THE WHITE SWAN HUNMANBY, NORTH YORKSHIRE BUSINESS PLAN – MARCH 2014 1 THE WHITE SWAN, HUNMANBY, NORTH YORKSHIRE BUSINESS PLAN Index Page 4 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 2.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 2.1 Purpose of the Business Plan 2.2 Who We Are 6 2.3 Vision and Mission Statement 2.4 Strategic Aims 7 3.0 THE PREMISES, PROJECT AND COMMUNITY 3.1 The Premises 8 3.2 The Project 3.3 The Community 9 3.4 The Business 3.5 Description of Activities 3.5.1 Public Bar and Lounge Area 3.5.2 Ground Floor Function Room 10 3.5.3 Restaurant/Function Room: 11 3.5.4 Hotel (Letting Rooms) 12 3.5.5 Objectives 13 3.6 Analysis of Need and Demand 3.7 Competitor/Market Gap Analysis 14 3.8 SWOT Analysis 15 3.8.1 Dealing with Weaknesses and Threats 16 3.8.2 Conclusion 17 4.0 RESOURCES 4.1 Governance 4.2 Staffing 4.3 Market Strategy 18 5.0 CAPITAL FINANCE 5.1 Risk Factors 19 6.0 REVENUE FINANCE 7.0 EVALUATION 7.1 Reviewing Our Progress 2 20 8.0 CONCLUSION APPENDICES: 21 Appendix 1 Board Members 23 Appendix 2 Profit & Loss Account Projection – Year One (Monthly Basis) Profit & Loss Projection – First 3 Years 25 Appendix 3 Cash-Flow Forecast – Year One 26 Appendix 4 IPS Rules 46 Appendix 5 Code of Conduct 3 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The White Swan is a Grade II Listed, 18th Century Coaching Inn, in and at the heart of the Community of Hunmanby, a village in North Yorkshire. The White Swan is an integral part of the history and heritage of the village and was designated as an 'Asset of Community Value’ in July 2013. The village of Hunmanby was also designated as a 'Gateway to the Wolds' in 2013. The village has a long standing reputation as a tourist centre given its location near to the East Coast. Unfortunately, in recent years, the number of tourists visiting the village has declined due to a loss of amenities which would attract visitors with a consequential negative impact on the local economy. However, by reinstating lost amenities and careful marketing, this trend can be reversed and Hunmanby has the potential to be a thriving tourist destination in the future. The White Swan can play a vital part in this regeneration process. The White Swan site, which comprises the Inn, a Stable Block, Car Park and an Annexe building to the side, is now under threat from housing development which, if successful, will remove access to and destroy the integrity of, some of these historic buildings. It is our intention to raise in excess of £200,000 to purchase the freehold of the White Swan Site, and to carry out an extensive programme of refurbishment. We will 'reinvent' the White Swan Inn as a Community Pub, providing employment and training opportunities for local people. By offering increased services, facilities and activities the pub can contribute to the social cohesion and economic viability of the village. As and when circumstances allow, we would also seek to put the other buildings into sustainable and economically viable new uses. 4 2.0 INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND 2.1 PURPOSE OF THE BUSINESS PLAN To provide a summary of the activities of the 'White Swan, Hunmanby (Industrial Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community) Community Pub Ltd' (WSHCP)over the next 2 years. The Business Plan will be used as a guide for the Board and Officers of this newly formed organisation, and as a way of informing others and seeking support for its plans. 2.2 WHO WE ARE Initially formed in early 2013 to fight proposals to redevelop the White Swan Inn and site into housing and to explore the opportunities offered by the Localism Act 2011, the Save Our Swan Action Group came together following a well attended public meeting which provided the mandate for action. The core Group is currently made up of ten local residents: John Breffitt, BSc (Hons) (Chair) Linda Tindall, BA (Hons), PGCE, MA (Vice Chair) Carol Mather (Treasurer and Minute Secretary) Paul Riley (Company Secretary) Martin Sykes (Social Media Expert) Phil Cook, BEd (Hons) (Press Officer) Sara Brown (Events Organiser) Ian Mather (Renovation and Landscaping) Bernard Hall (Retired Publican) Pat Parr (Retired Publican) (See also Appendix 1 – Director Biographies) The initial aim of the Group was to prevent the White Swan joining the list of valuable village assets lost to redeveloment alongside the Public Toilet Block, Hunmanby Library, the Village Craft Centre and numerous shops. The depth of feeling amongst local residents against the plans was clearly evidenced by the number of objections lodged with Scarborough Borough Council (SBC) Planning Office. http://planning.scarborough.gov.uk/onlineapplications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbour Comments&keyVal=MH2YY2NS05B00 and http://planning.scarborough.gov.uk/onlineapplications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbour