HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report

1. Executive Summary

1.1. The purpose of this paper is to confirm the intention to provide revenue funding for The Lights, Andover, for three years commencing 2009/10.

1.2. This paper seeks to

· Set out the background to the project

· Consider the finance for the project

2. Contextual information

2.1. On 18^th May 2006 the County Council agreed to provide partnership funding to Test Valley Borough Council for three years to establish The Lights, a new venue in the centre of Andover. In principle it was agreed that "a further three years, subject to satisfactory performance against County Council objectives and the approval of a new business plan" funding would be provided. The funding for the Lights was agreed as £120,000 per annum divided equally from the budgets of The Executive Members for Policy and Resources, Children's Services and Culture, Communities and Recreation.

2.2. In the financial years 2007/8 and 2008/9 the progress of The Lights and its performance has been reported to the Executive Member Recreation and Heritage (now Culture, Communities and Recreation) in the January meeting along with the progress of the eleven other revenue funded organisations in the portfolio of supported independent arts organisations. A new business plan has been agreed by Test Valley Borough Council and in January 2009 it was agreed to provide a further three years funding from the CCRA arts budget.

2.3. A performance report was provided to the Executive Member for Policy and Resources and the Executive Member for Children's Services, Education for consideration (See Appendix 1) and it was agreed that a further three years funding would be allocated to the Lights in the ratios previously agreed.

3. Finance

3.1. The funding share for the Executive Member Policy and resources is £40,000 for each of three years commencing 2009/10, 10/11 and 11/12.

4. Recommendations

4.1. That £40,000 be provided towards the funding for the Lights in the years 2009/10; 2010/11 and 2011/12.

4.2. The Lights continues to provide performance reports to be presented to the Executive Members for Culture, Communities and Recreation, Policy and Resources and Children's Services for consideration on an annual basis.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Links to the Corporate Strategy

Other Significant Links

Appendix 1

Funding for The Lights 2009-2012

Review Report.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Lights is a cultural venue based on the Cricklade College campus in Andover. It has been owned and run by Test Valley Borough Council since 2006. Since opening, The Lights has been revenue funded by both Test Valley Borough Council and the County Council. The current 3 year funding deal agreed by the County Council expires in 2008/09. A decision is needed to extend the funding agreement for a further 3 years, from 2009/10 to 2011/12.

2. History - Initial Funding for The Lights

2.1 In 2005, Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) agreed to buy Cricklade Theatre from Cricklade College in order to develop it as a venue that would address the Borough's `Vision for Andover', furthering community cohesion, boosting the creative industries and creating stronger links between the cultural sector and the business community in Andover.

2.2 TVBC made the County Council aware of its intentions for Cricklade Theatre in 2005. Their aspirations for Andover were shared by the County Council, and included discussions about a Discovery Centre, and development work with organisations such as Testway Housing to improve sports and cultural activities for young people, and generally to support the improvement of community and cultural facilities in Andover.

2.3 The population of Andover was set to increase from the then 40,000 and it had no venue for professional performance and limited possibilities for young people to take part in out of school arts education activities.

2.4 During 2005/06, TVBC spent around £2m to purchase the property and to make improvements to the theatre and associated spaces to meet modern expectations. This included completely re-fitting and redecorating the theatre block in a contemporary style, installing new seating and applying acoustic treatment to the theatre to create a 240 seat capacity, the creation of workshop and meeting spaces, a bar and catering facilities, the installation of external decking and a canopy to transform the exterior and a large pyramid roof light to improve the internal roof height and natural lighting.

2.5 The County Council worked closely with Test Valley on the creation of an initial 3 year Business Plan for The Lights. This Business Plan included the developments of income streams for professional performance programmes, bar and catering, education and outreach, community use and hirings. It proposed targets for usage by the general public and for young people in the Andover area, to a financial plan.

