News

A grade 1 listed arts centre in Somerset is set for regeneration using money from the government's Towns Fund.

The proposed work on Bridgwater Arts Centre will include new lighting and sound equipment, improved soundproofing and an additional 25 sq m of internal floor space.There will also be improvements to the venue's exhibition spaces and better wheelchair access.

Bridgwater Town Council, which is leading on the project, is inviting local businesses to tender for the work, with a deadline of the end of August for applications.

A total of £700,000 will come from government funds, with the council adding a further £66,800 and £22,438 coming from the arts centre's own funds. 

The town centre building was originally built in the 1720s. It was extended in 1919 when a billiard hall (later a theatre) was added. It became an arts centre in 1946.  

A spokesperson said the alterations "will provide significant improvement in the ability of the arts centre to properly utilise the building, to allow better access for all, and to provide improved facilities for building users and visitors".

A charity’s campaign to raise money to pay for vulnerable and disadvantaged people to attend creative classes has hit its £12,00 target.

New Brewery Arts aid the money will be used to allow residents in Cirencester to access 1,200 free hours of creative workshops.

New Brewery Arts CEO Beth Alden said: “We would like to thank our amazing community for supporting our campaign not only through their kind donations but also their support and good wishes throughout the campaign. 

“From our years of running courses and workshops here in our studios, it is clear that making brings our students incredible health and wellbeing benefits. We are excited to give this experience to those in our community who most need it.

“But we are not stopping there. We will continue to collect donations for New Brewery Hearts so that we can continue to provide vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our community with access to creativity.”

More than 100 leading actors, directors and artists have signed a letter calling for voters to end the “political chaos of recent years” by backing Labour.

The letter, published in The Times, said a Labour victory would bring economic stability "so that the creative industries can make secure long-term investments and grow their business”.

Signatories include Director Sir Nicholas Hytner, actress Imelda Staunton and actor Sir Patrick Stewart.

"We want a government that will value the creative industries and put them at the heart of the drive for growth," the letter states. 

"Our industry would benefit from the ambition of a Labour government. That means ensuring a creative education for every child and transforming the apprenticeship levy.

"Labour has shown that it wants to work with every part of the creative industries with a bold and sensible strategy for the creative industries sector."

The Welsh government has accepted the majority of recommendations from a report into the role of its conservation service Cadw but has repeatedly warned that some have “financial implications” that would be “challenging to deliver in the current financial climate”.

In the government’s official response, Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths welcomed the recommendations as “helpful and supportive” in intention and pledged to begin work to implement those that could be taken forward short term, “taking account of the difficult budgetary environment, which is unlikely to improve in the near future”.

Commissioned in December 2022, the review was set up to examine the success of a 2017 decision for Cadw to remain as an internal agency in the Welsh government, while benefiting from increased operational and commercial freedoms.

Led by Roger Lewis and published last year, the report made 29 recommendations grouped into six themes, including clarifying the role of the Cadw board and modifying how Welsh government processes and procedures apply to Cadw, particularly regarding HR.

The report called for changes in senior roles, including the reinstatement of an Additional Accounting Officer - suspended early in the pandemic - to be held by the Head of Cadw, whose title would change to Chief Executive Officer.

Griffiths supported the recommendation and the report's call for a specific budget to be set up in addition to Cadw’s existing funding to advance the proposals, including the hiring of more staff, but added that the plan needed to be “fully costed and affordable” given the “challenging financial context we are currently operating in”.

The recommendations also call for a closer relationship between the board and government, including holding twice yearly meetings with the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism and redefining the board’s role as “more strategic” and “advisory”, which Grithiss accepted in “in principle”.

Issues surrounding the recruitment, promotion and retention of Cadw staff and the ability to appoint emergency cover were also highlighted, with the report noting that many employees are “hands-on, technical craftspeople who have very little in common with the wider civil-service ways of working”.

