Issue - meetings

Report No:   CAB/SE/15/007

Cabinet Member: Sarah Stamp       Lead Officer: Liz Watts

RESOLVED:

That the following levels of funding be approved and included in the budget for 2015/2016, as detailed in Report No: CAB/SE/15/007:

(1)    Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds: £66,250 (a reduction of £5,000);

(2)     Smith’s Row Art Gallery, Bury St Edmunds: £25,000 (a reduction of £9,485); and

(3)     Victory Ground Sports Ground, Bury St Edmunds: £45,250 (a reduction of £2,500).

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/15/007 (previously circulated), which sought approval for revenue support grants for arts and sports organisations.

Councillor Mrs Stamp, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Heritage drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet, including that the Council had traditionally supported Smith’s Row Art Gallery and the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds with revenue grant funding.  The Council had suffered significant funding cuts over the last few years, and as funding became tighter, the requirement to ensure the Council was getting value for money had become even more imperative.

The report provided details of how the Council had met with each organisation to establish an appropriate way forward.  The Theatre Royal had been informed that it was to receive a cut in Arts Council England funding with effect from April 2015. The Theatre had responded positively to this with better, more commercial programming that attracted larger audiences, and efforts made to reach out into the community. Work was being undertaken to ascertain whether the Theatre and The Apex could benefit from greater partnership working.  In the meantime, it was proposed that the Theatre’s grant should be reduced by £5,000 to £66,250 in 2015/2016 with the aim of working more closely with them in future years to look at reducing this grant further.

Having taken into account a number of factors as summarised in the report, it was proposed that Smith’s Row should receive a 25% reduction in its current Borough Council funding of £34,485 to £25,000 in 2015/2016 with a view to withdrawing funding completely from 2016.  Some of the £25,000 previously granted to Smith’s Row would then be allocated to other visual art projects in Borough which supported the Council’s strategic priorities around economic growth and families and communities.

In respect of the Victory Sports Ground, Bury St Edmunds, it was proposed that as the opening of the community sports facility at the Sports Ground was a relatively new venture, further support was required from the Council’s strategic sports partner, Abbeycroft Leisure to help them look at commercial opportunities and make the facility more independently financially viable.  It was therefore proposed that in 2015/2016, the Victory Sports Ground would receive a reduction in grant of £2,500 to £45,250 with a view to reducing this grant to zero within a number of years, as previously agreed by Cabinet.

On 12 January 2015, the Grant Working Party had considered and endorsed these proposals.

RESOLVED:

That the following levels of funding be approved and included in the budget for 2015/2016, as detailed in Report No: CAB/SE/15/007:

(1)    Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds: £66,250 (a reduction of £5,000);

(2)     Smith’s Row Art Gallery, Bury St Edmunds: £25,000 (a reduction of £9,485); and

(3)     Victory Ground Sports Ground, Bury St Edmunds: £45,250 (a reduction of £2,500).