Community Theatres. Protecting theatres for everyone

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1 ISSUE #39 SPRING 14 Community Theatres Ovalhouse moving from the Oval to Brixton Theatres Protection Fund Small Grants Scheme Showcase: Stockport Plaza Your Community Rights Maintaining your Community Theatre Protecting theatres for everyone

2 Ovalhouse, London Stockport Plaza The Maltings, Berwick-upon-Tweed Community Theatres 1 5 Ovalhouse moving from the Oval to Brixton 7 8 Theatres Protection Fund Small Grants Scheme Showcase: Stockport Plaza Your Community Rights Maintaining your Community Theatre & Theatres Round-up Current Casework Photo Diary: Milton Court 28 Front cover: City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds Photo: Ian Grundy Theatres Magazine Editor-in-chief: Mhora Samuel Managing Editor: Kate Carmichael Production Editor: Sam Hall Advertising sales: Nicola Rowland 2014 The Theatres Trust Charitable Fund. All unsigned or otherwise uncredited articles are the work of the Editors. The views expressed editorially or by correspondents in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Trust. Notes, queries and letters are always welcome. ISSN: Design: Vincent Design Print: Newnorth SUPPORTING THE PERFORMANCE MAKING THE EXPERIENCE THEATRE SHOW 2014 Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 June The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane E1 6QR St James Main Theatre - Picture by Tom Cronin Venue: Senate House, University of London. The Future of Performance Spaces: The People - The Places - The Technologies. International discussion, comment and debate. Details of booking, participation and sponsorship at The ABTT produces a Code of Practice for the Theatre Industry. It relies upon its membership to ensure regulation is appropriate and to provide guidance and training. For benefits and to participate join at The ABTT Theatre Show offers an exhibition, seminars, workshops and product demonstrations with an opportunity for discussion, discovery and development. Information for exhibitors and visitors at

3 Your Community Rights Theatres should understand how to harness the powers in the planning system associated with Community Rights to help secure their buildings. Rebecca Morland, the Trust s Theatres Adviser, explains how to register your theatre as an Asset of Community Value and other benefits. The 2011 Localism Act introduced new rights and powers for individuals and communities to take over public services and own community assets. Community Rights includes the Right to Bid, Right to Build, Right to Challenge and Neighbourhood Planning. Right to Build gives communities the power to build new community facilities without going through the normal planning process, Right to Challenge gives local groups the opportunity to express their interest in taking over a local service and Neighbourhood Planning empowers people to decide how their local area should develop including the development of local theatres. The Theatres Trust is a statutory consultee on Community Right to Build Orders and Neighbourhood Development Plans and Orders. The most useful tool for those interested in protecting existing theatres in their community is the Community Right to Bid. Community Right to Bid and Listing an Asset of Community Value The Localism Act requires local authorities to keep a List of Assets of Community Value, and defines these as follows: A building or piece of land is deemed to have community value if the use of the land or building... currently or in the recent past, furthers the social well-being or cultural, recreational or sporting interests of the local community. Being nominated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) does not in itself stop an asset being sold or developed. However, what it does do is provide a six-month moratorium at the point when the building is put up for sale to allow community groups the opportunity to put in a bid to buy the building this is what is known as the Community Right to Bid. Every local authority should have a procedure in place for listing ACVs published on their websites with advice notes, an application form, and a list of assets. The application forms are simple, and should not take long to complete. Local authorities that don t publicise their procedure should still be processing applications. The Theatres Trust can assist you to nominate an asset by providing a template which ensures that nominations include all the relevant information. A nomination for listing an ACV must be made by a community group or parish council. However, the definition of a community group is wide. It includes unconstituted community groups of at least 21 members but also not-forprofit organisations, like charities. It is therefore entirely possible to use existing supporters or management groups to nominate, but you could also set up a new group. The group must have a demonstrable connection with its locality, which would mean in the case of unconstituted groups, being able to provide local names and addresses (ie on the authority s Electoral Roll) for all 21 members. You may need to provide constitutions or other evidence of the group s status. Theatre buildings currently in operation fit the definition of ACVs, as do theatres which have recently closed (within five years). It may be possible to make a case for a less recent use if you can demonstrate that the theatre once played an important role in its community. You will need to be able to describe the importance and social value of the theatre to its local community. This could involve: Evidence of recent community use. If it is closed, describing how advanced plans are to reopen (and any evidence of how you have determined its viability), and evidence of community support for its reopening (eg petitions, surveys, supporters groups, letters of support) Information on audiences and where they come from in the locality, but also if relevant the economic benefit to the local economy that non-local audiences provide. If closed, provide information on past audiences and/or projections on future audiences Information on all other groups that use the theatre, or are planning to use it. Identify interest and active engagement with community, youth and education groups, including links with local schools and colleges Jobs provided within the local community, opportunities it provides to prepare people with the skills to enter into employment, and volunteer involvement Supporters groups their numbers and other evidence of support, such as funding, that they provide. What happens then? If your theatre meets the criteria and is accepted, then the local authority must include your theatre on its list for at least five years. If they decide that it does not meet the criteria, then it must write to you and explain why and keep a list of unsuccessful nominations for five years. Once the theatre has been listed, its owner must advise the local authority and the group that has nominated it, before putting the building up for sale. You then have up to six weeks to submit a non-binding expression of interest and this six-week period becomes part of the six-month moratorium if you decide to go ahead and make a formal bid. At this stage you will have to be legally constituted. The owner of the building does not have to accept your bid at the end of that period, however, but there are several reasons why they might, particularly in the case of a theatre building: Other and more lucrative uses for the building may be harder to achieve if the theatre is classified as such under planning regulations (sui generis). It is sometimes necessary to explain this to auctioneers/ estate agents etc, and we can help There may have been a very good relationship between landlord and tenant previously, and the landlord may be entirely 18 SPRING 2014 Theatres Magazine

