A
Proposal
for
The
and to
Save the
for Community Good
By
Mitch Wicking
Peter Jaques
Ruth Gavenlock
(Draft Copy)
c) March 2008
Introduction
The main district council offices in Williton,
We see the building as being owned by the people for the people to make positive use of thus providing an exciting venue for a wide range of art and cultural activities.
We see creativity and culture stimulating the population of West Somerset, helping to develop new understandings, opening doors and avenues in people’s mind that were not previously accessible.
It is hoped that after reading this document you too will see the potential and feel compelled to help make this vision a reality…
Who are “we”?
We are a group of creative people, artists, craftspeople and community-minded folk, with a desire and vision to deliver a much-needed facility in West Somerset with the aim of creating and delivering a wholly new concept –
a cultural and arts and crafts centre - all under one roof
We believe such a centre will provide a fantastic focal point for the region that will draw people to the West Somerset Cultural Centre for its’ provision of a wide range of cultural and artistic activities, events, exhibitions and facilities.
The West Somerset Cultural Centre will simultaneously bring economic regeneration to the area as well as artistic and creative stimulus for those participating and working in these various cultures…
Why “save” the
Because we believe a fantastic opportunity to stimulate
The local economy - local artists - local residents - tourism will all benefit from the excitement to be found at the West Somerset Cultural Centre.
Reasoning
Underpinning the ethos behind our ambition to save the old council building is the recommendations made in the Quirk Review “Making Assets Work”, a government-endorsed initiative from
We believe the recommendations in the Quirk Review gives our Proposal serious credibility and gives us as a group the confidence that our Proposal should become reality for the good of
The Quirk Review of Community Management and Ownership of Public Assets
In the foreword to “Making Assets Work”, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government the Rt. Hon Ruth Kelly MP says the following:
“There are clear benefits to local groups owning or managing community assets – such as village halls, community centers, building preservation trusts and community enterprises.
Community ownership can bring people from different backgrounds together. It can foster a sense of belonging. It can play a role in enhancing the local environment, alleviating poverty and raising people’s aspirations.
Fundamentally, it’s about giving local people a bigger stake in the future of their area.
The case studies in the report are inspiring: the village hall that renewed morale in a dwindling rural community; the community centre that regenerated the local economy; the market that reclaimed its role at the heart of an area’s economic and social life.
In all these cases, it’s clear that what the state puts in is more than matched by the additional benefits generated by the local community. As part of a wider set of actions, community ownership can be an effective way for local government to achieve its goals…
Together we can ensure that local management and ownership of assets helps make our communities proud, strong and prosperous for years to come.”
We at the West Somerset Cultural Centre believe that such a relationship can exist and lay the foundations for a living, thriving arts and community venture for the whole of
The Quirk Review “Making Assets Work”
The chief author of this work is Barry Quirk CBE. He has been Chief Executive of Lewisham Council since 1994. He has worked in local government for almost 30 years. In 2004 as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review Barry was appointed as the national “efficiency champion” for local government. Barry is currently Chairman of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE), the national association for local government chief executives.
“Imagine this!” says Barry, “It is 2020 and communities across
And after twenty years of sustained investment in community infrastructure, local economies are strong, particularly in those areas where poverty has persisted for generations. A new civic spirit sweeps through urban, suburban and rural communities alike – galvanising communities to harness their energies for the wider public good.
How do we get there?
The starting point is the recognition that optimising the use of public assets is not the primary objective: the over-riding goal is community empowerment.
Local government needs to be more than simply a deliverer of public services and an advocator of the interests of localities and places. Instead local government needs to focus more on the overall welfare of its communities: their cohesion and harmony and the capacity for self-management.”
The Benefits of Community Management and Ownership of Public Assets
The Quirk Review states quite clearly the benefits of community management and ownership of public assets “can outweigh the risks and often the opportunity costs in appropriate circumstances. And if there is a rational and thorough consideration of these risks and opportunity costs, there are no substantive impediments to the transfer of public assets to communities. It can be done, indeed it has been done legitimately and successfully in very many places.
“There are risks but they can be minimised and managed – there is plenty of experience to draw on. The secret is all parties working together. This needs political will, managerial imagination and a more business focused approach from the public and community sectors”.
We believe this is the crux of the matter – all parties working together, displaying political will, using managerial imagination and harnessing a more business-focused approach from the public and community sectors.
The proposers of the West Somerset Cultural Centre are already blessed with a wealth of experience in management, imagination and both public and community spirit, just raring to go and turn our vision into a living entity.
