A review of the Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience held at The Briars has found nothing to suggest the initial decision-making process was flawed but identified three areas for improvement.
The event evaluation also found the experience provided a significant financial boost for our community, with up to $56 million injected into the local economy.
At its 28 May 2024 meeting, Council resolved to do a thorough review of the process leading up to the decision to hold the event, the decision to relocate the event to the community forest and the outcomes of the event itself. The event review and event evaluation and impact report are now complete and will be considered by Council at its 16 September meeting.
The report makes three recommendations:
- revision of the Mornington Peninsula Shire Events Policy to provide further clarity on event classification
- a review of methodologies available for estimating economic impacts
- development of a formal mechanism and policy position for market-led approaches to the Shire.
The Probity Advisor concluded that the three areas of improvement highlighted in the report would improve the decision-making process, but they did not compromise the decision-making process.
The Shire has already begun to review its Events Policy and to develop a policy for dealing with unsolicited commercial approaches. While the method used for estimating economic benefit is current industry standard, the Shire will investigate whether this can be improved and made more transparent when being presented to the public.
The Probity Advisor also noted that strict confidentiality requirements and the Non-Disclosure Agreements required by the event organiser significantly hampered communications about the event, both internally and to our community. The Shire has committed to putting processes in place to deal with similar requests in the future.
The original initial estimated expenditure to deliver this event in the sanctuary was $200,000. Additional costs of about $163,000 were incurred after the event was relocated to the community forest. All costs were covered through existing operating budgets and there was no additional net cost.
The Shire achieved both direct and indirect revenue from the event. All income was surplus to adopted Council budgets and achieved a positive net financial result for the Shire.
The event was an extraordinary success for the Mornington Peninsula, significantly raising awareness of our region as a tourist destination and providing a much-needed boost to our local economy, which is struggling under post-Covid conditions and cost of living impacts.
An analysis of spending by visitors attending the event found $30 million of self-reported spending. Analysis of actual card transactions found the spend was more than $56 million.
The Briars itself will benefit for years to come from greater awareness and appreciation of its many attractions. The event enabled the Shire to vastly accelerate its program of revegetation at the historic property. Volunteers and staff together planted 7,500 trees this year, 6,000 more than usual. Donated plants from the event were sourced locally from the Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Group.
The investigation found there had been minimal impact to wildlife and the environment as a result of the event. Monitoring and analysis by independent ecologists found the event did not have a significant impact on any of the flora and fauna species and communities recorded in sufficient numbers on any of the surveys. Of note, there was no measurable impact on any listed threatened species.
Council will next week vote on whether to adopt the recommendations of the report.
The report has been published as part of the 16 September Council Meeting Agenda: mornpen.vic.gov.au/councilagendas
Quotes attributable to Mayor Simon Brooks:
"There are many reasons to celebrate this unique event. In what is traditionally a quiet time for our tourism sector, it injected up to $56 million into our local economy, well above the initial estimates.
"Around three quarters of the 168,000 visitors who attended the event came from outside the Peninsula, raising the profile of The Briars and the broader region enormously.
"Due to increased awareness of The Briars, we were able to attract more volunteers who this year helped us plant 7,500 trees, including 2,400 trees donated via ticket sales. It would normally take five years to achieve this level of planting.
"This is the first time the Shire has been involved in an event of this scale. Although the probity review found nothing to suggest the decision-making process was improper, it highlighted some areas where Shire processes could be improved. It's clear the processes for responding to a unique request such as this could have been better.
"I hope the actions taken in response to this review will ensure a clear and thorough process is put in place to determine any future commercial approaches such as this one."