4 happy to sell for a reasonable price There may well be opposition within the community to the theatre s potential closure and the landlord may wish to maintain a positive relationship with the community. What you can do now Even if your theatre is not currently under threat, then there are still many good reasons why your first step should be to list it as an Asset of Community Value. Most importantly, circumstances can change and even supportive landlords can find themselves in a position where they have to realise their assets. If you haven t registered your theatre as an ACV at the point when your theatre goes up for sale it could be too late to exercise this right. There is a really positive message that can be given out by listing your theatre as an Asset of Community Value. It is a public endorsement of the important role that your theatre has in the centre of its community. And it shows that the community cares about its theatre. There would also be a considerable benefit for the theatre industry if a significant number of theatres were listed as ACVs. At present, pubs make up the largest group by far of listed assets, with over 300 being registered. This is due to a concentrated campaign by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). If an equal number of theatres were registered, then this would send out an equally positive message, emphasising the central role that theatres play within their communities. The Theatres Trust is one of the partners in the Localism Alliance, together with Civic Voice, the National Association of Local Councils, the Plunkett Foundation, the Campaign for Real Ale and Supporters Direct. The Localism Alliance has been set up to raise awareness of Community Rights in relation to the Localism Act 2011 and to promote the Community Right to Bid. We are working together to provide advice, knowledge, case studies and networking opportunities. The Theatres Trust can offer advice to any theatre looking to register as an Asset of Community Value. For further information contact Rebecca Morland, Theatres Adviser, rebecca.morland@theatrestrust.org.uk Bexhill Community Playhouse Bexhill Playhouse was the first theatre in the country to be registered as an Asset of Community Value. This was the result of a dynamic campaign by the Friends of Bexhill Playhouse, who wanted to save and restore this cinema and community centre and who saw the possibilities in this new scheme. Constructed as a cinema within the town centre, it was converted to small community theatre in 2005, but closed and was under threat of demolition, with the owners wishing to redevelop the site for retail and residential use. Following considerable local opposition, the planning application and subsequent appeal were dismissed. After registering the theatre as an ACV in April 2013, the Friends were well-placed to make an application to the Social Investment Business Group s Community Assets and Services Grants fund which was set up specifically to fund community groups capital ambitions under the Community Right to Bid. In January 2014, they received confirmation that their application for 500,000 had been successful, and a bid to buy the freehold is now in progress. If successful, the Friends of Bexhill Playhouse plan to develop the former cinema into both a two-screen cinema and performance cultural hub for local community projects. bexhillcommunityplayhouse.co.uk Theatres Magazine SPRING

5 Community Asset Transfer There is a difference between Community Right to Bid and Community Asset Transfer (CAT), which is worth clarifying. CAT is an established mechanism to enable community ownership and management of publicly owned buildings and land. It allows public bodies, usually local authorities, to divest themselves of assets to groups within the community at less than market value. The ultimate aim is community empowerment for public benefit. This has advantages for both parties. The local authority reduces its operating costs and reduces its responsibility for assets, which is particularly valuable at a time when local authority budgets are tight. The community has the opportunity to take ownership of a building or other asset which it has a commitment to, or interest in. Very often the local authority retains ownership of the asset, but provides a very long lease. Many theatres have been transferred out of local authority control in recent years, and are now operated by charitable trusts or by community interest companies. Approximately three quarters of local authorities have now engaged in Community Asset Transfer. Many of them have Asset Transfer Strategies in place, so they should be open to being approached by community groups. It must be emphasised that CAT is a process that a local authority enters into proactively, and is therefore not suitable for situations where a community group wants to gain ownership of a building and the local authority wishes to use the building for other purposes, or to sell it. Funding and governance Achieving the funding to purchase a theatre and demonstrate that you have the financial means to operate it may seem a major challenge, especially with a six-month period, so our advice would be to be proactive and not wait until it s too late. The Social Investment Business Fund has a strand of funding specifically set up to support community groups planning to take over local assets. This currently provides feasibility grants only, Assets of Community Value Right to Bid Right to Challenge although it was providing capital grants until recently. It is a website worth monitoring, and is currently supporting the Community Investment Fund. sibgroup.org.uk The Community Investment Fund provides investment in community based locally-led social enterprises and charities. socialandsustainable.com Various strands of National Lottery funding can also provide support. Currently there is a Big Lottery Fund strand Investing in Communities Growing Community Assets which provides support in Scotland, and People and Places which would support similar initiatives in Wales. The Big Lottery Fund also runs the People s Millions with ITV. As with the Social Investment Fund, it is worth monitoring the website on a regular basis, as funding streams can change. Consider how best to engage your supporters. As well as established supporters, it is worth investigating crowdfunding as this is a relatively quick way of widening support and developing a sense of ownership in the locality. community rights Neighbourhood Planning Right to Build Community Asset Transfer Right to Build It is also worth considering the structure of your company you could set up as co-operative and community benefit society, and develop a Community Share offer. For more advice and support on this visit communityshares.org.uk If your theatre is already operating successfully but doesn t have sufficient reserves, it may be worth considering a short-term loan for part of the bid. This could be via your current bankers or the Charity Bank, since the building, once secured, will be security for such a loan. Organisations such as the Architectural Heritage Fund may be appropriate in some circumstances. Some local authorities may also be in a position to provide a short-term loan, especially if it is their building that is being bid for. As well as the other websites listed in this article, mycommunityrights.org.uk is a website and free advice service run by Locality which helps communities to harness their Community Rights and access funding. It can also be reached via SPRING 2014 Theatres Magazine