Olympic Flame to arrive in Culdrose!

Cornwall welcomes announcement that Olympic Flame will be arriving at RNAS Culdrose

2 February 2012

News that the Olympic Flame will arrive at RNAS Culdrose on 18 May to begin its historic 70 day journey through towns and villages across the UK has been welcomed by Cornwall Council Chairman Mrs Pat Harvey and Council Leader Alec Robertson.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) announced this week that the Olympic Flame will arrive at RNAS Culdrose in the early evening of Friday, 18 May.

 “I am delighted that RNAS Culdrose has been chosen as the arrival point of the Olympic Flame into the UK” said Alec Robertson. Leader of Cornwall Council.  “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to showcase the very best that Cornwall has to offer and we are looking forward to working with LOCOG and staff at the naval base to create a memorable event that will put Culdrose, Helston and Cornwall firmly on the world stage”.

“This is a huge honour for Cornwall “ said Mrs Harvey, the Chairman of Cornwall Council.  “It is our opportunity to show the world what a wonderful place Cornwall is with its underlying historic role as the gateway to the UK”.

The Flame will be flown to Cornwall from the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on 17 May on board British Airways flight ‘BA2012’ following an official Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony when the Flame will be handed over to a London 2012 representative.  It will travel on a gold liveried aircraft in a ceremonial lantern secured in a specially designed cradle which is, in turn, firmly fixed to its seat on the plane using a secure holding device.  The lantern is designed so the Olympic Flame can burn safely for up to 30 hours.

After spending the night at RNAS CUldrose, the Olympic Flame will travel to Lands End on the morning of 19 May ready for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

Suzanne Bond, Chief Executive of Cornwall Development Company, said “The Olympic and Paralympic Games is the biggest event in the world and now Cornwall will be in the spotlight for both the arrival of the Olympic Flame and the first day of the Torch Relay.  The exposure offered through these two days is a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase Cornwall to the world; I am working with partners to ensure that we focus attention on our 21^st century and world leading businesses as well as our stunning scenery and impressive cultural heritage.”

The choice of RNAS Culdrose for the Flame’s arrival in the UK acknowledges the vital contribution of maritime and coastal search and rescue services.  RNAS Culdrose, home to most of the Navy’s Merlin and Sea King helicopter squadrons that are supporting operations around the world,  also offers a beautiful Cornish setting in which an estimated 1000 guests, media and members of the local community are expected to welcome the Olympic Flame.

Captain Willie Entwisle, Commanding Officer of Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, said: ‘We are honoured that the Olympic Flame will arrive in the UK by landing at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose. Our personnel, many of whom are currently supporting the Royal Navy on operations across the globe, are very excited that the build up to the London 2012 Olympic Games will start here. We are delighted to be playing such an important part in this once-in-a-lifetime event.’

From Lands End the Olympic Flame will then travel 8,000 miles around the UK on the Olympic Torch Relay, presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung.  8,000 Torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame for approximately 300 metres each, passing the Olympic Flame from torch to torch until it reaches the Olympic Stadium on the eve of 27 July.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: ‘It gives me great pleasure to confirm 10 May as the Flame lighting date and RNAS Culdrose as the Olympic Flame’s arrival point into the UK. My team is looking forward to working with the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Defence  and our commercial partners to create exciting events to mark the Flame’s Greek provenance and its arrival to our shores.’

Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond said: ‘I am delighted that Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose will be the first to welcome the Olympic Flame into the UK. It is a fantastic opportunity for the Armed Forces to be involved in such a unique event, and one they can take pride in for years to come.’

Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, Jeremy Hunt said: ‘When BA2012 touches down in Cornwall carrying the Olympic torch it will be a hugely exciting moment. This kicks off our incredible Torch Relay right around the country and I’m sure the torch will spread ‘Olympic fever’ everywhere it goes.’

FREE car parking in February kicks off

Falmouth BID is making car parking free on Wednesdays in February!
Now there is an even greater reason to visit Falmouth! If you're visiting by car for an early season break or just for the day then make sure you take advantage of the fact that car parking in Falmouth's two main car parks, The Dell and The Quarry will be absolutely FREE! (from 8am on each Weds to 8am Thursday morning)


And don't forget, if you visit between 4-11 Feb then you can coincide your visit with Falmouth Food & Drink Week, where you will find over 20 fantastic cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars offering some great deals all £10 or under!

Falmouth Events 2012

Falmouth has the most comprehensive and vibrant events and festivals scene in Cornwall! Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week, Falmouth Oyster Festival, Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, Falmouth Spring Festival the list goes on PLUS this year you'll find fantastic one off events such as the J-Class regatta, Round Britain 2012, the Finn Festival and Olympic Torch relay.

