Lancashire City Council commits to operating railway station-turned-arts venue The Platform for another year, but its long-term future could depend on an external party taking over ownership.
David Ingham
The long-term future of a flagship arts venue in Morecambe, Lancashire, is uncertain after Lancashire City Council announced plans to cease operating the venue after April 2024.
The Platform, which hosts live events and community arts classes, is a restored Edwardian railway station that first became an arts and culture venue in 1997.
As part of its draft budget for 2023/24, Lancashire City Council has proposed it no longer operates the building after this financial year, but it has said it remains committed to keeping the venue open long-term and “will undertake discussions with external parties who may be interested in taking on the operation of the Platform”.
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A spokesperson for the council told Arts Professional that The Platform operates at a net cost to the council of around £150,000 a year, which is “no longer sustainable in the long-term,” with the council’s funding having decreased by approximately 40% since 2008/9.
“The city council is battling against unprecedented pressures of steep increases in its operating costs, increasing demand for services, and below inflation funding from the government,” the spokesperson added.
The council’s proposal to continue operating the Platform until April 2024 offers an extension from its original plans, which were to cease operating the venue from October.
A revision came following backlash from members of the local community, with some engaging with local petitions calling for The Platform’s future to be safeguarded.
Artist and dance teacher Anthony Padgett, who created a petition and teaches dance classes at The Platform, told Arts Professional the council’s decisions to extend operation of the venue by six months was “a visible climbdown to secure their positions” with local elections coming up in April.
“There have been three separate petitions, that have been very successful, which is great, but it feels more like a stay of execution,” Padgett said.
“Or a self-fulfilling prophecy that the venue will not make money and have to close because they’ve choked off the sales outlet.”
As part of its cost savings, the council plans to close two visitor information centres in October this year, one of which is based at The Platform and is a key sales point for tickets to the venue’s events.
Padgett commented: “The tourist information centre, which is also the box office, will be closed [from October] and that means the point of sale and point of information about the venue will be removed. And that's actually one of its prime sources of sales, so it creates a situation were it's set up to be loss making and forced to close.”
A council spokesperson says it remains “committed to strongly promoting the district’s outstanding visitor offer” and will work to strengthen online provision and promotion to aid ticket sales.
Levelling-up funding
The Platform hosted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in January, who visited Morecambe to award Lancaster City Council £50m of levelling up funding – the maximum amount available under the Levelling Up Fund.
The funding will be put towards a new £100m eco-tourism attraction in Morecambe, which will host art and live music, alongside immersive experiences, horticulture, food, beverage and retail spaces.
Outside the project, which is due to be finished in 2026, a council spokesperson said Lancashire City Council is in the process of completing a Culture and Heritage Strategy.
“[The strategy] will inform the council’s long-term approach for the use and positioning of its resources to support culture and heritage over the next 10 years,” the spokesperson added.
But Padgett says Morecambe will lose out if The Platform is forced to close when the council ceases to operate it.
“The venue is packed out on a lot of occasions. Going forward, even it makes a bit of a loss, it generates sales elsewhere. Bands performing stay in the hotel, people come into the town specifically to go to these events, so the cash revenue that is being generated to local businesses should offset that,” Padgett said.
“It’s also the long-term strategic view, where you are wanting to build Morecambe as a place to come, but now the venue Rishi Sunak announced the latest funding is being closed down – and it's the only council arts venue in Morecambe.”
“It’s interesting because a lot of people missed out in the Levelling-Up Fund, but even the town that has the fanfare of the great amount of money coming in can still have problems with administration and the development from it.”
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