To receive any questions from members of the Council, of which due notice has been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, to be submitted and answered.
Minutes:
The Mayor advised that four questions from members of the Council had been received under Council Procedure Rule 10.
1. Question from Councillor Hill
“Given previously raised concerns in this council chamber, what actions are being taken to ensure that the outside of the Assembly Hall is fully utilised to publicise future productions, that the frontage is welcoming, and that the theatre actually looks open for business?”
Answer from Councillor March
“The Theatre has the following in operation:
· A permanent facia;
· Two large digital screens;
· An external poster board, shared with friends at the Trinity Theatre;
· Over 43 poster sites that are maintained across the Borough;
· 80 per cent of the Theatre’s customer base now engaged online and the business model is delivering to this audience and following the Council’ digital first strategy;
· Regular newsletters are sent out to the core email database;
· 70k people are sent the Theatre’s digital brochure;
· Every home in the Borough received local magazine in which the programme is printed and copies are available at the Gateway;
· Regular social media campaigns are delivered every week;
· Postcards are sent to targeted audiences in agreement with producers; and
· The Theatre also operates the Go Card offering low price and even free tickets to families on low incomes.
When the Theatre is actually open for business, the following are there in addition:
· The Theatre front is lit up using LED lights, its not done when the Theatre is not open assisting in energy reduction;
· The Box Office is open 90 minutes before a performance in addition to being open on a Saturday between 12-5pm; and
· At Christmas, there is also additional Christmas lighting.
The saving created by the relocation of the Box Office to the Gateway has enabled the Theatre Director to establish a creative learning department which has engaged with over 3k residents and school children since it was established.”
Supplementary question from Councillor Hill
“I wasn’t really asking about the advertising, my concern was would it be lit up especially for the Christmas season for Peter Pan. I think it should be lit up as Christmas season approaches, so it will be lit up for Peter Pan?”
Answer from Councillor March
“Yes we will have lights there. But, as has been mentioned before in a previous question, we can’t put things actually on the canopy because of health and safety.”
2. Question from Councillor Everitt
“How long, not including secured funding such as Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England, has additional fundraising been undertaken to reach the current target of £1.2 million for the Amelia Scott?”
Answer from Councillor March
“In order to raise funds for The Amelia at The Amelia Scott, on the advice from our consultants, we have chosen to enable the set up of a fundraising trust which will be independent from the Council with its own Board. This will allow them to access funds from donor trusts and foundations that the Council aren’t able to approach. The whole process of fundraising takes time and setting up trusts normally takes around 6-9 months. Counterculture are currently in the process of setting up the company and registering the trust. As the company and the trust are independent of the Council the updates are provided on behalf of the future trust by Counterculture. The next update will be available in the Members’ Room following the up-and-coming Ameila Board meeting.”
Supplementary question from Councillor Everitt
“I didn’t really get a span of time there, I’m not sure that answered my original question. However, I used to work at the Museum and I volunteered for their friends group. Back at the Friends of the Museum AGM in November 2016 it was stated that the project needed £800k in fundraising to plug a shortfall, so I would argue that actually the fundraising has been known about and there has been a fundraising target for at least 3 years if not longer. Given that there has been over 3 years to raise the amount and this has not happened; and now that we have Calverley Square which requires £3m in 2 years; and as noted by the consultants Counterculture there will be overlapping applications between The Ameila Scott and Calverley Square – they will only pay out for one, not for both – do you honestly think it is possible and in what timeframe for both projects to fundraise the required money?”
Answer from Councillor March
“It takes quite a long time to set up a trust, we had to decide who we were going to have as far as Counterculture are concerned. We didn’t have a final amount, we had an idea what it was going to be, in fact, it is £1.2m. We had to decide whether we were going to have a fundraiser and that was going to be taken on with the County Council. The Borough Council will underwrite the cost of the fundraiser and then we will start the fundraising, it takes quite a long time. You have to get your chairman of the trust to actually have a Board that he can work with and therefore that takes time to get the right people. We are very confident that that is a realistic target.”
3. Question from Councillor Hill
“What actions have been taken by this Council to prepare itself for any adverse impacts of the UK government illegally taking us out of the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019?”
Answer from Councillor Dawlings
“It is very difficult indeed to assess or predict the possible impacts of Brexit on either the Council or the wider Borough. The Council has been promoting the national campaign to get people ready for Brexit and has been raising concerns from local businesses about the impact of Brexit on them with central government. It has also been actively engaged with the Kent Resilience Forum on the issue.”
Supplementary question from Councillor Hill
“My concerns are with being in Kent we are the first port-of-call, and I know that east Kent councils are very worried about the impact of border controls like at Ebbsfleet, etc. Do we know if this could impact on Tunbridge Wells? With traffic being directed nearer to us causing more disruption on our roads?”
Answer from Councillor Dawlings
“This is primarily a matter for Kent County Council and this Council is in constant contact with them.”
4. Question from Councillor Everitt
“Is there a budget for home office equipment and increased utility bills for Council staff as a result of increased home working should the new smaller Calverley Square office be approved?”
Answer from Councillor Dawlings
“There is a budget for ICT and the ability to work from home is already successfully in operation throughout the Council.”
Supplementary question from Councillor Everitt
“Are we saying that no costs will be passed on to staff, should Calverley Square go ahead, for home office equipment and increased utility bills?”
Answer from Councillor Dawlings
“There is an ICT budget and the ability to work from home is well embedded so I don’t think there will be a huge difference.”
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