2.6 In June 2006, the County Council agreed to revenue fund The Lights via a decision taken in response to a joint report from the Directors of Recreation and Heritage and Children's Services to the Executive Member for Policy and Resources.

2.7 This decision agreed revenue funding from the County Council to The Lights for three years, from 2006/07 to 2008/09 towards the running costs of The Lights. The funding levels agreed by the County Council were £100,000 in 2006/07, £120,000 in 2007/08 and £120,000 in 2008/09. The annual amounts were split into three equal parts from the existing budgets of Children's Services, Recreation and Heritage and Policy and Resources.

2.8 Some specific conditions were attached to the decision. These were:

1. Up to £40,000 of the County Council's £100,000 grant in 2006/07 was to be used to support the Outreach Programmes.

2. The County Council reserved the right to reduce its financial contribution in following financial years if The Lights exceeded its income targets, over and above any corresponding increase in costs.

3. After 2 full years of operation, a decision would be made by the County Council as to whether or not it would continue to revenue fund The Lights beyond 2008/09. The main criteria for this decision would be the extent to which the Business Plan objectives had been met and assessment of The Lights continuing ability to contribute to fulfilling the County Council's strategic objectives.

4. The Lights would present an Outreach Programme to the County Council by July 2006.

2.9 The County Council decision to fund The Lights was based on partnership funding with TVBC. Their annual support for The Lights has totalled over £200,000 per annum during the 3 year period, 2006/07 to 2008/09.

3. Progress to Date - Business Plan 2006/09

3.1 In the initial period of trading, from October 2006, The Lights faced the challenge of balancing the need to quickly generate audiences for performances (to ensure that this important revenue stream quickly established viability) whilst simultaneously establishing relationships with the local communities, schools and other organisations to develop education and outreach activities. This equation was further complicated by the need to manage a new bar and catering facility, to deal with the varied expectations of a multitude of prospective users, to meet the varied needs of a variety of business and community based hirings whilst bedding in a new staff team in a building that had the expected level of snagging issues.

3.2 The effect of starting all streams of the business simultaneously inevitably meant that the business critical elements initially took precedence over other less critical streams (from a business perspective) such as education and outreach.

3.3 Performance Programme

Performances have proved popular from day 1 and the financial and attendance figures have remained consistently strong to date. The 2006-09 Business Plan projected increasing attendances over the three year period, with a total of 65 performances predicted in 2008/09, attracting 7250 attendances showing a break-even (ticket income versus direct costs) bottom line. Estimated turnover for performances in the first year of trading was £48,000.

The actual figures in 2008/09 for the number of performances, attendances and the turnover exceed these projections significantly. By 2008/09, there will have been over 100 performances by the end of the financial year, with over 16,000 attendances and a net `profit' (ticket income versus direct costs) of over £25,000. Projected turnover for the performance programme in 2008/09 will be around £150,000, which is impressive by comparison with equivalent organisations.

3.4 Education and Outreach

After taking some time to become well established, the development of the education programmes has gained great momentum in the past 18 months. This work is by its nature, more labour intensive and can have long lead in times, being dependent on the development of many close relationships between staff from the Lights and local community and voluntary organisations and schools. These relationships have developed well and a number of exciting projects and initiatives have taken place in the past 18 months with local schools and other organisations.

Education and Outreach projects include:

East Meets West: an Indian, Street and Folk dance project with African percussion involving students from Harrow Way and Winton Schools, which resulted in a performance by students of both schools at The Lights.

Summer Taster Workshops: 2 days of free workshops for children aged 5 to 16 to give them tasters of regular activities on offer. Workshops took place in street dance, drama, visual arts, singing and over 140 young people took part.

Work with organisations such as Age Concern, Cricklade College, University of Winchester, a range of primary and secondary schools, Phoenix Centre, Turnaround Project, Mencap, Andover Family Learning Forum.

Regular Education Classes and Workshops: weekly classes for young people and older people in drama, dance, art and craft activities and music.

