Local authorities

Cultural organisations from across Cheltenham have agreed on a new collaborative cultural strategy that will see them working together to build on the town’s creative reputation.

The strategy, produced by Cheltenham Cultural Board, aims to facilitate greater collaboration between the town’s heritage, cultural and digital sectors and to improve access and inclusion in the town.

The local council has invested over £1.9m in culture and creativity in Cheltenham, allocating £1,725 per year to support the activities of seven local cultural organisations. 

Additional one-off community grants totalling £190,000 have been allocated to 35 specific cultural projects and a further sum of £132,0000 has been earmarked from developer contributions to support public art in the town.

An action plan sets out how the council and its partners can improve the local cultural offer to make the most of national and international opportunities. 

It includes commitments to work collectively to explore funding and planning options for Cheltenham's Holst 150th celebrations next year, as well as working to improve the accessibility and inclusion of cultural events and engaging the wider community in planning through a public meeting.

“Culture and creativity are the lifeblood of our town and our investment in the sector is currently worth more than £1.9m,” said Councillor Max Wilkinson, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Tourism and Wellbeing.

“This new strategy is the work of so many partners. It is already bringing organisations together and will further build our credentials as a truly innovative creative place,” he added.

Ali Mawle, Chair of Cheltenham Culture Board and co-CEO of Cheltenham Festivals, said that now that the strategy has been agreed “the board are creating an action plan which captures both the work that is underway and the future steps to delivering the strategic objectives”.

The site of a listed windmill in Leicestershire is scheduled for an upgrade that will see it gain a “quality museum and associated facilities”.

North West Leicestershire District Council has granted permission to Swannington Heritage Trust to extend the Neverson Centre, an existing building on the site of the Grade-II listed Hough Mill.

The trust said the centre, which is currently used as a museum, workshop and visitor centre, is a “fantastic building” but that it is not currently “sufficient as either a workshop or a museum”, Leicestershire Live reported.

Plans for renovation include the demolition of an onsite building, which will be replaced with an insulated metal-clad building to be used as a workshop and storage space, as well as containing visitor toilets and a meeting area for volunteers.

The existing museum building will also be extended to ensure it “provides a single, disabled accessible toilet and a further small museum display area”. 

The mill’s listed status means that efforts must be made to preserve both the structure and its setting. The trust said that the new building would be “minimally visible” when approaching the mill and would help to improve the site.

The mill was first opened to the public in 2000, after being refurbished with a grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. The trust now has three years to complete the proposed upgrades.

Derbyshire County Council has pledged to offer continued support to Buxton Museum after it was forced to close for maintenance work.

The BBC reports that Buxton Museum and Art Gallery shut at short notice at the start of June when dry rot was found in the building, with no timeframe given for how long remedial work will take.

But after a visit to the museum Derbyshire County Council Leader Barry Lewis said there is an "absolute commitment" to the service.

"Closing the museum and art gallery was a great disappointment but necessary so that this vital investigation work can be carried out," he said.

"However, there is an absolute commitment to supporting the museum and securing the long-term future of its collections."

Eight members of staff are currently working to move exhibits to storage before being moved to other roles.

During the closure the council is encouraging visitors to continue to enjoy the museum via the Wonders of the Peak website and by taking a virtual museum tour.

Trafalgar Entertainment has been awarded the contract to operate Fareham Live by Fareham Borough Council. 

The company, which launched its Trafalgar Theatres division in 2021, now operates a total of 18 venues.

Currently under construction on the site of Ferneham Hall, Fareham Live will launch next year as part of the council’s multi-million-pound plans to redevelop the civic quarter and regenerate the Town Centre.

The new venue will feature a larger main auditorium with seating for around 800 people. A secondary performance space, new bar and cafe area, and studio space supporting community groups and organisations will also form part of the new building. 

Sue Walker, Executive Member for Leisure and Community at Fareham Borough Council, said: “I am very pleased that Trafalgar Theatres has been selected as the new operator at Fareham Live. 

“They bring with them a wealth of experience and they pride themselves in gathering an in-depth understanding of the locations in which they operate, respecting local priorities while delivering innovation and adding value. We are really looking forward to working together.”

Dame Rosemary Squire, Joint Co-Founder and CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Fareham Borough Council has awarded Trafalgar Entertainment the contract to operate Fareham Live in this beautiful part of the country. 

"We admire the council’s ambitions for the town and look forward to working in partnership with the Leisure and Community team on the future development of Fareham Live.”

A theatre in Northamptonshire is under threat of closure after being deemed as no longer financially viable by its operators.

Kettering’s Lighthouse Theatre is part of KLV complex, which also includes Kettering Conference Centre, a gym and a sports arena. 

According to local press, the complex is sublet to Compass Group Services, which has made the decision to close the site due to rising costs. The leaseholders remain North Northamptonshire Council, who pay an £1 annual peppercorn rent.

The complex was originally set to close at the end of May, before the date was pushed back until 3 July to give more time for alternative solutions to be found.

Meanwhile, a petition to save the complex has reached almost 15,000 signatures.
 
The theatre’s imminent closure comes after it was awarded Northamptonshire’s best theatre and arts venue in the 2023 Muddy Stilettos Awards earlier this week.

“It’s the best theatre or arts venue in the county but with just three weeks to go they’re still looking to close it,” said Mike Balderson, who launched the petition.

“It just seems to be madness.”

Campaigners are calling for North Northamptonshire Council or a management company to step in, but Council Leader Jason Smithers said in a public meeting in May that he could not promise any extra money to bail out the complex on top of the £337,000 a year the council currently splits between the theatre and indoor sports courts.

Westminster City Council has shared £320,000 across 39 local arts organisations through the council’s Community Grants programme.

The fund offers organisations up to £10,000 to deliver initiatives which improve residents’ access to arts and culture.

Recipients include Paddington Arts, which received funding to work with young people to create live performance for festivals in Queens Park, Westbourne and Paddington.

English National Opera (ENO) is benefiting from funding to stage ‘operettas’ on walking tours in August as part of the council’s annual Inside Out Festival.

The festival, which is focused around transporting artwork from galleries, libraries, theatres, and film to the outdoors, also features open air music performances at the National Gallery’s Summer on the Square this year and reached 250,000 residents in 2021.

“It was great to see the high number of bids we received for this funding, and the range of projects which will now be on offer to residents in Westminster,” Councillor Tim Roca, Cabinet Member for Young People, Learning and Leisure said.

“I am looking forward to the Inside Out festival this summer, to showcase some of these brilliant projects and get our residents and visitors excited about art and culture in the city.”