Comments&keyVal=MH2X98NS05B00 Following the public meeting the Group set to work and contacted various organizations including Locality, Scarborough Local Area Forum, Seachange, The Plunkett Foundation, Pub is the Hub and CAMRA. Members of the Group visited the Forrester’s Pub in Coverdale and were hugely encouraged by their achievements and benefited greatly from their advice. The Group continues to meet regularly and communicates with the village in respect of the project’s progress via Facebook, our Website, Twitter, newsletters, telephone, letter, notices and face-to-face encounters. Individual members of the Group are well known in the village through their involvement with local societies and village events. Further activities to test the wishes of the Community regarding the Project have proved to be overwhelmingly positive. At first there was a degree of apathy based on poor expectations of success. However, the group has been able to flesh out it’s ideas and proposals. Faith in the likely success of the 5 project has grown substantially resulting in offers of voluntary help with the refurbishment of the premises by local trades people and an increase in levels of support by residents as more and more people are spreading the word. In recent times the Group has applied for, and been awarded, a Pre‐Feasibility Grant from the SIB Group which has paid for the White Swan to be independently valued and surveyed and for the Group to become formally incorporated as an Industrial Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community. Two members of the Group have successfully undertaken training in Beer and Cellar Quality (Cask and Keg) and have achieved the BIIAB Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders. The grant has also facilitated further consultation to be undertaken with members of the Community and the launch of the Community Share Issue which will provide funds towards the purchase and renovation of the White Swan. 2.3 VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT Our vision is for the White Swan to become a Community Pub, owned by and for the people of Hunmanby, providing services, activities and opportunities to them and visitors to the village. We want to see the White Swan Restaurant re‐opened and the Hotel (letting bedrooms) brought back into full use in a way which reflects the history and heritage of the White Swan. 2.4 STRATEGIC AIMS Ensure the viability of the White Swan to improve: 1. Community cohesion and regeneration 2. Awareness of the White Swan as an important heritage and conservation site 3. The social and economic viability and sustainability of the village as a tourist centre 4. Employment and training/work experience opportunities for local people 6 3.0 THE PREMISES, PROJECT AND COMMUNITY 3.1 THE PREMISES The White Swan is a grade II listed building, located within the Hunmanby conservation area and, with All Saints Church and the Market Cross, it forms an integral part of both the historic and current commercial centre of the village. The White Swan is one of the last remaining Coaching Inns on the Scarborough to Hull route and is documented as having been the local Court House, meting out punishments to miscreants and dealing with disputes. It was also the venue where wages were paid out by the local gentry to employees and the place where many, no doubt, spent said wages! The White Swan was formally recognised and designated as an 'Asset of Community Value' in July 2013 on the basis that it has 'furthered in the recent past/furthers the social well‐being/social interests of the local community and can do so in the future'. In 2013 the village of Hunmanby was also designated as a 'Gateway to the Wolds' and, given its prime location, the White Swan can be regarded as 'a Gateway to the Gateway'. The White Swan sits on a site of 0.48 acres. Apart from the main building, there is a Stable Block in the large Car Park and an additional, Annexe building to the side which was recently used as a hairdresser's shop and for storage. All of the buildings on the site are listed as being of 'architectural interest'. A recent professional inspection regarding the structural condition of all the buildings has revealed that, whilst there is significant need for remedial works, the White Swan building itself remains reasonably structurally sound (given its age and lack of maintenance). Due to the listed status of the White Swan, any work undertaken needs to be approved by the Local Authority as appropriate and sympathetic to its original form and design. The White Swan is currently owned by Enterprise Inns who, at the beginning of 2013, applied for Planning Permission for the site to be redeveloped, marketing it as a 'Development Opportunity' for 9 houses on the grounds that 'the White Swan has no future as a public house'.