Direct spend on education and outreach projects has increased from £17,000 in 2006/07 to over £35,000 in 20008/09. (Total education spend will include the costs of staffing thus a significantly higher total.) Income from education and outreach activities has increased from around £5,000 in 2006/07 to a projected £16,500 in 2008/09. This seems to compare unfavourably with a Business Plan target of £41,400 for 2008/09. However, due to the accounting used by The Lights, a sizeable proportion of education and outreach income may sit within the `Other earned income' line so the actual income may be closer to the target income than it appears.

3.5 Other Income Streams

Other income streams include the bar and catering, hiring for meetings, conferences and services provided to many of the amateur arts organisations located in and around Andover. Income in this area has increased from £38,000 in 2006/07 to over £80,000 in both 2007/08 and 2008/09. This turnover is a measure of the growing quantity of activity that involves an increasing number of partners from the business community, the voluntary and community sectors and the arts community.

3.6 Summary of the Performance against the Business Plan 2006/09

The development of the performance programme of The Lights can be viewed as exceptional in maturing very quickly between autumn 2006 and spring 2009 to produce attendance and financial figures that match those of comparable organisations of greater maturity. Business Plan targets have been greatly exceeded for the performance programme.

Education and Outreach made a more modest start for reasons already explained. This area of work is now producing excellent results and is performing satisfactorily against Business Plan targets. It looks like a positive and fruitful area for further development in future.

Other Income Streams are performing exceptionally well against Business Plan targets and give an indication of the breadth of service provided by The Lights and the importance of its role as a focus for a wide variety of community developments.

Since autumn 2006, The Lights has attracted more than 94,000 visitors. Test Valley continue to invest in the refurbishment of the building, recently replacing the ancient heating system, upgrading stage lighting and furniture and making access improvements to the building.

4. Future Plans - Business Plan 2009/12

4.1 The Lights has produced a Business Plan for the period 2009/12. This plan has been agreed by TVBC and forms the basis, along with their revenue funding application, of their application for further revenue funding from the County Council for this period.

4.2 TVBC see The Lights as a key deliverer of their Corporate Plan, `Maximising Impact', and of the corporate aims of the County Council. The Manager of the `Andover Vision' states that, `The Andover Vision acknowledges the vibrant and culturally vital role The Lights plays in helping to develop a local community that is energised, balanced, inclusive and above all demanding. The varied and eclectic programme continues to satisfy the needs and demands of live entertainment whilst developing new areas of interest. Its role in helping to regenerate our town and its people cannot be understated; it acts as a cultural and inspirational beacon of our growing aspirations and ambitions.'

4.3 The 2009/12 Business Plan places the Corporate Aims of the County Council at its core alongside those of Test Valley BC and it acknowledges Hampshire's Cultural Strategy, `Enjoying Hampshire'. It visions developments in many areas of the work of The Lights. These developments include:

· An increase in the number of performances

· Building on children and family audiences

· Exploring opportunities for open air theatre throughout Test Valley

· Developing the use of the arena area of The Lights as an exhibition space

· Increasing attendances at theatre and dance events

· An increased number of events

· Developing an in-house pantomime

The Education and Outreach aspirations for 2009/12 are many fold. These include:

· To increase participation in the core programme

· To pilot a Youth Arts Awards project in Test Valley

· To increase arts participation and arts awareness in schools

· To actively promote the Artsmark national awards scheme

· To increase participation in national initiatives, e.g. The Big Draw, Black history month, National Poetry Day.

· Develop further opportunities for collaboration with Andover College.

4.4 The 2009/12 Business Plan seeks to build on the success of The Lights to date. It offers the County Council the opportunity to support the continued development and improvement of an important cultural service for people of all ages in the Andover, in partnership with Test Valley Borough Council.

