News – Tough times ahead for Cardiff arts venues

The management and operation of St Davids Hall and the New Theatre are under review as part of a wider review of Cardiff Councils subsidised, non-statutory services. The two arts venues, which between them attract £2.8m of the Councils £3.06m current spend on cultural venues, are projected to show a significant shortfall for the financial year 2006/07, and members of the Councils Executive Committee have drawn the preliminary conclusion that not all funding streams to existing clients are sustainable at their current levels. With a view to reducing its operational subsidy, the Council has issued a Prior Information Notice inviting private operators to explore the possibility of forming a long-term joint undertaking in respect of the operation and maintenance of the two venues.
The decision to re-assess funding priorities is being driven by a range of factors. A projected £7m overspend on the budget for its Adult Services provision for 2006/07, for which the Council has a statutory responsibility, is a key contributing factor. But the Council is also responding to pressures upon its own subsidised arts venues following the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre, and has drawn attention to the Welsh Assembly Governments (WAG) de facto policy of redirecting arts investment outside of Cardiff to offset the WAG revenue subsidy to the Wales Millennium Centre. The Executive is now considering whether to continue direct funding of &certain organisations, activities and programmes which are perhaps primarily of national (all Wales) significance rather than local to Cardiff.