Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 6

25 September 2003

Capital Improvements for County Council Managed Arts Centres

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Tim Kelly Ext: 5939

1. Summary

1.1 The following Decisions are sought:

That the seating structure at Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham is replaced using Capital funding of £30,000 from the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme for 2003/04 and

That each of the Hampshire County Council managed Arts Centres in Aldershot, New Milton and Winchester is inspected so that their lighting rigs are tagged as to their load bearing capacities using Capital funding of £6,000 from the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme for 2003/04.

2. Reason

2.1 The current seating rostra at Ashcroft Arts Centre does not comply with current standards of Health & Safety. The rostra are particularly difficult to negotiate for people with mobility difficulties. They are effectively discouraged from attending, thus denied this life opportunity. Both County Council surveyors and Recreation and Heritage Health & Safety Advisor recommend immediate replacement of the seating rostra.

2.2 Lighting rigs at all the Arts Centres are old and are in need of safety assessment. Creating a system for tagging the bars of the rigs at each Arts Centre for load bearing capacity will allow safe use and enable cost effective safety inspections in future.

3. Other options considered and rejected

None.

4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker or a member or officer consulted

None.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent

Not applicable.

Approved by: (Signature) Date: (date of decision)

................................. ..............................

Councillor J. Waddington

Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Recreation and Heritage Item 6

25 September 2003

Capital Improvements for County Council Managed Arts Centres

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Tim Kelly Ext: 5939

1. Introduction

1.1 Following the investigation of an accident at one of the four County Council Arts Centres, Ashcroft Arts Centre, new standards have been agreed for seating rostra within Arts Centres with our Health and Safety Advisor and with Property Business & Regulatory Services. The seating rostra at Ashcroft Arts Centre does not meet these standards and needs to be replaced.

1.2 Enhanced licensing requirements have also led to the need for more detailed inspections of the load bearing capacities of lighting rigging in all four Arts Centres and of the security of the systems employed for attaching the rigging to the buildings.

2. Seating Rostra at Ashcroft Arts Centre

2.1 The existing rostra has been at Ashcroft Arts Centre for at least 15 years. It is a timber frame topped by timber panels with aluminium angles added to the front edge of the gangway treads. The risers of the gangway (the vertical distance between any two adjacent tiers) vary in height between 154mm and 285mm.

2.2 The County Council Surveyor reports as part of the investigation into an accident in which someone suffered a fracture that the variation in distances between the risers contravenes both British Standard 5588 which states that 'the height of each step in the gangway should...not exceed 190mm'. The risers also contravene the Home Office (1990) 'Guide to Fire Precautions in Existing Places of Entertainment and Like Premises' which further states that the rise and going (horizontal distance between risers) should be uniform.

2.3 The Surveyor's report also mentions that, as risers are top hung, a person's foot could become trapped within the aperture between risers. The report concludes that whilst some management solutions have been employed in the short term, radical modification is essential. Having agreed a new standard for Arts Centre rostra, the County Council Management Surveyor concludes that 'the seating rostra do not meet modern standards' and 'it is not practical to modify the existing rostra and a new system is recommended'.

2.4 Replacing the rostra with a retractable seating bleacher system will further improve the facilities at Ashcroft Arts Centre, enabling the theatre to be used as a multi purpose workshop space as well as functioning as a theatre for performances. This will enable a wider range of activities to be offered to the public and will increase the potential of the Centre to offer improved services that will maximise life opportunities on offer to the public. The cost of new seating rostra will be £30,000.

3. Lighting Rigs

3.1 Each of the four Hampshire County Council managed Arts Centres have lighting rigs in their theatres, all of which have been in place for a minimum of 13 years. The rigs are a mixture of types having been installed at different times in the past. No records exist detailing how these rigs are attached to the buildings. No records exist detailing inspection regimes or formal maintenance procedures for these rigs. None of the bars of the rigs are tagged with details of their load bearing capacities and we have no knowledge of their load bearing limits.

3.2 As a condition of licensing, Ceiling Certificates are required as proof of the soundness of the theatre ceiling and its fittings. To date, one Arts Centre has had its Ceiling Certificate denied. In this case Property, Business and Regulatory Department staff (PBR) were helpful in meeting the costs (around £2,000) to undertake surveying and remedial work to ensure that the Certificate was given.

3.3 A schedule of inspection at the other three Arts Centres has been agreed with PBR prior to renewal of their Public Entertainment Licenses. As part of this work, PBR will design and install a tagging system that will enable technicians to understand and work within the load bearing capacities of the bars of all lighting rigs. The cost of the inspections and tagging systems will total £6,000 for all County Council Arts Centres.

4. Legal Implications

4.1 The County Council is able to utilise broad powers under the Local Government Act 1972 to provide financial support for the arts. In particular, Section 145 of the Act enables the Council to contribute towards the expenses of doing anything necessary or expedient for any of a number of purposes, including the provision of entertainment of any nature, or the provision of a theatre, concert hall, dance hall or other premises suitable for entertainment. The powers include the ability to contribute towards the expenses of maintaining a band or orchestra and towards the development and improvement of the knowledge, understanding and practice of the arts.

4.2 The particular action proposed in their report will enable the Council to fulfil its statutory duty, as the occupier of premises, to take reasonable care to ensure visitors to the arts centre are reasonably safe in using the premises. The action is also consistent with a duty under health and safety legislation to ensure, so far as practicable, that visitors are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. With regard to the expenditure to meet licensing requirements, the Council cannot lawfully provide its normal programme of entertainments at an arts centre without holding a public entertainment licence. The licence condition requiring production of a ceiling certificate is considered reasonable and therefore one which should be complied with.

4.3 The County Council needs to manage the risk inherent in problems which may be found in the delay of implementing any changes to the Ashcroft and the ceilings of the other Centres. At the Ashcroft Arts Centre new nosings have been attached to the edges of the platforms on which the seating stands. Signs have been erected to warn the public to take extra care when using the platforms. Staff are aware of the unevenness of the treads and suggest to those with mobility problems that they should be careful or sit in alternative seating to minimise the number of steps they need to climb.

4.4 The lighting rigs are seen as different as no obvious problem has yet emerged. Visual inspections are carried out on a regular basis so as to estimate the most sensible load bearing for them. Staff have been advised to add no extra loads to the rigs in the meantime until the inspections have provided a definitive capacity for the rigs.

5. Financial Implications

5.1 The costs estimated for the project are reasonable for the scale and nature of the rostra and seating at the Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham. The Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme 2003/04 contains sufficient funds for both the seating scheme and the inspections.

5.2 It is recommended that £30,000 of funding be agreed for the Ashcroft Arts Centre rostra and seating and that £6,000 be agreed for the inspection and tagging of the lighting rigs at the Arts Centres.

Recommendations

1. That the seating structure at Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham is replaced using Capital funding of £30,000 from the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme for 2003/04 and

2. That each of the Hampshire County Council managed Arts Centres in Aldershot, New Milton and Winchester is inspected so that their lighting rigs are tagged as to their load bearing capacities using Capital funding of £6,000 from the Recreation and Heritage Capital Programme for 2003/04.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

N.B. the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE LOCATION

Report on the Auditorium, Ashcroft Arts Centre Arts Office filing, PS2.2