Griffiths recognised that civil service processes and procedures “can be seen as a barrier” to working in “an efficient and timely manner” and may “appear to restrict the flexible and agile way in which Cadw needs to operate”.

However, she added that senior government officials would need to consider these recommendations further as Cadw must “act responsibly” and “be able to demonstrate value for public money”. 

“It is important the civil service principles around equality, fair and open processes are retained, underpinned by Welsh government values of creativity, fairness, partnership and professionalism,” she said.

Responding to the suggestion to establish a Welsh school of heritage and conservation skills, Griffiths said she could “see the merit” but that, “given current financial constraints,” it was “unlikely to be achievable in the short term without significant external partnership funding.” 

Elsewhere, the Culture Minister said she was “not convinced” that a separate cultural tourism strategy is currently necessary beyond the Culture Strategy for Wales that the government is currently consulting on or that Cadw should be allowed greater freedoms and flexibility in “all aspects of the press, PR, marketing and website activities of Cadw”.

Speaking about a recommendation that Cadw should embrace the Welsh government’s Economic Action Plan, in part by selling Welsh products in its shops and promoting Welsh companies to run the cafes at sites, Griffiths cautioned she was “mindful this has to be undertaken in the context of procurement rules and obtaining best value for public money”.

She added there could be merit in investigating the creation of a standalone, arm's-length charity that could benefit Cadw by applying for grants and receiving bequests and confirmed that an audit and review of access to Cadw sites for disabled people would be conducted.

Birmingham's Old Rep Theatre has secured new management after being operated by BOA Group since 2014.

The Crescent Theatre will take over the operation of the 111-year-old Grade II listed theatre in August.

The company plans to use the venue to extend its existing performance spaces in the city and continue using it for arts training programmes in Birmingham.

Kevin Middleton, Chairman of the Crescent Theatre, said: "Both the Crescent and The Old Rep have been part of Birmingham’s cultural landscape for over a century and being able to unite two of the oldest theatre names in Birmingham is a huge milestone.

"It’s incredibly exciting and satisfying to be part of ensuring The Old Rep continues as a working theatre for the people of Birmingham while also continuing to offer modern production facilities at our existing building in Brindley Place."

BOA Group Chief Executive Kate Tague added: “The Old Rep Theatre is a crucial part of the arts landscape in Birmingham and has given young performers and new talent a home in the city for over 100 years.

"BOA Group has been honoured to operate the theatre since 2014, but the time is now right for new management to take The Old Rep to even greater heights.

"BOA wishes the Crescent every success, and we look forward to working together on new creative projects and producing BOA Group shows at both The Old Rep Theatre and the Crescent Theatre in Brindley Place.”

Emergency funding of £50,000 has been approved to prevent Nairn Community and Arts Centre in the Scottish Highlands from falling into insolvency.

The "one-off" grant will support increased salary costs due to paying the real living wage, higher utility costs, and maintenance within the ageing premises and follows the termination of previous third-party funding.

Issued by the Highland Council through the Nairn Common Good Fund, the grant is subject to conditions, including providing financial statements that meet the council’s satisfaction and providing evidence that the funding is needed to ensure the continuance of essential service provision.

The release of funds also requires the centre’s board to commission a feasibility study, completed by the end of the year, to investigate a new sustainable management model for the centre.

During a special Nairnshire area committee meeting, the majority of representatives from the community councils, Nairn BID, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Nairn Access Panel, and Queenspark Residents' Group were supportive of the funding intervention, though many questioned whether it was appropriate to use the Common Good Fund rather than council funding.

Councillor Barbara Jarvie said: “We need to remember if we go ahead with this, it is an emergency investment for the community centre that the vast majority realise is a huge asset for Nairn.

“For the doors to close would have a large impact on the entire community.”

Concerns were also raised by Councillor Paul Oldham that the centre's leadership had been aware of the problems for some time.

Councillor Michael Green added: “I think It is important this is not just a paper exercise. They need to embrace changes in real time."