Community Benefits
Once again, in The Quirk Review, it states “there can be significant direct and indirect benefits for the community in which an asset is situated:
- users of assets that are in the control of the community, whether individuals or groups, are better able to plan for the future
- wealth creation activities, often deliberately aimed to create jobs for local people, will directly bring increased income and improved health within the local community
- wealth creation and the revaluing through new use of an existing facility, be it a centre, a shop, a housing estate, or a school, can have a powerful multiplier effect. It can restore confidence in that place, it can restore the viability of local businesses, it can help to reverse the exodus of residents and businesses, it can help to restore land values and attract new investment
- asset-based, community anchor organisations with a broad community remit and a multipurpose function can play a powerful role in promoting community cohesion by bridging the ethnic, faith and other divisions that may be present in communities, and promoting mutual understanding and harmony. Asset ownership can have a major effect in building community confidence and a sense of worth
- the surpluses generated by the community organisation remain in the community and can support innovative projects through small grants and the availability of community facilities and development support
- the buildings that are taken over by communities will sometimes occupy iconic status in that community – perhaps a miners’ welfare centre, a disused town hall, or a redundant church. Restoring them to productive use, that directly addresses current local needs, can give a significant psychological boost to local communities giving them a new hope in their future
We at the West Somerset Cultural Centre believe that if West Somerset Council can resist the need to demolish the old council chamber and offices and instead share the vision we have of a thriving community facility, then it will be doing a very great service to the people of
West Somerset Council has been promoting the idea of having a “vision” for the last few years – so we believe it now has a fantastic opportunity to put that into real practice.
The council has similarly been criticised over the same time span for being too ambitious in its own capital projects resulting in vast sums of public money being unnecessarily spent on projects that had to be aborted.
There is now an emphasis on the council to claw back nearly £1 million in its’ budget over the next few years which has resulted in a number of cuts being made to discretionary grants. Most notably the area’s chief provider of arts programming, Artlife, will be £20,000 the poorer this year and will probably be prevented from providing its’ normal high-level of arts funding to a variety of artists and groups.
We believe that the West Somerset Cultural Centre can fulfill much of the arts and community services that the council might ordinarily be expected to provide if it were in a healthy financial state.
We believe we can step in and take-over these provisions thus unburdening the council of these “non-statutory” obligations.
The Benefits to
We believe the West Somerset Cultural Centre can bridge that gap and not only promote and enjoy the area’s own culture but bring new experiences of different cultures to
We believe the West Somerset Cultural Centre could become West Somerset’s answer to
At present no such venue providing a daily menu of culture exists in
Apart from The Regal Theatre in Minehead there is no other venue open on a regular basis in
We believe the West Somerset Cultural Centre will not only fill that gap but also create a wholly new concept altogether.
The West Somerset Cultural Centre will be both an arts centre and community centre.
Providing an ever-changing programme of events every day, all week long – thus bringing new experiences for locals and visitors alike all year round.
The West Somerset Cultural Centre would encourage and foster local talent as well as broaden people’s cultural horizons with a wide variety of arts and crafts from other areas as well as globally.
Importantly, we feel the West Somerset Cultural Centre will without doubt attract people to the area with this broad range of cultural activities and events.
This would lead to a marked increase in economic activity as people stay in the area and spend their money.
Not only that, but by it’s very existence the West Somerset Cultural Centre would act as an important focal point and information centre for all the other venues in the area, allowing the visitor and local to be better informed about what is going on in West Somerset as a whole.
It would also be a place where local artists and craftspeople can sell their work and products via the gallery showroom and shop and main venue space.
Inevitably, and importantly, the West Somerset Cultural Centre will also provide a number of employment opportunities.
The Benefits to Williton
We understand that running in conjunction with our Proposal is an alternative plan to “regenerate” Williton.
This alternative plan involves the purchase and then demolition of the old building coupled with the development of a string of “shops” with flats above to provide a symmetry with the opposite side of the road in Fore Street.
Not only that, but it is also planned that alterations will be made to Long Street to take traffic away from the village centre. Instead transport will “go through” the existing Co-Op onto land to the rear rejoining the A358 after Mamsey House.
As well as this new road, it is also planned to build a new superstore and a housing estate on the land to the rear of the existing Co-Op.
But what will happen to the centre of Williton?
It is highly probable that the petrol station would close and existing businesses there will struggle as the new road divides the village and most of the residents take the detour to the new superstore.
A new superstore will inevitably have a grave impact on the existing smaller stores that line the centre of the village. The newsagent, the grocers, the pet shop, the smaller supermarket, the post office will all be devastated.
We would argue that this concept of “regeneration” is bogus, built only on the capitalist “carrot” of theoretical jobs. Whilst any job creation is to be applauded in this area, it is by far and away NOT the only criteria for “regeneration”.
Besides, it is never guaranteed that the so-called jobs will ever emerge despite all the hype. Take Watchet Marina for example. Some 30 jobs were supposed to materialise at the end of this “regeneration” – 3 is the sum total as a direct result of this multi-million pound venture.
