants, pubs and bars; the Edwardian red brick; the quirks, the character, the strong sense of place.  And the expectation that there was much more to come.”

Celia Hall (73)

Hoylake resident since 2000, having moved here “to enjoy the beauty of the environment and the friendliness of the people”. Former charity publisher's editor and copyeditor in Cambridge involved in author training, writing and production of Open Learning and government training materials. Author of Editing for Everyone (NEC,1983) aimed at members of community groups writing promotional material and producing newsletters, and contributor to Editing for Print (Macdonald, 1985). Subsequently joined her husband's business as a freelance copyeditor for international publishers.

John Hall (73)

Has lived in Hoylake since 2000, “drawn here by the open spaces and wildlife”. Previously worked in publishing as a freelance editor for international publishers including Oxford University Press, John Wiley, UK and US, and Elsevier Science, The Netherlands.
 

Mark Howard (49)

Mark moved to Hoylake the week before the Golf Open in 2006. Lives with his wife and two children aged 5 and 7. Has run own charity consultancy business since 1990 serving national and international charities with design, photography and communications services. Chose to move to Hoylake from London because “memories of childhood play at Hoylake and Red Rocks, and Wirral generally, never left me during my 33 years down south. When we started a family and wanted to leave London, Hoylake was the only place in the whole country that we wanted to live in. It has everything we want out of life.”

Margaret Robertson (64)

Hoylake resident since 2003. Former Local Government Administrator, former carer, former Teaching Assistant – retired since 2006. “I am a founder member of HVL and became a Director in May 2010 when we became a Community Interest Company. I was the unpaid Secretary of the Wirral Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus for 25 years, only retiring when it was necessary to care for my husband until his death in 2007. I love Hoylake because it is vibrant and friendly and I just adore the beautiful sunsets.”

Chris Moore (68)

Chris has been committed to Hoylake since moving here in 1993 to become the Secretary of Royal Liverpool Golf Club. He is a former RAF Group Captain who was awarded a CBE for services to the RAF in 1992. He is now retired but was intimately involved in the arrangements for the return of The Open in 2006, he became a Director of HVL in early 2011 and is also Chairman of Hoylake Conservation Areas Residents' Association.  He is “dedicated to making Hoylake a better place for all".

Richard Stowe (52)

Resident of Market Street and owner of local enterprise manufacturing planters and vegetable storage from reclaimed wood. Previous experiences include working in local government in Youth and Community work and Higher Education as a Senior Lecturer. Richard says "We love Hoylake because everything is so accessible, its peaceful yet plenty happens round here."

Rosie Saville (65)

Rosie moved to Hoylake as a child in 1956, and is a retired teacher who spent 18 years teaching at Hoylake Holy Trinity Primary School. She joined HVL in 2010. Rosie says. "I have no desire to ever live anywhere else!”

Kate Verdin-Walsh (30)

Owner of Vanilla Lounge bar in Hoylake Market Street.

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An introduction to HVL

HVL formed in 2009 in response to concerns about the number of empty shops in Hoylake. We are a group of volunteers who give our time and expertise free of charge to a wide range of projects ranging from events organising to long-term strategic planning.

At the time we formed, Hoylake had the fifth highest vacancy rate in Wirral and was the lowest performing town centre in Wirral in the UK retail rankings (Experian).

Our analysis of the Experian GOAD report from 2009 has delivered some startling figures that we believe are cause for great optimism for businesses in Hoylake, contrary to a report by consultants Roger Tym and Partners that proposed downgrading Hoylake.

On the basis of the amount of comparison floorspace, the catchment as identified by Roger Tym and Partners in their Core Strategy Report of 2010 and the average UK retail spend, Hoylake has a potential comparison shopping turnover of £45-£60 million. Actual turnover in 2009 was £15 million. That’s at least a £30 million underspend. And a huge opportunity.

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The opportunities

There’s more... these figures do not take into account Hoylake’s ‘added value’ potential; they are based on UK averages. We believe Hoylake could far exceed this potential if we actively promote our unique and highly valuable assets: a great beach, beautiful sunsets and views, international and world-class sporting facilities and events, a classic Victorian/ Edwardian resort built heritage that can still be revived and blended with high-quality contemporary facilities and design; a raft of famous sons and daughters and a rich community heritage.

