Proposal to hire someone to promote Rye

Members of Rye Town Council have been meeting to discuss the possibility of hiring someone to bring together the various entertainment and tourism centres and bring a sense of unity to promoting the town.

Cllr Rebekah Gilbert is part of the economic development working group looking into the idea and she told the council it is now possible to fund this after two years of savings at a meeting on Monday, December 7.

“Rather than just having it sitting in the bank for yet another year, we can offer a Rye person a job and it can help to promote the town,” she said.

She said the role could bring in new business opportunities, work with all the festivals, various forms of media and that, “there’s nothing to lose with promoting this job and an awful lot to gain.”

The role would potentially be advertised for a graduate to work part-time which could see them promoting Rye as a filming destination or encouraging people to visit the arts festival and other events.

Some councillors had concerns about the role including what their budget would be and whether it would be possible on a part-time basis.

Cllr Charles Harkness said he was worried that only commercial sectors were being consulted but said there is a need for cooperation in bringing people to Rye.

“There is a lot of voluntary work going on with things like the arts festival, the jazz festival, even Rye News, and I think you need to bring in some of the expertise from there as well,” he said.

The working group are also looking into a new town lottery to help raise money for future projects like refurbishing the Landgate.

Members agreed to let the group continue their work and report back to the council at a later date.

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