We believe true regeneration comes from the grassroots with the aim of introducing and fostering a new kind of wealth – a wealth born of cultural and artistic endeavour that leads to a more fulfilling and wider-spreading satisfaction for the community.
In light of this we feel there is even more reason to keep the old council building than flattening it.
We believe that the social community good far outweighs the capitalist ideal.
We believe that the retention of the building will provide a much-needed focal point in the village. It will attract people to the centre of the village which will be vital if the village centre is to survive. Saving the building and using it as we envisage would re-invigorate Williton and restore pride.
Williton is the geographical centre of
But what is there to hold their attention in Williton and stop and look around? The
We believe the West Somerset Cultural Centre can become a “tourist” attraction as much as a local community facility thus bringing increased economic prosperity to the village and beyond.
Not only that, but local people in general will be able to get involved and enjoy the experiences to be had in the West Somerset Cultural Centre.
Young people too will have the opportunity to expand their minds with new cultural and creative activities they would never get in Williton in a million years.
To Emphasise
We believe the benefits to be found in a venture such as the West Somerset Cultural Centre would be two-fold for the communities of both
Case study 1 (from “Making Assets Work”):
The example of Gamblesby Village Hall in
Over the last few decades Gamblesby’s population has fallen to below 200 and those
The building itself was built with an endowment to the village from a farmer in the nineteenth century. On the strength of this the village mounted a successful campaign to reclaim it from the local council and place it in the ownership of a village hall trust.
The trust went on to secure funding from a range of sources to renovate the hall and bring it back into use. The result is that now Gamblesby has an attractive focal point for their social activities that are sustainable and secure and have a planned maintenance programme in place to prevent future maintenance crises.
The project has done much to restore pride in the community and some economic opportunities may also be opening up through the establishment of the hall as a venue and the associated demand for catering. The whole process has enabled local people to develop skills and increased confidence that may open up future avenues for collective activity to benefit the village.
Benefits to External Stakeholders
The Quirk Review asserts that local service-providers – i.e.: West Somerset Council and Somerset County Council - can also benefit both directly and indirectly from community ownership and management of assets in a number of ways:
- local service providers may find themselves with a local partner which can tap resources they cannot, complement the services they provide, and act as a channel for user and community feedback in response to service provision
- asset-based organisations can often offer a base for neighbourhood-based service provision, making it more accessible to local people. This is particularly important in rural areas, where services are being lost
- asset transfer can enable community organisations to support a public body in delivering its objectives in a ways that are more community-responsive and more closely related to local needs
- the impact of the community benefits described above will have a direct and positive effect on the pressures experienced by local services, such as the National Health Service, welfare support, education and the Criminal Justice System, enabling them to focus their resources on the highest priority needs
Case study 2 (from “Making Assets Work”):
The
The organisation also uses the building for its own regeneration work and for delivering services: skills training, assisting people into employment, social enterprise development, family support, services for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems and arts, sports and recreational activities.
The
The Potential (from “Making Assets Work”):
At the smaller end of the community assets spectrum, a good indication of the likely level of future demand is already emerging from early stages of the Big Lottery Fund’s three-year £50m Community Buildings Programme, which will fund the creation and improvement of facilities in community buildings.
The Programme offers maximum grants of £500,000 and expects to average grants of nearer £250,000. It is already very heavily subscribed with preliminary bids, even in advance of the first full application window.
As an indicator of the potential for asset-based enterprise development, UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, works with up to 1,000 social entrepreneurs a year across the
The DTA has estimated that there will be a pool of nearly 1,500 community organisations of all kinds seeking to develop an enterprise route to sustainability over the next 7 years.
The Association estimates that an investment of £150m over the same period would lead to the accumulation of £500m of assets in community ownership.
At the enterprising end of the spectrum, there are striking examples of multi-million pound community-led asset-based organisations, which have developed very successfully in recent years and demonstrate very clearly what can be achieved. These examples include Coin Street Community Builders in South London, Neighbourhood Services Partnership in Liverpool, Royds Community Association in Bradford, Goodwin Centre in Hull, and the Shoreditch Trust NDC project in East London.
In recent years, there has been a growth in the investment of government funds through community development finance institutions: these experienced financial intermediaries have demonstrated the possibility of high leverage, bringing with it access to private sector finance not previously available to support community enterprise development.
The Adventure Capital Fund (sponsored by the Cabinet Office, Communities and Local Government, and the Department of Trade and Industry) has invested £8m of government funding in order to enable projects costing £43m in total to proceed. In other words the government investment has enabled the projects to access around £35m from other sources, including commercial banks, which would often not have been available otherwise. This represents a leverage of about 5:1.
