St David’s Hall And The New Theatre

TWO of Cardiff’s leading cultural venues are to remain under the control of Cardiff City Council following a review into their futures. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Interested parties had been invited to bid to run the concert hall and the New Theatre but following a procurement process the City Council is recommending it retains complete control of both venues. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The procurement process was designed to reduce the City Council’s subsidy to both venues in the light of continued cuts to Council budgets. However, it became clear as the process went on that an enhanced in-house model was capable of delivering similar reductions in subsidy while allowing the City Council to retain control of the venues without having to commit to a 15-year subsidy of £1.26m per annum to external bidders. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The City Council’s Cabinet will take a decision to end the procurement process when it takes a report on the future of both buildings on Thursday, February 16. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Peter Bradbury, Cabinet Member for Community Development, Co-operatives and Social Enterprise, said: “Our concert hall and theatre properties are both non-statutory services which means as a City Council we have no legal responsibility to fund them. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“But we know how important both these venues are to the people of Cardiff and to visitors to the city and so we have been subsidising them for years so that they can stay open. However, with Council budgets across Wales coming under increased pressure we had to look at new ways of delivering the service. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We have been undertaking a procurement process, inviting interested parties to come forward and to show us how they could run both venues while reducing the City Council’s subsidy. We measured this against an enhanced in-house model in order to see how much extra value we could drive out ourselves. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We’ve now reached a point whereby we believe our enhanced in-house model, which crucially will allow us to retain control over the running of our venues, delivers savings which are very close to the external bidders. Also, by retaining control we can look at new ways of securing investment for the venues, potentially setting up a not-for-profit organisation which could unlock finance previously unavailable to us. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“This could substantially reduce the need for subsidy. In our discussions with external bidders it was clear that the City Council would have to lock into a £20m subsidy over 15 years with any successful bidder. By keeping the venues in-house we feel we will have better opportunities to reduce this subsidy over that timeframe.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Economy and Culture Scrutiny Committee will be assessing a proposal to deliver an ‘Enhanced In-House Model on Wednesday, February 15. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Approximately 440,000 people visit St David’s Hall and the New Theatre each year. Both of these buildings generate £38 million for the local economy and enhance the city’s social and cultural offering. St David’s Hall was recently rated in the top ten venues for acoustics in the World. Both buildings are seen as key assets in Cardiff’s cultural scene. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Savings targets are already in place for both these buildings. In financial year (2017/18) £547,000 of savings have to be made, with a further £416,000 earmarked for 2018/19. Even once these savings have been achieved the tax payer will still be subsidising both venues to the tune of £1.26 million each year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Peter Bradbury, added: “Ideally, we want all non-statutory services to pay for themselves with no subsidy from the tax payer and we will work towards this. There are unlocked opportunities for both these buildings. We need to look at ways to make the venues more accessible. By increasing footfall and boosting ticket sales we will increase the money we receive. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The City Council will retain full control over the buildings, the pricing, programming, marketing and the development potential that these buildings have. There are challenges though. There is a significant maintenance backlog on both buildings and St David’s Hall is need of modernisation. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Moving forward we will have to deliver a number of changes to make this new model financially viable. We will have to restructure staff working in these areas and improve the income that we generate from both venues. We have been working closely with staff and trade unions on this. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We would also like to explore the possibility of forming an appropriate not-for-profit organisation at a later date which could increase the opportunities for external investment and funding, and there may be some limited development potential that could help modernise the buildings. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We now have to move forward to deliver the changes that are required. Staff have been in limbo for some time not knowing what the future might hold. Now they will have some certainty about the path we want to take to preserve both of these cultural institutions for the city. We need to embrace the opportunities ahead and this is what we will be doing.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The City Council’s Cabinet will hear the report’s recommendations and Scrutiny’s view at Cabinet on Thursday, February 16. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​