Presentation by Selladoor.
Minutes:
Council received a presentation by Paul Jepson, currently the Creative Director of Selladoor (soon to become the Chief Executive of the Landmark Theatre Ltd) and David Hutchinson, currently Chair of Selladoor (soon to become the Chair of the Landmark Theatre Ltd) regarding the operation of the Landmark and Queens Theatres.
They outlined the following:
· North Devon Theatres Limited has been renamed as Landmark Theatres Ltd, which will have charitable status.
· Vision, mission and values of the Landmark Theatres Ltd.
· Organisation structure.
· The status of the conscious uncoupling, management buy out, Charity Commission application and partnerships.
· North Devon financials including key performance indicators. The forecast financial position was positive.
· Audience opportunity and the need to widen the programme that was offered.
· Partnerships in place. The Landmark Theatres Ltd would join the Arts Council England portfolio. The head office would be located at the Queens Theatre, Barnstaple.
· The current and future organisational structure. The structure was relatively lean.
· The outputs programme which would be based on the current programme and include a higher quality programme.
· The outputs participation which included Speak Up, NT Schools, BRB Education, Landmark Participation Strategy, Ilfracombe as young people’s learning centre, cross art form, learning and apprenticeship.
· The outputs talent which included supporting companies into the midscale, workplace training, learning company, Landmark Theatre Strategy and Landmark Festival.
· The economic benefits. These would be tracked and statistics provided to the Council.
· Deepening partnership which included the maintenance of plant, capital and linking outputs to the Council priorities.
In response to questions, Paul Jepson and David Hutchinson advised the following:
· Becoming a charitable trust would increase the quality of governance and allow the submission of funding bids which could not currently be applied for.
· A company was limited by liability and the protections in relation to the operation and governance. A charitable trust would separate the mission and would not limit the theatres applying for external funding.
· The assets currently in the venues would be taken over in their entirety by the new charitable trust.
· The theatre at Ilfracombe would be used as a venue for young people, however there would be opportunities by working with schools.
· In terms of hiring venues, there would be a distinction between community and commercial hire and would be dependent upon the basis with which they were working with the trust.
· The proposed structure would give the opportunity for voices and talents to be seen in other areas. Consideration was being given to how to breakdown barriers in providing opportunities.
· In terms of demographics, the theatres were attracting individuals from lower demographics.
· Initial conversations had commenced with Ilfracombe Academy.
· There was a need to attract summer visitors into the theatres and consideration was being given to how to advertise the programme of events to holiday makers.
In response to a question, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that the Council currently paid a revenue subsidy of around £150,000 per annum to Selladoor. In addition, £315,000 was allocated in the capital programme for the replacement of the Queens Theatre flat roof and the re-decoration of the elevations and a further £150,000 for the Fire Alarm system at the Landmark Theatre. The responsibilities the Council had as landlord and tenant would remain unchanged. The Council provided significant investment in both revenue and capital for both theatres.