Martin Denny, Windsor Festival, Director to give a verbal update on the Windsor Arts to the Panel.

Martin Denny, Managing Director of Martin Denny Management Ltd, (MDM) updated the Panel on The Old Court in Windsor, Windsor’s arts centre, and formerly known as The Firestation.

MDM took over The Old Court at the beginning of October 2017. Martin Denny reported that during the first two weeks, substantial internal refurbishment took place to make the venue more welcoming and improve its look and feel. The venue was reopened to the public in mid-October 2017 to carry on with existing bookings. The venue was then closed in mid-December 2017 at the instruction of ht eBorough’s Shared Building Services Team for further work and reopened on 5 March 2018. The building was in a much worse state than was expected and the work was more urgent than initially appreciated. The project had great support from the Lead Member, Councillor Samantha Rayner and the Lead Officer, Mark Taylor.

Councillors Mills and Stretton joined the meeting at 7.05pm.

The venue would now serve the community in a much better way offering a wide range of performances. Events that were being discussed included a comedy series, jazz, cinema, art days, exhibitions, classical concerts, DJ and clubbing nights and a children’s programme.

MDM has now moved its offices to The Old Court.

The Chairman thanked Martin Denny for a comprehensive presentation and for providing a range of activities for the community and that the plan taken forward by the company for the renovation and reform was done so with minimum disruption. The Chairman asked how much of the suggested programme had been driven by demand? Martin Denny explained that it was a combination of demand and insights, residents would like to use the space that provides suitable facilities, they had tried to look at all audiences, listened to the ‘chatter’ of the community, had the desire to build up a reputation in live quality music in differing genres and a significant arts centre for residents.

Councillor Stretton commented that it was very impressive that regular permanent hires had been fixed so quickly after the renovation. Was there going to be a challenge if the community wanted to hire the venue? Martin Denny explained that there was a plan to maximise the space and invite theatre companies over the summer holidays. Councillor Stretton asked if the projector and surround sound systems had been considered for different usages. Martin Denny informed the Panel that all had been considered and flexibility of the spaces had been improved.

Councillor Sharpe asked if closing the venue had helped and was informed that there had been a smooth transition between the two tenders and the break had enabled them to think more clearly about what was actually wanted and needed, so it was very beneficial.

Councillor Ed Wilson asked how much the refurbishment cost and was advised that the cost of the refurbishment was £440K, this was a combination of the sinking fund for amendments to buildings and councils capital budget and a further £65K from the new tenant, who had got some of that from the grant funding. Councillor Ed Wilson asked how the venue was going to be re-advertised. Martin Denny explained that they were trying to create a good feeling in the venue to encourage people to come and use the facilities and then come back again and facilitating word of mouth promotion, the breadth of the programme would help to raise its profile, also by tapping into a network of local relationships and promoting through a number of more traditional methods.

Councillor Sharpe asked about the comparison of this venue with Norden Farm and was informed that both venues were working together and sharing ideas. It was a great asset for the borough to have two strong art centres in the two main towns.

The Vice Chairman stated that this was an investment that needed to happen and it was a shame that it was not happened sooner. Councillor Cox asked how the investment was going to be measured and was informed by Mark Taylor that there were significant key performance indicators, similar to Norden Farm. In addition regular meetings took place between the council and the new tenants.

ACTION: Report to Panel at a future meeting.

The Panel agreed that this was a great news story and should be advertised.