Agenda item

5.1

The Committee received a report of the Director of Culture which outlined the performance of each of the City’s four major culture/sports trusts, those being the Sheffield City Trust Group, Sheffield Museums’ and Galleries’ Trust (trading as Museums Sheffield), Sheffield Industrial Museums’ Trust and Sheffield Theatres’ Trust.

5.2

Attending for this item were Councillor Isobel Bowler, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure; David MacPherson, Place Portfolio; Dan Bates, Sheffield Theatres’ Trust; Kim Streets and Gordon Bridges, Sheffield Museums’ and Galleries’ Trust; John Hamshere and Alex Pettifer, Sheffield Industrial Museums’ Trust; and Steve Brailey, Sheffield City Trust and Sheffield International Venues.

5.3

David MacPherson introduced the report and representatives of each of the four Trusts gave a presentation in support of the report.

5.4

Following each of the presentations, Members made comments and asked questions, to which responses were provided as follows:

Sheffield Theatres’ Trust

·               It was important to consider the audiences of the future and officers were working in the community to find out just what people wanted.  £150,000 had been spent on creative development and Council funding was directed towards work in the Crucible.  In relation to ticket prices, the cheapest price in the Crucible was £1 for certain performances.  It should be noted that officers were now working in different communities in order to engage a wider audience.

·               Volunteers were involved in the public safety aspects of the operation and consideration was being given to the creation of apprenticeships. 

·               Sheffield Theatres’ Trust self-generated 87% of its income, whilst the Yorkshire average for corresponding organisations was 47%.

·               A recent fundraising event held by the Lyceum Theatre Trust had raised between £7,000 and £8,000.

·               The Lyceum could be seen as an opportunity as it was in need of some refurbishment.

·               The average ticket yield of £18 shown in the presentation was an average over the whole Trust area.

·               Records showed that people did re-attend performances.

·               The aim was to provide quality, but it was important to offer a broad church of activity and always have something that someone might like.

·               The £1 ticket offer applied to the opening show of a run and there were 900 tickets available.  This was publicised on the Sheffield Theatres’ website and in its brochure.

·               The next project for the Sheffield People’s Theatre was ‘Twenty Tiny Plays About Sheffield’ and was to be presented in the Crucible Studio.  The Trust was looking to develop local writers and, if someone came forward with a good idea, it would be read by the theatre’s team and, if it was felt worthy of pursuing, would be discussed with the writer.

Sheffield Museums’ and Galleries’ Trust

·               Consideration was being given as to how to develop the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) brand, further product development and how to make better use of the visual art collection.

·               There were some issues with the Millennium Gallery building and attempts were being made to tackle leaks, particularly on the balcony facing Arundel Gate.

·               Suppliers were now being paid within the 60 day terms.

·               Although the Bishop’s House was not managed by Museums Sheffield, liaison was taking place with the friends of Bishop’s House in relation to their provision of a learning offer.  An offer to deliver Tudor sessions for the Friends of Bishop’s House had not been taken up, but advice and support had been provided.

·               The Trust had appointed a new Finance Manager and the future was about financial control and good governance.  A recent audit had been successful and the financial controls were working well.  Officers were much more comfortable with the Trust’s financial management and the Trust’s Board were now paying more attention to this.

·               Representatives of the Council’s Corporate Finance Service had met with all of the Trusts and had no major concerns about their financial management.

·               Whilst the Sheffield Industrial Museums’ Trust had set itself up to create income, if the Council reduced its budget faster than it could generate income, there could be a problem, so it could not be foreseen what the situation would be like in 5 years’ time.

·               The Council were working with all of the Trusts to manage the reduction in public support, by engaging in a dialogue with them on their business plans.

·               The challenge was to become more business like and it should be noted that people were demonstrating a commitment to the work of the Trusts.

Sheffield City Trust Group

·               Business was holding up well at the Sheffield Arena with two out of the last three years showing its highest levels of income.  Next year’s bookings were looking good, but next Autumn was not so good.  This was felt to be a reflection of the nationwide situation.

·               In relation to the impact of the impending opening of the Leeds Arena, consideration was being given to improving the customer experience at the Sheffield Arena, but it was unlikely that funds would be available for a full refurbishment.  It was accepted that Leeds was a stronger marketplace and promoters would go where they would sell most tickets.  The Sheffield Arena though had better access than the Leeds Arena and the benefits to the local economy should be recognised.  There was, however, a need to spend on the Arena’s roof and lighting.

·               The Dovercourt Surgery Health Scheme was a pilot project and the Trust had appointed a Head of Health to build on its relationship with the Health Service.  Hopefully the Dovercourt Scheme would be rolled out to other surgeries.

·               There had been no discernable dip in enthusiasm following the Olympics and there had been an increase in the numbers attending sports clubs, but the lack of coaching staff at the clubs was an issue.

·               Trust representatives were constantly in contact with concert promoters to attract performers to the Don Valley Stadium, but there were no major bookings at the moment.  Forthcoming events at the Stadium included the UK School Games, the British Transplant Games and the University Championships.  The Stadium was also strong on Paralympic sport and it was hoped to develop this further.

Sheffield Industrial Museums’ Trust

·               In making bids for funding, it was important to appreciate that the funder was the one with the power in the relationship and to listen to what they had to say.  It was also important to have a good interpretation of the funding guidelines in relation to any bid.

·               Whilst it was important to try and recreate historical conditions as accurately as possible, it was only possible to give an impression of conditions in, for instance, back to back houses.  It was fair to say that the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet was cold and wet on occasions, but it was possible for visitors to get dry.  Experience had shown that the Somali and Asian community were readily able to engage with an understanding of 19^th century industrial heritage.

·               In view of the parking issues around Kelham Island, visitors to the Christmas Market were advised to use the Supertram to get there. 

·               The Brooklyn Bridge project had been abandoned this year but the £½ million allocated for this had been redirected to Kelham Island.

5.5

In response to a comment from the Chair, Councillor Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, John Hamshere indicated that he and Kim Streets would work more closely together and wished to extend this co-operation and Steve Brailey added that he already worked closely with the Theatres’ Trust and was also discussing shared services and expertise with Kim Streets.

5.6

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

(a)

notes the contents of the presentations and the report and the comments of the Trust representatives; and

(b)

thanks the Trust representatives for their contribution to the meeting and David MacPherson for his work in connection with the Trusts.