5. Meeting Corporate Aims

The Lights will continue to meet the County Council priorities of:

· Maximising Wellbeing

· Enhancing our quality of place

6. Recommendation

That the County Council continues to provide revenue funding to The Lights of £120,000 per annum in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12, with the balance split in 3 equal parts between Children's Services, Recreation & Heritage and Policy and Resources.

7. Appendices - (not included with this report)

· The Lights Business Plan 2009/12 (includes Education & Outreach Action Plan and Financial Projection 2009-12)

· Balanced Scorecard for The Lights

8. Performance Data

INCOME

EXPENDITURE

Position for the year

QUANTITY OF ACTIVITY - PERFORMING ARTS

Reach 0f Activity - Performing Arts

9. Summary Business Plan

1. History & Financial Background

The Lights opened in October 2006 after significant capital investment from Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) and revenue support from both TVBC and Hampshire County Council. In the first 2 years of trading, The Lights attracted over 94,000 visitors to witness a wide range of live events, to take part in education and outreach activities and the local business community have utilised the facilities for conferences and trade fairs. The artistic programme has performed beyond original expectations achieving an average attendance of 79% of capacity in 2008/09.

The education and outreach programmes have seen hundreds of school age children and adults participate in drama, dance, art & craft and music events. Improvements have been made to the building by TVBC, including replacing the heating system, upgrading the lighting and access improvements.

2. Corporate Priorities

TVBC has adopted The Lights 2009-2012 Business Plan, viewing it as a key deliverer of the Council's priorities. These priorities are harmonious with County Council priorities and include:

· Creating Stronger and Safer Communities

· Improving Cultural Opportunities

· Promoting Health and Wellbeing

· Protecting and Enhancing the Environment

· Enabling a Prosperous Economy

The Lights remains a key success of the TVBC's Andover Vision, a plan for a more prosperous, entertaining and inclusive Andover.

3. Identified Areas of Growth and Development 2009 - 2012

Developments are planned for a number of workstreams. These include:

4. Artistic Programme

The range and depth of the artistic programme is expected to widen, building on existing customers and developing new audiences. Particular developments include:

· increased audiences for dance, drama and music genres including jazz, clues, roots, folk and classical music

· An increased no. of performances from 108 in 2009/10 to 120 in 2011/12 in 2012, primarily through the introduction of a Christmas pantomime

· An increase in total audience from 17,790 in 2009/10 to 19,110 in 2011/12, growth of 8%

5. Education and Outreach

Planned developments include:

· Increase the provision of participatory opportunities for 13-16 year olds

· Increase participation through a broader range of regular classes for adults

· Develop work with schools by establishing a teachers forum and a schools newsletter

· Pilot Youth Arts Awards in Test Valley

· Promote the Artsmark scheme with local schools

· Increase participation in national initiatives, e.g. The Big Draw, Black History Month

· Develop further collaboration with Andover College by exhibition opportunities for students, developing the schools drama festival

· Provide further opportunities for young musicians and young bands

6. Marketing and Audience Development

Customer Surveys have shown a 79% `excellent' rating for The Lights from its customers. The results make suggestions for a number of improvements. These include:

· Access improvements such as better lighting, signage and handrails

· Increased Box Office opening hours and improved online booking

Between 2009 and 2012, planned improvements include:

· Better use of social networking sites to attract young people

· A week long Children's Festival

· Promotion of The Lights with a local radio station

· Website Development

7. Finance

The budget projects the following key developments between 2009 and 2012.

· A rise in turnover of around 6% (from £415K in 2009/10 to £440K in 2011/12).

· A rise in ticket income of 10% (from £166.7K in 2009/10 to £184.2K in 2011/12)

· Gross spend on Education and Outreach is expected to increase by 8% (from £81.9K in 2009/10 to £86K in 2011/12)

· Conference and Room Hire is expected to increase by 13% (from £40.2K in 2009/10 to £45.7K in 2011/12)

The budget contains a number of assumptions including similar funding from core funders during the period of the plan.