Case Study: St.Margaret's, Kent

The First Light Coast and Country group is a group of businesses set up with assistance from Hidden Britain to develop tourism in and around St.Margaret's, and have undertaken several different activities to promote the destination.

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Need for the project

St. Margaret’s initially came to Hidden Britain South East via referral from Tourism South East. A small group of businesses had got together to try and take positive steps to encourage tourism in and around the village.

Working with Hidden Britain the and the Kent Downs AONB through the Interegg IIIA Transmanche sustainable tourism project, consultation was held with all the businesses which identified the following key issues:

- A Lack of visitor information on the village and its attractions
- A lack of promotion
- A Lack of cohesive working amongst the businesses
- St.Margaret’s was dependant on outside agencies to promote the village
- Tourism in the village was very seasonal

Planning the Project

Hidden Britain and the KDAONB then worked to support the establishment of the a local tourism group, encouraging wider businesses and community members to work more closely together and manage St.Margaret’s as a destination. A tourism product audit was undertaken to identify the businesses and key features of the area for visitors, and to gain a current picture of the tourism economy in St.Margaret’s.

The group settled on the name and brand of “Firstlight Coast & Country” which neatly summed up the destination as a whole. The KDAONB Interegg project funded the publication of the initial leaflet as a quick win. The Firstlight group then used this a platform to bring more businesses into the organisation and to grow the initiative.

The Firstlight website was set up shortly afterwards, developed by volunteers with input and assistance from Hidden Britain, and this combined with the leaflet provided the key vehicles for promoting the village and area.

To date the group has retained a fairly loose structure with a rotating chair and secretary for meetings. However despite this there has been plenty of volunteer input into the groups various projects and initiatives. Recently the group has drafted a constitution and code of conduct, which have been agreed and will be formally implemented as and when needed.

Project Outputs :

The group have produced 2 incarnations of the “First Light Leaflet” an A3 folded to DL publication detailing the businesses and countryside activities available in and around the village.
The First Light website at www.firstlightcoast.com has been developed and is currently maintained by local volunteers.
The group have set up twitter and facebook accounts to help promote the website.
The First Light group have exhibited for the last two years at the Kent Tourism & Leisure Show.
The group have developed a constitution and code of conduct for the organisation.

Achievements of the Project:

Businesses engaged (35)
The group represents and encourages participation from all the businesses (tourism or otherwise) in and around St.Margaret’s. Of these perhaps 19 are regular participants in group projects.

No. of volunteers (19)
The majority of group members have volunteered their time and efforts at some point in the process, whether that is involvement in proofing publications, supplying copy and images, undertaking research, distribution, representation at events or hosting meetings.

Skills & training
Whilst no formal training has been arranged as part of the project, volunteers have gained skills and experience in various areas, most particularly in; project management, destination management, commissioning and working with designers and printers.

Marketing support
HBSE has assisted FirstLight in development of content for Ruralways and several other destination websites, both regionally and nationally. HBSE also enabled Firstlight to take part in the Flora Pro-Activ promotion, to have a presence at the Bleriot event in July 2009 and helped arrange their participation in the Kent Travel & leisure Show.

Other
The First Light group has had real success in business engagement. Due to this the group has been able to mostly self-finance its actions which is an important step towards sustainability for the future.

Hidden Britain Input:

Hidden Britain became involved via a recommendation from Tourism South East, and initially worked in conjunction with the KDAONB sustainable tourism officer to support the group and deliver the first leaflet (including creating some of the maps) and the logo. Following on from this HBSE assisted with building and updating the First Light website (with input and content provided by the group) which has now been handed over to a local volunteer to update. Hidden Britain worked with and advised the group on how to draw up their constitution and implement the group structure, as well as supporting the First Light Group to develop the content for Ruralways and other destination sites.

Hidden Britain has been instrumental in assisting in planning distribution of the publications, arranging wider marketing opportunities, and providing structural support to maintain momentum and ensure the First Light group moves forward.