We've put together a downloadable events listing to help you decide when to visit!

Pendennis Castle events

New for 2012, Pendennis Castle in Falmouth has everything parents need to keep the kids entertained this Half-Term.  English Heritage will be opening the castle doors from the evening of Friday 10 February and then daily from Saturday 11 until Sunday 19 February with an array of family-friendly activities on offer, including the launch of its first ever castle sleepover for families.

On the evening of Friday 10 February pre-booked visitors can enjoy a special family ghost tour of Pendennis Castle at night, led by some of the Keep’s resident historical characters.  Explore every part of this atmospheric site, including the Half Moon Battery, underground magazine and spooky Tudor Kitchen.  Families will be treated to tales of times gone by and should beware any unexpected visitors who may be lurking round the corner!  A cup of hot soup rounds off the night.

Then from Saturday 11 to Sunday 19 February English Heritage is calling on young investigators to help crack the clues and earn their special prize in a mystery trail around the castle. 

The highlight of the week comes on Wednesday 15 February when, for the first time ever, Pendennis Castle plays host to an exclusive sleepover for families.  Hot on the heels of the popular adult’s only event, families can enjoy a fun-filled overnight stay in Pendennis Castle’s Keep, complete with twilight tour, ghost stories round the fire and supper in the Keep.  The event promises a truly unique experience in a spectacular historical setting and will be completed by a cooked breakfast the following morning.

Charlie Fear, English Heritage Events Manager for the West, said: “We’re thrilled to be offering such a fun and varied programme of events this February Half-Term.  Our season usually kicks off around Easter, so it’s great to be able to offer even more activities for families this year.  Our evening ghost tours are often reserved just for adults, so we’re sure children will be very excited about the prospect of exploring the castle by night, not to mention the chance to spend the entire night in the castle with our sleepover event!  Meanwhile our Half-Term Trail offers the perfect daytime activity for children to run around and burn off some energy while learning about some of the most important times in England’s history.”

Visitor numbers are limited for the Ghost Tours and Castle Sleepover events and restricted to a minimum age of eight years for children.  Advanced booking is essential, call 0870 333 1183 to reserve a place.  No booking is required for the daytime Half-Term Trail.

For more information about the events and accessibility visit: www.english-heritage.org.uk/pendennis. 

FAMILY GHOST TOURS - Fri 10 Feb, tours at 6pm and 8:30pm

Prices: Adults £15.00 / Children £10.50  - English Heritage Members: Adults £12.00 / Children £8.40

Minimum age is 8 years for children. Booking essential: 0870 333 1183

 

HALF-TERM TRAIL - Sat 11 – Sun 19 Feb, 10am – 4pm

Normal Admission Prices: Adults £6.30 / Concessions £5.70 / Children £3.80 / Family £16.40   English Heritage Members: Free

CASTLE SLEEPOVERS: FAMILY - Wed 15 Feb, 8pm – 10am

Prices: Adults £65.00 / Children £50.00 / Family £195.00 English Heritage Members: Adults £55.00 / Children £45.00 / Family £170.00

Minimum age is 8 years for children. Booking essential: 0870 333 1183

Falmouth Food & Drink Week

GREAT OFFERS, ALL £10 OR UNDER!!

We've teamed up with a host of great Falmouth cafes, pubs, restaurants and delis to bring you a series of deals and offers, all part of celebrating Falmouth's exciting food and drink scene.

Sample quality local produce in superb surroundings all at fantastic value! So make a beeline for Falmouth during this week to take advantage of the offers listed on the website:

FALMOUTH FOOD & DRINK WEEK OFFERS

Falmouth BID Updates

Richard Wilcox Falmouth BID Manager

Usual weekly updates from the BID:

FREE Parking scheme for February

We have continued to garner some good local coverage as a number of local/regional outlets are keen to run the story which is great. I have done radio interviews with Atlantic FM, Source FM and Radio Cornwall and numerous articles have been published which is all good. Such schemes are viewed as innovative and haven’t been done many times in the south west and it will be a first for Falmouth. Both local newspapers have been very supportive and have agreed to highlight the story over the next couple of weeks. I will be backing this up with further PR and offline promotions –

·         you will shortly see advertising on some of the town’s bus shelters,

·         I am producing fliers for wider distribution

To recap, every Weds in February it will be FREE to park the car in either The Quarry or The Dell car parks in Falmouth, as BID continues to spearhead schemes to help support the town businesses, particularly at quieter times of year. The BID is undertaking the scheme as a direct response to business feedback/suggestions and so it is important that businesses help promote the initiative as much as they can so that the benefits of such a scheme are felt as widely as possible. To read the details click here.  