The evidence is growing: Marco Pierre White and Frankie Dettori to open a ‘Frankie's’ Italian Bar and Grill at the King's Gap Holiday Inn Hotel; a 50-seater restaurant ‘La Mouette’ to open at the Royal Hilbre Hotel and Spa; the 2012 Women's Golf Open; the 2013 Youth Golf Open; the 2014 Men’s Golf Open and, in the pipeline, a £120 million 5-star Golf Resort and Hotel.

And Hoylake’s existing offer includes some great shops, restaurants, bars and more, with new businesses arriving every week.

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Lessons learned

It would be easy for all of this to overwhelm a small community. We could easily be turned into a ‘Clone Town’. Boom could turn to bust. Optimism has been dashed before. Much faith had been put in the advent of the Golf Open after an absence of 40 years. After the cameras left town, Hoylake’s fortunes went into reverse, leaving many businesses and residents in a state of shock. We need a solution that is sustainable. And that needs a more strategic approach.

HVL would like Hoylake to be a ‘Home Town’, not a ‘Clone Town’. Home to a blend of a few regional and national key brands, but mainly consisting of high- quality independent niche businesses. Based on our research in the community, we believe this is the future for Hoylake - one that reflects the personality of the Village. Quirky, independent, classic, fun, high quality, friendly and accessible. But it must be sustainable.

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The plan

With this in mind, HVL have been working since 2009 to help shape the Hoylake ‘brand’ to be attractive to these types of businesses. Since 2009 we have:

• Developed a Hoylake Village ‘brand’ including logo, window stickers and more
• Built and maintained a town portal website, now enjoying 50,000 unique hits a month, listing the vast majority of local businesses
• Maintained a Facebook page with 550 ‘likes’ and 5,000 visits a month
• Manage a Twitter feed with over 650 followers
• Directly supported incoming new businesses
• Run a campaign to attract new businesses via a direct contact inward investment ‘pack’
• Designed and installed high-quality banners in Market Sreet
• Encouraged Hoylake residents to shop local with a ‘use em or lose em’ campaign
• Managed Christmas Light installation
• Managed and achieved national publicity for a Christmas ‘Projection’, to be repeated in 2012
• Run events such as the yearly Halloween Children's Party
• Supported other events and local organisations with administration, publicity, public relations and marketing
• Responded to the Roger Tym Core Strategy on Hoylake and met with Council Officers to raise concerns
• Been accepted by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as Neighbourhood Plan Vanguard frontrunners. This involves a significant community consultation process (now taking place) which requires the support and cooperation of local businesses, residents, community groups and organisations.   This Plan is legislative, i.e. if, after referendum, it is approved by the community it becomes part of the legislative framework.
• Applied to form one of 12 Pilot Town Teams (recommended by Mary Portas following an independent review of the high street) each of which would comprise a representative group of enthusiastic local people who would work together in partnership on behalf of the whole community  to make a real difference to their town centre and bring it back to life.  The prize for the successful Town Teams would be to gain the expertise of Mary Portas and her team and the backing of the government to take their plans forward as well as receive a share of the £1million made available to implement this pilot scheme.  We have sought the backing in principle of the local community to make this application and received enthusiastic support.

In addition we are in the process of:

• Holding a year-long series of Film Nights at Hoylake Community Centre
• Creating a series of Saturday morning Film Matinees for children, with qualified childcare on the premises so that parents can shop in Hoylake
• Organising other events such as the Halloween Children's Party 2012
• Creating proposals for an amended Golf Resort plan to include a Wildlife and Wetland Visitor and Research Centre and/or Eco-activity Centre
• Meeting with Council Officers, Network Rail and Stobart Rail Infrastructure to discuss possible solutions to rail-crossing issues
• Developing a comprehensive Shopfront Design Guide

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What we can do together

We have lots more planned for the future. We would like you to become involved. But we recognise that working or running a business doesn’t leave much time for volunteering and activity at the end of the day.

But we have the energy and commitment to keep working at making Hoylake better. To help us achieve this, we need revenue for printing leaflets, for advertising and marketing, for banners in Market Street and more....

We get our income from advertising, sponsorships and grant funding. We offer local businesses great deals on website advertising, e-newsletter sponsorship, banner sponsorship and more....

We would be grateful if you would display a Hoylake Village Life window sticker in your window as a sign that you support our work in principle, and we would love to discuss advertising and sponsorship opportunities with you.

If you would like to meet any or all of us, or if you have any questions or want to know more, check out this website and our Facebook page, and contact us by and we will respond to you as soon as possible.

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