Charity Bank reports a 13:1 leverage ratio on its initial deposits by private investors, funding 127 community asset-based developments with a total value of £20.3m over the last two years. It is currently involved with two projects worth £35m between them, illustrating significant growth potential. More generally, there is a view, supported by the government’s Social
Vision in the
We believe the
We believe the very lay-out of the building is conducive to making it a viable and thriving artistic and community facility – arguably even more thriving than when it was used as a council office.
Join us now for a short walk around the
The
It is a building of some charm and significant character with good lighting, facilities and provision of basic amenities.
Reception Area
The main entrance (which is currently accessible to those with mobility disabilities) opens out into a reception area on the left with space to the right. There is also a self contained room to the right and a further room down the hall.
Behind the reception desk is another office room as well as the substantial reception desk area.
Access to the rest of the building is currently through a through door. This leads to the main council chamber which is of considerable size. There are two doors to this room on at either end of a corridor.
To the left down the corridor are male and female toilets. To the right of the council chamber are stairs leading to the next floor.
With slight design modification we envisage this main entrance/reception area providing:-
- Reception
- Tourist Information
- Community café
- Art Gallery
- Craft Shop
- Books/cards/art shop
Main Hall
This is a generous size and with slight modification would serve for all sorts of purposes:-
- Exhibitions
- Festival space
- Regular indoor markets – arts/crafts/antiques/book fairs/auctions etc
- Rehearsal space for musicians/drama groups
- Space for classes – keep fit/embroidery group/gardeners club etc
- Talks/Film Shows
- Function Room for W.I. Luncheon club etc
- Evening Concerts
- Weekly “Night Club”
- Kids Activities – Clubs/One off events/Holiday fun
- Youth club
First Floor
At the top of the stairs to the left is a door leading to two offices.
At the top of the stairs to the right is a short corridor leading to a further two office rooms.
Then through a separate doorway are another two office/rooms.
We see a variety of uses for these rooms in their present design (although there is scope for alteration) to provide:-
- Art Gallery/Craft Shop
- Study space
- Museum
- Reference Library
- Meeting rooms
The fundamentally exciting thing about the West Somerset Cultural Centre is the idea that there is something going on all the time to suit all tastes and needs.
People can come and see a show, visit the café, browse the gallery, buy a gift in the shop, seek information on future events elsewhere in the region, use the space for meetings, hold talks or just enjoy the freedom to be there and enjoy the West Somerset Cultural Centre experience.
Personnel and Administration
We envisage the centre would require 2 full time administrators and perhaps one or two part-time assistants relying on a core of volunteers to help run the facility through the day/night. As the centre is aimed at being a not-for-profit “community” centre, we would obviously require funding of some sort to help meet costs of running the building, insurances, licenses etc.
Public Car Parking
We talked of “risks” earlier, but the only significant risk we envisage linked to keeping the old council building running is the loss of public car parking spaces in Williton.
The loss of spaces is a serious issue - but one that we feel can be addressed if all parties have the will to proceed with our Proposal.
At present the old council buildings are ear-marked for demolition as part of the criteria for building the new offices in
However, given the current political climate surrounding West Somerset Council it is highly possible much of the new building will not be used by council staff as the council bids to re-launch itself as a modern local authority and seek to work in partnership with its’ neighbouring authorities Sedgemoor and Taunton Deane.
In other words, the car parking spaces lost if the old building DOES NOT come down could possibly re-appear at the new offices if a surplus develops due to a lack of use by the council and its’ staff.
But assuming in the future the new council offices are full to capacity and all the car parking spaces there are used, we still feel the loss of 20 spaces can be overcome by exploring other possible sites for car parking in Williton.
The future regeneration of Williton by other entrepreneurs if it materialises could provide up to 120 spaces nearby according to information provided by the possible developer.
Conclusion
We feel it is important to stress that everyone involved in supporting the work of the West Somerset Cultural Centre does so in the belief and desire to make the most of a fantastic opportunity that now exists for a genuine and real attempt to bring some fresh and new cultural experiences to
The over-riding desire is to introduce something new to the area at the same time bringing regeneration and rejuvenation.
We believe this can be done in partnership with West Somerset Council and Somerset County Council as well as any future developers of Williton.
By working together and having the will we can brush aside apathy and division and share the vision in the West Somerset Cultural Centre.
Friends of the
We have over 250 “cultural” and “community” friends so far including painters, musicians, poets, photographers, dancers, thespians, comedians, writers, sculptors, potters, film-makers as well as many members providing services for youth, young mums, disability, learning difficulties, volunteers, senior citizens.
All our friends are ready to participate and are genuinely excited about the idea of making a central site for arts, crafts and culture become a reality.
We believe this list will grow rapidly once the West Somerset Cultural Centre becomes that reality.