Falmouth Food & Drink Week 4-11 Feb 2012

Likewise, local promotional work is being undertaken to maximise this new initiative. You can view the variety of pubs, cafes, restaurants etc signed up here http://www.falmouth.co.uk/see-and-do/falmouth-food-drink-week

Falmouth Spring Festival

By way of an update, we are launching one of the new bigger events for this year’s Festival on Thursday. Run Falmouth the town’s first half marathon is in partnership with Cornwall Hospice Care, and is an event in which we hope to raise thousands of pounds for that excellent charity. If you haven’t seen the schedule its shaping up nicely -  http://www.falmouth.co.uk/see-and-do/falmouth-spring-festival    

LEP Roadshow

A session introducing the Local Enterprise Partnership or LEP took place last week. There is an opportunity to help shape the future strategy and direction of the Cornwall LEP. What should they focus on? Send them your views here

Planning Future Cornwall – see below from Cornwall Council:
Cornwall Council is asking residents to help shape the future of Cornwall for the next 20 years. Consultation on the core strategy runs from 9 January to 2 March 2012. The core strategy – Planning Future Cornwall – is the plan that will set out the Council’s aims and planning policies for new housing, employment, retail, the environment, leisure, community facilities, essential public services and infrastructure up to 2030.

Residents can give their views in several ways:

•      By visiting our website at www.cornwall.gov.uk/ldf (from Monday 9 January) a

nd leaving comments online

•      Visiting one of our exhibition Roadshows starting on 9 January. The Falmouth day is on THURSDAY 12 JANUARY 12-7pm in the Falmouth Town Council Building on The Moor

Falmouth BID Updates



Richard Wilcox Falmouth BID Manager



We’re hitting the ground running for 2012 with numerous new BID schemes and initiatives building on the projects delivered in 2011. First update of the year!:

FREE Car ParkingThank you to the positive feedback for this BID funded scheme. To confirm this is very much going ahead on five dates in February in a bid to help support and assist businesses in the town. Car parking will be FREE in The Dell and Quarry car parks every Wednesday throughout February on the 1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd and 29^th. I will be supporting the scheme with a promotional effort and good early coverage of the scheme can be seen here:

http://www.businesscornwall.co.uk/news-categories/cornish-economy-news-categories/falmouths-free-parking-february-123

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Free-parking-deal-Falmouth-shoppers-boost-economy/story-14209899-detail/story.html 

The Radio Cornwall interview I did is here http://soundcloud.com/falmouthspiritofthesea/richard-wilcox-car-parking

I am liaising with the Packet and West Briton to ensure they can support and promote this scheme that has the potential to help the whole town, as much as possible over the next few weeks.

Falmouth Food & Drink Week 4-11 February

Our other new initiative is gathering momentum. I have over 20 cafes, pubs, restaurants on board see here http://www.falmouth.co.uk/see-and-do/falmouth-food-drink-week and again am working up a local PR push over the next few weeks.  

Falmouth Spring Festival

Have a look at the Festival schedule we have put together here. As you can see, a substantive offering which is being backed up by a promotional push over the next 8 weeks all in an effort to once again raise the town’s profile and encourage extra visits and spend.

Public seating - ‘Morgawr’

Thanks to the creativity of pupils at Falmouth School we have installed the latest public seating for the town. For those who haven’t seen it, I have attached an image. This of course is part of the continuing BID Town Improvements Programme that includes installation of streets flags, banners and bunting and vacant units revamps. Thank you also to the support shown by Falmouth Town Council.

Visitor signage
Plans are being worked up for what will be the largest BID project of the year, namely the installation of interpretation boards, landscape viewing panels, map boards, way markers and trails. The majority of the work will be undertaken in the first half of this year and will really tell the story of Falmouth to all our visitors, encourage them to see more and spend longer in the town. More details will follow over the next few weeks...

There’s also a lot of effort and planning going into PR and events promotion for 2012 which as you know will be huge, which I’ll update on next week.

Not that anyone needs reminding how lovely south Cornwall is but an aerial video you may wish to see.... http://youtu.be/ntN9FAQK17Y

For those who are new to these updates do click on this link to find out more about the work of Falmouth BID, download previous BID newsletters and project updates www.falmouth.co.uk/media. Also do follow town news via Twitter and Facebook with the links given via the logos below.