Town centre ‘a better venue for the Battle’

  • St Helier Constable and town centre manager support Battle move to town centre
  • The pair have responded to independent report by the Economic Development Department
  • The report criticised the parade in its current format

A BATTLE of Flowers parade through the centre of town would make a lot of sense, it has been suggested.

The Constable, Simon Crowcroft, and town centre manager, Daphne East, said they supported many of the ideas raised in a recent independent report commissioned by the Economic Development Department.

The report criticised the parade in its current format for a number of reasons and recommended dozens of ways to modernise it.

Some of the recommendations outlined in the document, created by events consultant Sarah Felton, included re-routing the parade through St Helier and holding a static display at the People’s Park.

Mr Crowcroft, who was consulted by Mrs Felton when she put the report together, and Mrs East agreed that there were avenues to explore to incorporate St Helier into the Battle celebrations.

The town centre manager said she was in the very early stages of talking to the Battle organisers about running a mini-float through the town centre during this year’s parade.

And she added that in future years there was scope to have displays in empty shop windows, offer florist ‘masterclasses’ to the public and get retailers involved in a float.

Mr Crowcroft said: ‘I would certainly support having the static display in the People’s Park and bringing the procession through town. I think that makes a lot of sense.

‘There should also be more things done in town to let people know that it is Battle week.’

He also said that the Island would benefit from making the Battle a free event.

‘There are all sorts of advantages to making it a free festival and I would not be the first person to say that.

‘It should be free and should not be exclusive to Victoria Avenue.

‘A lot of the parish’s efforts for the Battle goes into putting fencing up so that people can’t see it. I think that time and effort should go into promoting it – both here and overseas.’

He added that St Helier needed to embrace opportunities that arose from festivals such as the Battle, the Portuguese Food Festival and the Motoring Festival.

He said: ‘I will continue to work with the Battle team to make changes where there are opportunities to make changes.

‘We have to be willing to try new things with festivals like this, and like the Motoring Festival and even the Liberation celebrations, otherwise they go stale.’

Mrs East said: ‘The festival should not be restricted to Victoria Avenue.

‘At the moment it is just a bit too far out for town for many people to get involved.’

There are calls to change the venue of the Battle of Flowers in a bid to get more people involved

IT has been said many times before but today sees another serious call for Jersey’s premier tourist event to modernise.

Tales of communication breakdowns, resistance to repeated requests for change and problems in securing true value for money will bring a sense of déjà vu for many who have been involved with the parade over the years.

The Economic Development department’s commissioned report has given Islanders a valuable insight into the Battle of Flowers and once again highlighted the need for change.

Indeed, it would be inconsistent for the department to overhaul the old Jersey Tourism department to create Visit Jersey – a move which will modernise the Island’s approach to attracting much-needed tourists – and leave its jewel in the crown stuck in the past.

What will happen next is anybody’s guess, and if form is anything to go by the chances are that very little will alter, but what must be remembered is that any infighting and negotiating over the report does not deter the thousands of volunteers, who spend many hours a week working towards the event throughout the year.

Their input is invaluable and key, and without their dedication, the show would not have been anything near what it is today.

A price cannot be put on that community aspect and everything possible should be done to make sure it remains at the very heart of the summer celebration.

It has been suggested that one of the main problems appears to be the float builders’ resistance to change.

That refusal to modernise may be an attempt to retain their share of the financial aid on offer to build their magnificent exhibits, but at what long-term cost to the parade?

And, in what seems an obvious move to many, a simple day change and more affordable tickets could see a huge increase in locals being able to attend the event with their families.

Finally, it must also be said that Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham was absolutely right to investigate what value for money the Island was getting out of the Battle and similar exercises should be conducted across the board.

However, this is only the beginning of the job and he must now use its findings constructively and demand changes – if that is indeed what he thinks is best – as a condition of handing over thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money in the future.

Have a representation from all 12 parishes:

‘During my interview with John Henwood (Chairman of the Tourism Shadow Board), he suggested in order for the event to be a true Jersey Battle of Flowers, all 12 parishes must be represented.

‘This may mean that the allocation of the guarantees or funding would need to be apportioned differently, perhaps given directly to the parish Constables.’

Simplify the judging process:

‘The consensus from the current exhibitors is that they aren’t in it ‘for the silverware’ and the current judging process is overly complicated and not as transparent as it should be.

‘It also has the overwhelmingly detrimental effect of removing the ‘fun’ from the event.’

Open the closed doors:

‘Over a number of years,these barriers have begun to be broken down with pre-battle shed tours being organised in the days leading up to the event.

‘Tours could perhaps be organised by the Association to provide added value to both spectators and corporate sponsors.’

Static Display – the People’s Park:

‘Therefore the recommendation is; floats are relocated to People’s Park, making this both the start of the parade and also the home of a fully accessible static display.’

Sustainability –local produce:

‘Jersey was once a major floral exporting island, but nowadays almost all the flowers for battle are imported from as far away as South America, via Holland.

‘John Henwood, Chairman of the Tourism Shadow Board, suggested working with Jersey farmers to fill the fallow time following the potato harvest and fill the fields with asters, marigolds or, taking inspiration from the Netherlands, dahlias.’

Providing value -not just two days

The suggestion is to use social media, the Battle website, E-newsletters and blogs to extend the length of the event.

Re-routing the parade:

‘The possibility of re-routing the parade was suggested by a number of stakeholders during the interview process;perhaps considering the route used in the Fête dé Noué Christmas parade by entering in to the town centre.’

Miss Battle:

‘The charitable element of this role is no longer as active.’

Mr Battle:

Ray Quinn was the wrong choice and focused should perhaps instead be placed on local celebtrities.

However, ‘That being said, it seems there is perhaps a missed opportunity when securing a celebrity like Ray Quinn; he does have a following within the island and in fact returned to perform a concert for those fans later in the year. Why this concert was not scheduled to take place pre-event is unclear.’

The report questioned the value added to the parade of X Factor contestant Ray Quinn, pictured here with 2014's Miss Battle of Flowers, Holly Perchard

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