The joint Visit Cornwall / Visit Isles of Scilly competition to win a five-night VIP holiday for two to Penzance and the Isles of Scilly which ran for three months until 19th February 2014 has generated more than 16,000 genuine leads for the Visit Isles of Scilly database.  The lead generation exercise was the most successful in the history of competitions run by Visit Cornwall and, for Scilly, it now means we have boosted our year-old database to more than 24,000 names.  Every month, we send e-newsletters to our entire database telling them about Scilly as a destination, our latest news and what’s coming up.

As for the lucky winner?  His name is David Harker from Ludlow in Shropshire, and he couldn’t be more overjoyed.  He is getting married this Friday (29th March) to his fiance Helena and, having had to cancel plans for a honeymoon initially due to being made redundant last year, they can now look forward to a special celebration when they arrive here on 9th June.  He has previously been to St Mary’s once before on a day trip many years ago and describes the Isles of Scilly as his “dream” destination.

Our thanks to Isles of Scilly Flowers who have generously sent the happy couple some scented narcissi this week to wish them well on their wedding day, and also to Schooners Hotel who are putting them up whilst staying on Scilly, Isles of Scilly Travel who are bringing them over from Penzance, as well as our other competition partners Penzance Hotel and First Great Western.

Residents and businesses across Scilly are being encouraged to get involved in the Great Scilly Spring Clean which is taking place on Saturday 5^th April and Sunday 6^th April.

The Great Scilly Spring Clean is a joint campaign supported by The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, the Isles of Scilly AONB, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, the Duchy of Cornwall, the Islands’ Partnership and Tresco Island. While beach cleans will take centre stage, the organisations are seeking to build on the good work already undertaken by many across the community and to help clean up after the storms and spring clean Scilly in whatever way they can.

Each organisation is taking responsibility to lead a beach clean on at least one beach on St Mary’s. On the off islands, the beach cleans are being coordinated by willing individuals – Anna Cawthray on St Martins,  Amanda Pender on Bryher, and Emma Eberlein on St Agnes, whilst on Tresco Dean Whillis is organising an island-wide tidy up. Anyone and everyone is invited to pick up a bag and join whichever beach clean they wish –  it’s all about everyone pulling together to make a difference. 

The Beach Clean timetable on St Mary’s is as follows:

Saturday 5^th April

11am – 1pm BAR POINT (lead by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust)

11am – 1pm OLD TOWN & PORTH MINNACK (lead by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust)

2pm – 4pm PORTHMELLON (lead by the Duchy of Cornwall)

2pm – 4pm SHARK’S PIT (lead by the Isles of Scilly AONB)

Sunday 6^th April

11am – 1pm RAM PITT / PORTH WRECK (lead by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust)

11am – 1pm PORTHCRESSA (lead by the Council of the Isles of Scilly)

2pm – 4pm TOWN BEACH (lead by the Islands’ Partnership)

2pm – 4pm PELISTRY & GILBERTS PORTH (lead by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust)

The timetable for the off islands is as follows:

Sunday 6^th April

10am – 1pm TRESCO (Meet at Smith Square)

10.30am – 12.30pm ST MARTIN’S (Meet at Island Hall)

10.30am – 12.30pm BRYHER (Meet at the Community Centre)

11am – 1pm ST AGNES (Meet at the Reading Room)

Prestigious UK professional photographer and Scilly resident, Chris Hall has announced an amazing discount on photography to all Islands’ Partnership members for their local businesses.   Should members choose to use Chris for their photographic needs they can enjoy a basic photographic package of 10 very high quality images of their property / product for just £150. This represents a 50% discount on Chris’ regular commercial fees.  Their images would be placed on a disc in two sizes – one set in high resolution for print and large format use; the other in low resolution for Facebook pages and websites. Chris is also offering advice on how to select the best images for promotional companies and magazines; whilst he will also help members with any promotional films they plan to shoot for TV, websites and social media etc.

Lagan Construction has started work on the construction compound at Parting Carn for the St Mary’s airport runways resurfacing project.

Lagan have started to strip the top soil, which will be stored on site until it can be put back, and to build concrete foundations for the asphalt plant that will provide the surface material for the runways.

