THE MANAGER of Dunoon Presents, the towns Business Improvement District, (BID), organisation, defended the groups position after coming under recent public criticism.
In a lengthy and detailed statement to this newspaper Colin Moulson stressed the benefits of the events Dunoon Presents organise and in the local area, and the collective positive economic impact they have.
Over the past couple of weeks criticism about the local BID group has been published in the Observer and parallels have been drawn to Butes beleaguered BID group. As a direct response Mr Moulson emphasised the importance of his organisations ongoing work.
He explained: The 2025 Dunoon Presents BID activity calendar has got off to a flying start with the town and surrounding area benefiting significantly on the back of the first two major events of the year – Punk on the Peninsula (POTP) and the Argyll Rally, with the latter receiving national TV and news website coverage for the town, reaching millions of people.
Criticism had been raised about the economic impact from events organised by Dunoon Presents, in particular questions have been asked about the validity of their local financial gains.
Mr Moulson explained: We get asked from time to time about the economic benefit POTP and the Argyll Rally bring to the area. To measure the monetary benefits is a very important job for us and helps conclusively demonstrate how important these events are to the local economy. This data is arrived at by a combination of surveys to those either purchasing tickets, competitors, event support staff and postcode location data.
An industry standard (Event Scotland) methodology of excel based data collection is used annually, to ensure consistency and accuracy of data received and thereafter shared.
He added: The method used to accurately monetise the economic impact from the surveys is by calculating a combination of the disclosed spend per day, adding the value of the accommodation costs during a stay and the value of tickets purchased.
Not every survey recipient replies but we generally have a respondent return averaging circa 70 per cent which allows us to confidently quote that the multipliers used ensures a maximum degree of financial accuracy. The accounts are always published on the website and they and our meeting minutes can be found at www.dunoonpresents.co.uk/documents/.
Although full data from this years events isnt available yet, last years POTP sold 331 tickets and 74 per cent of all paying attendees and band members had postcodes outwith the local area, some as far afield as Germany and Spain.
Dunoon Presents stated that the economic benefit of the 2024 event was in excess of 324,000.
Hazel Salisbury from The Rock Cafe, explained that this years POTP gave her local business a boost, she said: We had a lot of custom from the punk festival goers during the festival. They had breakfasts, lunches and sweet treats. It was a pleasure to keep them fed and milkshaked up. It was clear that the festival brought us additional custom, not only during the festival, but even a couple of days after they were still around and enjoying our tasty delights. Im hoping well see similar custom for the Revival festival.
Another massive event which Dunoon Presents help organise along with the Mull Car Club is the popular Argyll Rally. The opening stage of the event takes place right in the heart of Dunoon town centre, with Argyll Street closed off to the public as competitors race through the town centre.
Criticism of this event ranges from those who feel their businesses dont benefit, as they have to close early and that the rest of the rally takes place away from the town, to some locals who live in Glendarual and Colintraive, who have actively opposed the event since its inception.
Colin explained that last years event brought in over 411,000, and the media reach for this years event exceeded any before.
He explained: In addition to social media exposure, coverage for the 2025 rally event extended to both STV News and the BBC Scotland website. In an average week, 5M unique visitors access BBC Scotland News online content. In 2020 an STV report said its STV News website viewers tripled to 3.3M so this free media exposure via both outlets has literally exposed Dunoon and the Cowal Peninsula to the opportunity for millions of people to see and hear about the event and the area.
With further events in the pipeline for this year and beyond Colin and the board at Dunoon Presents are confident that their calender will deliver continued economic benefits, whilst boosting the public profile of Dunoon.
Colin said: Five businesses outwith the Dunoon Presents boundary area this year alone have voluntarily signed up to join the BID because they believe in what Dunoon Presents is doing and have seen the benefits it brings to businesses and to the area.
We have been working for some time on the introduction of a large and permanent digital notice board to be displayed in the town. There has long been an evident need for general whats on and tourist/visitor info to be displayed in the town centre and this will ensure this objective is delivered hopefully in spring 2026, subject to planning permission.
He added: The process of acquiring land and applying for funding to create a permanent cycling pump track the towns West Bay area is in process. A previous temporary facility in the summer months proved hugely popular and community reaction on social media demonstrated the wish for a permanent town facility.
We have an established social media presence which also assists the marketing effort and profile of the town to a wider audience, with a combined 11,445 online followers. We know we dont always capture every new business or change to a business. It would be a great help if a business approach us in advance of the opening or change to inform us, so that we can plan it into our social media calendar.
The overall reliance on volunteers in the Dunoon Presents project overall cannot be overestimated and we are indebted to those who assist the overall BID output behind the scenes.
