Project Commentary & Description
This project seeks to develop an inclusive Arts and Recreation facility within the Urban Village of Caterham Barracks. The Centre is to be developed in stages based upon identified needs. The key element of the first phase is a children’s play space which uses play activity as a vehicle to introduce young people to experiences and learning which will expand their horizons and capabilities. Because this community lacks any significant creative space, the spaces we plan to build over the next four or five years, will be truly inclusive.
The funding required for the whole venture is between £3 million and £4 million but the first phase set out below can be completed for £1.25 million. The Trust has spent £350,000 making the two redundant Gymnasiums, given to the community under a Section 106 agreement, watertight and secure. They have been re-roofed and fully double-glazed. The Trust is looking to spend a further £200,000 given in the form of building work by Linden Homes, the site developer and has negotiated a further £600,000 borrowing from HSBC on the basis of the attached business plan. The cost of the fit out of the play space, the café area and the gallery area with a roof which incorporates an environmental management system and piezo-electric cells to make the centre more sustainable is estimated at £250,000.
Project Description
a. The project seeks to develop an inclusive, creative, large-scale children’s play space as the first and core element of an arts centre which has been designed to include a performance space for theatre, music dance and film, a dance studio, a gallery, craft studios, a digital sound and video editing facility and a café area. The building will be developed incrementally over time using the surpluses generated from the play space.
b. The space is intended to accommodate every level of ability or disability, physical or mental and to address disadvantage or disability by providing a range of developmental experiences such as a sensory corner, sound, light and colour zones, dance and movement space in a stimulating and challenging environment. It is intended that from these first artistic experiences (including parties) that children will go on to make use of other aspects of the arts centre. It is intended, initially through play and physical activity, to extend the capacities and self confidence of every individual. The programming of the centre will allow schools and other organisations which work with physical or learning disability to make use of the spaces and will also make provision for carers to have a break. The centre is inclusive and not specific to the needs of any one group, rather it will adapt itself to accommodate the needs and demands of as many individuals as possible.
c. The need for this facility was established through a planning weekend run by the developer of the site as a whole attracted 1,000 people. Seven working groups transformed the ‘wish list’ into a defined series of facilities identified as needed and also deemed to be feasible. One of these working groups was dedicated to the provision of an arts space and subsequent meetings with 30 representatives of local groups and professional arts organisations confirmed the need and the design criteria. An audit by the leisure arm of the local authority (which subsequently became the not-for-profit company Tandridge Leisure Ltd.) also confirmed the need as did the Regional Arts Board which has included the centre in its regional strategy.
d. We anticipate 29,300 visitors in the first year of trading and 32,400 in the second year. If we include the parties the estimates allow for a further 11,000 visitors per annum. These figures do not include activity in the Arts Centre side of the operation. However, using one of the Gyms as a ‘black box’ space and studio spaces at the back of the play space we are projecting a further 11,196 visits between January 2006 and December 2006 of which 7,348 are children.
e. The current Business Plan which is specific to the play space anticipates employing two full time staff across a seven day week and 3 part time/casual staff across the same period. Provision is made within the management contract for management contributions equating to 1.5 full time professionals. Making use of existing actors from Theatre Exchange (an educational theatre company which is also a charity) will provide an additional staffing element for ‘premium’ activity and parties will require additional casual staffing. It is anticipated that a large number of volunteers will be recruited to support the activities as they develop. The project is supported by Tandridge Community Arts, the local arts forum whose members will also be beneficiaries of this facility, by the District Council (Tandridge District Council) and the Regional Arts Board (Arts Council South East).
f. The planned arts activities will also include older children, young adults, adults and older people. As many of these who can be encouraged to run, organise or participate in management will be invited to help us build this project. This is intended to be a venue which grows on the back of successful activity, not an Arts Centre which is ‘finished’ the moment it opens its doors.
g. The age range of people who are intended to benefit from the project is from 18 months to 80+ years and the centre is designed to have a primary catchment area within a twenty minute drive time. Quality programming will bring in a much wider audience but the projections make no allowance for this at the moment.
h. Monitoring is built into the contracting. On the building side, the work is to be managed by Linden Homes, the developer of the site, and the facility will be managed by Tandridge Leisure Ltd., a not-for-profit company with charitable objectives. A copy of the Draft Heads of the Management Agreement is included with the Business Plan.
i. The sustainability of the project will be kept under constant review by the management of the Trust and the management of the operator. The contract allows for quarterly review at senior management level and annual reporting to the Board.
j. Subject to the funding partners meeting current target dates for approval, the start date for the building work has been set at December 2004 and the first phase, the play space is planned for completion by the end of June 2005. The full project roll-out will take between three and seven years depending on the success of the initial venture and the success of the funding strategy.
