Local authorities

Trafalgar Entertainment has been awarded the contract to operate Fareham Live by Fareham Borough Council. 

The company, which launched its Trafalgar Theatres division in 2021, now operates a total of 18 venues.

Currently under construction on the site of Ferneham Hall, Fareham Live will launch next year as part of the council’s multi-million-pound plans to redevelop the civic quarter and regenerate the Town Centre.

The new venue will feature a larger main auditorium with seating for around 800 people. A secondary performance space, new bar and cafe area, and studio space supporting community groups and organisations will also form part of the new building. 

Sue Walker, Executive Member for Leisure and Community at Fareham Borough Council, said: “I am very pleased that Trafalgar Theatres has been selected as the new operator at Fareham Live. 

“They bring with them a wealth of experience and they pride themselves in gathering an in-depth understanding of the locations in which they operate, respecting local priorities while delivering innovation and adding value. We are really looking forward to working together.”

Dame Rosemary Squire, Joint Co-Founder and CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Fareham Borough Council has awarded Trafalgar Entertainment the contract to operate Fareham Live in this beautiful part of the country. 

"We admire the council’s ambitions for the town and look forward to working in partnership with the Leisure and Community team on the future development of Fareham Live.”

A theatre in Northamptonshire is under threat of closure after being deemed as no longer financially viable by its operators.

Kettering’s Lighthouse Theatre is part of KLV complex, which also includes Kettering Conference Centre, a gym and a sports arena. 

According to local press, the complex is sublet to Compass Group Services, which has made the decision to close the site due to rising costs. The leaseholders remain North Northamptonshire Council, who pay an £1 annual peppercorn rent.

The complex was originally set to close at the end of May, before the date was pushed back until 3 July to give more time for alternative solutions to be found.

Meanwhile, a petition to save the complex has reached almost 15,000 signatures.
 
The theatre’s imminent closure comes after it was awarded Northamptonshire’s best theatre and arts venue in the 2023 Muddy Stilettos Awards earlier this week.

“It’s the best theatre or arts venue in the county but with just three weeks to go they’re still looking to close it,” said Mike Balderson, who launched the petition.

“It just seems to be madness.”

Campaigners are calling for North Northamptonshire Council or a management company to step in, but Council Leader Jason Smithers said in a public meeting in May that he could not promise any extra money to bail out the complex on top of the £337,000 a year the council currently splits between the theatre and indoor sports courts.

Westminster City Council has shared £320,000 across 39 local arts organisations through the council’s Community Grants programme.

The fund offers organisations up to £10,000 to deliver initiatives which improve residents’ access to arts and culture.

Recipients include Paddington Arts, which received funding to work with young people to create live performance for festivals in Queens Park, Westbourne and Paddington.

English National Opera (ENO) is benefiting from funding to stage ‘operettas’ on walking tours in August as part of the council’s annual Inside Out Festival.

The festival, which is focused around transporting artwork from galleries, libraries, theatres, and film to the outdoors, also features open air music performances at the National Gallery’s Summer on the Square this year and reached 250,000 residents in 2021.

“It was great to see the high number of bids we received for this funding, and the range of projects which will now be on offer to residents in Westminster,” Councillor Tim Roca, Cabinet Member for Young People, Learning and Leisure said.

“I am looking forward to the Inside Out festival this summer, to showcase some of these brilliant projects and get our residents and visitors excited about art and culture in the city.”

A multi-millionaire businessman has said plans for a 1,600-seater venue in Kent are “not dead yet”, despite an offer to occupy the proposed premises being snubbed by English National Opera.

Paul Gregg wants to transform a town centre car park and former Mecca bingo hall in Ashford into a venue that could accommodate West End shows.

The proposed venue would cost "in the region of £9 million", and Gregg is looking for investment from site owner ABC and Kent County Council.

Having met with ENO's chief executive, Gregg had hoped that the opera company, which is being forced to relocate from London by Arts Council England, would be attracted to the town by his Ashford LIVE venue.

However, ENO has announced that it is considering Birmingham, Bristol, Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham for its new home.

Gregg said: "It doesn’t change anything – everything will stay as it is. I think ENO would have been ideally placed in Kent because the north is too far away."

Glasgow City Council’s culture leader has said a reduction in the number of staff at Glasgow Life will not affect the quality of the city’s cultural offer.

Earlier this year, the council announced the number of conservation staff at Glasgow Life, which operates council-owned cultural venues, will be reduced by 40% as part of a £1.5m cost saving effort in the museums and collections department.

The decision will mean displays and temporary exhibitions will not be changed as frequently in museums under Glasgow Life’s remit.

Staff cuts at the charity date back to 2021, following a loss of income due to pandemic-related closures.

Responding to concerns raised by fellow councillors at a council meeting on Thursday (11 May), City Convener for Culture, Sport and International Relations, Anette Christie, said the impact of the proposals had been carefully considered.

“It is recognised that this level of reduction will of course have an impact on the frequency of temporary exhibitions and display changes but these decisions have been made in response to the scale of the financial challenge that the city faces.”

Christie insisted the affected museums will retain their Glasgow Museums accreditation, which allows venues to secure revenue or capital funding.

She added the city will maintain its reputation for world-renowned collections, with the council planning development projects at the People’s Palace and the Mitchell Library.

“This city is a city of innovation and we will build on that. Our ambitions still remain great,” Christie said.

“Change is difficult but I have assured them of how important they are to the city, the role that they play and I can say with confidence they are still dedicated.”

A pop-up arts and culture venue is to be created in Humber Street after receiving Levelling Up funding from Hull City Council.

The council awarded a grant of £76,418.82 to Fruit Market LLP to help bring a heritage building on Humber Street back into use.

It will be used as a pop-up space for the local arts and cultural scene.

The grant will fund renovations to the building, including the installation of a new shop front and a new roof, an upgraded interior, cladding to the walls, installation of heating and cooling systems, plumbing works and the fitting of fire systems and fire doors, Hull CC News reported.

“The council is delighted to be able to award this funding to Fruit Market LLP,” said Garry Taylor, Assistant Director for Major Projects, Culture and Place at Hull City Council.

“It’s pleasing to see another unused building being brought back into use, whilst also supporting the city’s flourishing arts and culture scene.”