Over the next 6 weeks, residents and businesses will notice large amounts of materials, workers and machinery arriving on the Islands and the building of the compound, prior to work starting on the runways, and some of St Mary’s roads.  The site includes accommodation for the Lagan staff because the runways will be resurfaced at night to ensure the Airport remains fully functional during the day.

Cllr Amanda Martin said ” The work at the airport is vital to the islands’ economy and communities. The Council of the Isles of Scilly is committed to improving the long-term resilience of all of our transport links.”

This work has been made possible by funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the Regional Growth Fund.

Visit Cornwall, in collaboration with the Islands’ Partnership, is hosting a Severe Weather & Flood Recovery Programme of Events at Tregarthen’s Hotel, St Mary’s on Friday 21st March from 11am – 3.30pm. The event has been put together to help any businesses affected by the severe weather this winter to get back on their feet and show the world that they are “Open for Business”.  Malcolm Bell, Visit Cornwall’s Head of Tourism, will lead the event.

Presentations, given  by expert professionals in their fields, include how to use PR in a crisis, flood recovery planning, what your website says about you, getting the most out of Google and Google Ads, as well as how best to use email marketing and social media to promote your business.  After the formal proceedings close at 3.30pm there will be opportunities to meet with any of the delegates for a 1:1 session.

The event is open to everyone and is free to attend, but you do need to pre-register your attendance, by calling 01720 424036 or emailing enquiries@islandspartnership.co.uk

To view the complete programme, see here.

The Islands’ Partnership has negotiated 15% off Europcar Car Hire  across the UK for its members.  Any member wishing to take advantage can find the details in the Members Only area of the website.

Other member discounts have also been negotiated recently including a 10% discount for email marketing services with Mail-Rocket, for email template design and build fees, as well as ongoing campaign fees.

Hotel discounts on the mainland are also available with Merchant House and Mannings in Truro.

The Islands’ Partnership is working hard to introduce a range of supplier and member-to-member discounts as a perk to businesses and individuals joining the organisation.  More benefits are expected to be announced soon.

In light of the recent extended period of extreme weather, the government has made available a number of measures to support businesses that have been adversely affected either by coastal storm surges or flooding. Available support includes Council Tax and Business Rates Relief, Repair and Renew Grants and a dedicated hardship fund (the Business Support Scheme) for small to medium sized businesses affected by the floods.  There is also bespoke support available for fisherman and farmers, as well as a commitment from major banks to support those businesses affected by the floods.

Also available is a comprehensive handbook produced by VisitEngland entitled Responding to Extreme Weather.   It looks to specifically support tourism businesses.  In addition the IP will shortly be holding an ‘Open for Business Conference’ that will look to provide professional advice on a number of topics, including recovery planning.

Members can find all the documents and advice within the Members Area > News & Information Update > Storm Recovery

The Islands’ Partnership is delighted to welcome Robert Goldsmith, Chief Executive Officer of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, as a Director.  He replaces Clifford Freeman, Proprietor of St Mary’s Hall Hotel, who stepped down earlier this year due to increasing business commitments.  The previous ISSG CEO, Jeff Marston was a director of the IP until he stood aside at the AGM in October 2013.

Chris Gregory, commented on the appointment: “I am delighted that Rob has so enthusiastically agreed to join the Islands’ Partnership Board. His personal skills and market development experience within the transport industry will be an undoubted asset to the Islands’ Partnership and the Directors look forward to re-affirming productive ties with the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, following Jeff Marston’s retirement.”

Robert added: “I am very pleased to be joining the Islands’ Partnership as a Director and look forward to working closely with the entire Board. The Islands’ Partnership can play a critical role in securing the future of the Isles of Scilly as an outstanding visitor destination through its own marketing initiatives and its support for the businesses who underpin the local economy.”

Already our Scilly Superstar, St Mary’s Boatman, Fraser Hicks, is now bidding to become Visit England’s Tourism Superstar for 2014.  You can vote now to help get Fraser win the competition by going to The Daily Mirror website.  You’ve got until 21st March, but don’t delay, vote today!