The Scarborough Beach Association (SBA) was established in 1992 and has made a significant transformation in the past 12 months, moving from its fundamental base as a lobbying group to being a proactive community collective for businesses, employees and residents within the 6019 postcode. This transformation has been the work of a core group of volunteers who have been very active in bringing change to our Association. The key fundamental to this change was the establishment of our ‘Action Plan’, launched in May 2017. Whilst it is a fluid document it has given us some key reference points and directional guidance to enable an events calendar to start the revitalization program for Scarborough. Two key events which have been held and are ongoing are –
The Scarborough Carols This event was an established icon of the Scarborough summer period, however the beachfront redevelopment made it impossible to hold in 2016. Re-establishing it in 2017 was fundamental to our summer and despite numerous hurdles, we were able to achieve a very successful relaunch with the assistance of the City of Stirling and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority. This event will always be a mainstay for Scarborough as it represents not only the Christmas spirit but it also unofficially marks the opening of the summer holiday season in Scarborough.
The Scarborough Sunset Markets This was a brand-new event and consequently its development and implementation was at times difficult and not entirely certain. The appointment of KINN& Co as our event manager was a major break-through, and the working relationship has been exceptional. They came to understand the Association’s aims quite quickly and helped us work through the difficulties associated with the redevelopment area.A plan was implemented and a very successful program ensued. We also had some directional advice from Ben and Vincefrom the ‘Inglewood on Beaufort’ Markets. This relationship was brought about by the ‘Town Team Movement’ get together in August 2017. Thank -you to Dean and his team for this networking opportunity.
Other fundamental requirements to this whole process is of course expertise to manage, volunteers to spread the workload and the financial capacity to undertake the programs. Not all of these are readily forthcoming and it is the management expertise that enables the others to follow. Time and effort brings out the volunteers and a good business plan (initially via our Action Plan), enables finance (both public and private) to flow in. The City of Stirling have been very supportive of the SBA and in particular these events and will always be a mainstay for their success. This year some of the large corporates in the area have been extremely supportive as well as the struggling smaller businesses. We were also very fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with the Minister for Planning – Rita Saffioti, with whom we were able to share our story and vision for the revitalization of the Scarborough beachfront. Despite difficult economic times for the State Government, the Minister committed to funding the SBA for this seasons events, with the ultimate aim of ensuring an ongoing financially successful organization. It is now up to us with our management expertise to ensure this eventuates and the SBA becomes everything we envisioned in our Action Plan. It has all been a collaborative effort between ourselves, the City of Stirling, the State Government, volunteer members and private businesses. These Community Collectives are not possible without support in all these areas. Find out more about the Scarborough Beach Association at http://www.scarboroughbeach.net/.
