Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. Approval is sought for an exceptional grant of £6,000 to be paid to SCAT Theatre Company to enable them to remain at Bedhampton Arts Centre until its future is decided and then to re-locate to alternative premises.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

2.1. Future of SCAT Theatre Company

2.2. Havant Arts & Heritage Centre Plans

2.3. Future of Bedhampton Arts Centre

3) Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

3.1. The County Council makes an exceptional grant of £6,000 to SCAT Theatre Company in order to help them pay for current accommodation at and future relocation from Bedhampton Arts Centre.

MAIN REPORT

1) Contextual Information:

1.1. Bedhampton Arts Centre is leased by the County Council to Havant Arts Centre. Havant Arts Centre pay annual rent to the County Council of £11,500 (2008/09). Havant Arts Centre has had two small theatre companies as sub-tenants at Bedhampton for the past few years, SCAT Theatre Company and Solent Peoples Theatre.

1.2. SCAT Theatre Company specialise in producing live theatre shows for young people in pre-school, infant and primary schools and in community settings. They complement this work by running workshops in drama, mask and puppet making for young people. SCAT are a long established Hampshire based company with an excellent reputation, built up over many years for delivering high quality work for young children in schools, arts and community settings all over Hampshire.

1.3. SCAT has been funded through County Council programme grants for many years and have been housed in County Council premises for most of the period between 1982 and the present day, in Ashcroft Arts Centre, Portsmouth Arts Centre. They have been at Bedhampton Arts Centre for the past 4 years.

2) Key Issues:

2.1. SCAT Theatre Company has delivered excellent work within Hampshire schools and in other environments for many years with support from the County Council

2.2. Havant Arts Centre are no longer able to offer SCAT rent free accommodation at Bedhampton Arts Centre in lieu of work done by SCAT for the Arts Centre

2.3. Havant Arts Centre is not able to generate rental income by finding a replacement sub-tenant for Solent Peoples Theatre due to uncertainty over the future of Bedhampton Arts Centre and therefore will find it impossible to fulfil the terms of their lease.

3) Recent Events at Bedhampton Arts Centre and Havant Arts Centre

3.1. Solent Peoples Theatre recently and quite suddenly ceased trading after an expected large grant failed to materialise. They had been paying approximately £10,000 per annum in rent for their accommodation at Bedhampton Arts Centre to Havant Arts Centre.

3.2. SCAT have previously staged performances and run workshops for Havant Arts Centre in lieu of rent due to their limited financial means, an arrangement that suited both companies.

3.3. Havant Arts Centre is currently engaged in the process of becoming an Arts & Heritage Centre, through a partnership arrangement with the County Council that brings together Havant Museum and the Arts Centre to create an integrated Arts & Heritage Centre.

3.4. With their focus on this new venture, combined with uncertainty over the future of Bedhampton Arts Centre, Havant Arts Centre will not be able to find sub-tenants to replace Solent Peoples Theatre and thus they will find it difficult to fulfil the financial terms of the Bedhampton lease.

3.5. They have therefore have little alternative than to ask SCAT to contribute rent for their accommodation at Bedhampton.

3.6. Due to the uncertainty over the future of the Bedhampton building, SCAT are also having to make plans to find alternative accommodation beyond August 2009, with the possibility of a decision being made by that time by the County Council about the future of the building.

3.7. Until that point, they need to be able to pay rent to Havant Arts Centre for their accommodation. They need to keep their accommodation at Bedhampton in order to make new work to perform in schools and other venues.

3.8. An exceptional grant of £6,000 would allow SCAT to pay rent to Havant Arts Centre between April and August 2009 and to pay for relocation expenses, such as storage, new stationery, informing their database of the change and the costs of moving.

4) Outline of Options:

4.1. Option 1:

a) The County Council decides not to fund SCAT. This may mean that the company will be unable to fulfil their commitments to produce and tour their work to Hampshire schools and other venues and Havant Arts Centre may not be able to fulfil the financial terms of their lease, compromising their Arts & Heritage Centre plans.

4.2. Option 2:

a) The County Council decides to fund SCAT. This results in the company being able to remain at Bedhampton Arts Centre until August 2009 and Havant Arts Centre being able to fulfil the financial terms of their lease.

5) Recommendation:

5.1. It is recommended that the County Council makes an exceptional grant of £6,000 to SCAT Theatre Company to enable them to remain at Bedhampton Arts Centre until August 2009 and then re-locate to alternative premises.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION: