Civic Development Project

Civic Development Project Town Forum 20 July 2017 Decisions • 30 October 2014 Cabinet – Item 8 - Assembly Hall Theatre (AHT) Update • 9 December 2015 Full Council – Item 8 - Assembly Hall Theatre Mandate and Next Steps • 20 July 2016 Full Council – Item 8 - Civic Complex Review of Stage 1 and Next Steps • 22 February 2017 Full Council – Item 14 - Civic Development – Delivery of Stage 3 and there’s been lots of scrutiny…. • 2013 – 22 May 2013 Cabinet: Establishment of the Development Advisory Panel – 8 July 2013 Finance & Governance CAB: Tunbridge Wells Development Programme – 1 August 2013 Cabinet: Tunbridge Wells Development Programme • 2014 – 26 August 2014 Finance & Governance CAB: Development Programme Update & Funding – 18 September 2014 Cabinet: Development Programme Update & Funding – 7 October 2014 Finance and Governance CAB: Assembly Hall Theatre (AHT) Update – 30 October 2014 Cabinet: Assembly Hall Theatre (AHT) Update and there’s been lots of scrutiny…. • 2016 – May 2016 Internal Audit carry out a review of the Development Programme and find it to be ‘sound’ – 7 June 2016 Finance and Governance CAB: Civic Complex Review of Stage 1 and Next Steps – 20 June 2016 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development – 22 June 2016 Cabinet: Civic Complex Review of Stage 1 and Next Steps – 20 July 2016 Full Council: Civic Complex Review of Stage 1 and Next Steps – 15 August 2016 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development – 31 October 2016 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development – 28 November 2016 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development – 5 December 2016 Audit & Governance Committee: Strategic Risk Report and there’s been lots of scrutiny…. • 2017 – 13 February 2017 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development – 22 February 2017 Full Council: Civic Development – Delivery of Stage 3 – 10 April 2017 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development – 12 June 2017 Overview & Scrutiny Committee: Civic Complex Development Core Consultants Project Management Development & Planning GVA, one of the leading real estate providers in Europe, £61bn assets, RIBA Stirling Prize (Everyman Theatre), York Theatre Royal and Shaftesbury Theatre London. Architecture & Master-planning Allies & Morrison, RIBA accredited conservation architects, offices worldwide, Civic trust awards, Brighton College and Olympic Park Masterplan, recent exp. York Theatre Royal, Royal Festival Hall and Chichester. Paddy Dillon is a Board Member of the Theatre Trust. Cost Consultancy Aecom, One of Worlds top design firms, Old Vic, Tate Modern. Structural & Civil Engineering Price & Myers, Royal Festival hall and BBC Media Village Offices and TwoPancras Square. Theatre Consultancy, Theatre projects, Building Services, Max Fordham. – Other advice: Acoustics Traffic Management Rights of Light Landscape Fire Access Catering Geotech Arboroculturalists Plus – consultation with: Historic England, Theatre Operators, Arts Council England, Theatres Trust Expenditure • Pre feasibility work £ 79,480 • AHT Mandate Feasibility £ 100,945 • Stage 1 £ 361,948 • Stage 2 £1,648,261 • Stage 3 £1,956,152 • Total £4,146,786 Funding • We’ve consistently put the projected annual cost at £2.4m • This includes £100k additional subsidy (i.e. the cost is not £2.5m + £500k) • Final cost details along with proposals to fund the scheme once Stage 3 report has been received. Developed Design • RIBA Stage 3 – Interim Freeze • Review Design • Review Costs • Inform Amendments and Value Engineering • Pre- application discussions interim stage 3 Offices – Revised Massing Offices – Revised Massing Office – Revised Massing Offices – Revised Massing Tenant Office interim stage 3 band plant room prop dimmer/ store audio elec. soun d store bulk food cellar stage 3 - interim basement wc box office foyer stage backstage cloaks staff kitchen changing/ refuse stores crew stage 3 - interim ground store wc bar stage dressing stalls foyer wc door rooms stage 3 - interim first office bar plant circle foyer green room dressing w rooms c stage 3 - interim second plant technical bar upper circle foyer plant plant terrace stage 3 - interim third interim stage 3 Building on the park • Very limited intrusion (2 per cent) • Enhances entrance to the Grounds • Improved landscaping • Opens up the entrance from Mount Pleasant Improving the public realm • It’s not all one way traffic: – Buildings removed – adds 124m2 – New Shared Space and Park replacing roadway – adds 563m2 – Roof terrace – adds 523m2 Car parking • We will replace any lost car parking either under the offices or at Crescent Road. • We will sequence the schemes so the expansion to Crescent Road is delivered before any car park is redeveloped • The proposals would see a net increase in car parking. • It would also improve the quality of car parks Car parking Vacant Town Hall Site • TWBC does not own the Cinema Site (and never has). • The Civic Centre and Town Hall site are being taken forward in parallel as part of a development framework. • We will control the process by which the Town Hall is taken to market or redeveloped and can put appropriate safeguards in place. Rebuild Theatre in Situ • Stephen Browning Associates Report on refurbishment of AHT, with expansion of seating • Cost (at current prices): £31m • Even if auditorium capacity could be increased larger touring shows could not be accommodated – Flytower is too low – Backstage is too small – Foyers are too small for an increased audience • Closure of Theatre for 2-3 years Bonnar Keenlyside • Current Theatre – mostly single-night runs – Few touring musicals – 130,000 annual ticket sales – Audiences go to West End • New Theatre: – Mostly week-long runs or longer – Touring shows – Ticket sales (for comparable venues) 250,000 – 400,000 – Audiences stay in Royal Tunbridge Wells Bonnar Keenlyside • Economic Impact of a new Theatre: – £15m - £18m per annum* *(by Shellard Formula) • Other 1,200 seat regional theatres that use the Shellard Formula (economic impact): – Salford Lowry Centre: £29m per annum – Theatre Royal Norwich: £28m per annum – New Marlowe, Canterbury: £22m per annum Subsidy of £350k? • Very few theatres subsidy free • BK subsidy will need to increase • Canterbury c £158k after 6 years • ATG Theatres subsidy between £300k - £400k • Potential to be subsidy free with long term contract with commercial operator 10-15 years • Current subsidy c £250k 1,000, 1,200, 1,500 seats? • 1,000 seats too small – 36 theatres at above 1000 seats in scale, 16 are run by ATG; by contrast, at less than 1000 seats, out of 29 national venues, only 4 are run by ATG and 8 by HQ theatres - this reflects their basically non commercial proposition • 1,200 seats – Commercially attractive, manageable audience growth, limits risk, strikes a balance between community/commercial • 1,500 seats – Commercially attractive, challenging audience growth, additional capital outlay, wholly commercial operation, additional risk to subsidy South-east Theatres >1200 seats Seating Capacity • The new theatre has 1200 seats, and we estimate a loss of 100 seats for orchestra pit usage in the new facility, reducing capacity to 1100. • Assembly Hall Theatre’s standard configuration has 985 seats. When we have a full orchestra, for opera or ballet for example, we have to reduce capacity to 887. A loss of 98 seats, to ensure a large enough space for an orchestra. Sometimes even more seats are lost if a large orchestra. • Touring musicals seldom tour with an orchestra but have a band (much smaller), the band does fit in to our current orchestra pit without losing seats, and the trend in musicals is to have the band on or substage. • Therefore in the new theatre we will have a net increase of 213 seats (1200-100- 887) for a full orchestra, and 115 seats (1200-100-985) for a musical or any event that requires use of the orchestra pit. Is There An Audience? • Yes – Regionally 4.452m likely arts attenders – 2.417m theatre attenders – TN1-TN22 postcodes alone have 202,139 theatre attenders – Currently we attract in the region of 58,288 from these postcode areas Postcode Data (5 Years) Is the Market Interested? • Yes it is! – RSC – NT – ATG – Parkwood Leisure – HQ Theatres – London Productions Ltd (Lee Dean) – Sell a Door – UK Productions What Did We Ask? • Is this a project you could support? • Would you bring your touring product to the new theatre? • Is 1200 seats the right number (including reductions for musicals and orchestras)? • Is Town Centre right as a commercial location? • Do you think continuity of current provision is important? • Do you think it would achieve a subsidy free position? • Are you concerned about competition for product between theatres in the region? Theatre Peer Review UK Productions who were approached regarding the forthcoming Legally Blonde tour: “I just wanted to confirm our reasons for not including the Assembly Hall Theatre on the UK tour we are producing. As you know we are very aware of your space and the technical limitations therein. Whilst we would love to bring the show to Tunbridge Wells we would have to compromise the physical production too much to get it on stage. There are several elements in the design of the show that simply wouldn’t make it on to the stage due to lack of wing space and a useable dock area”. Theatre Peer Review UK Productions: “I know that there are ongoing discussions to build a new theatre for Tunbridge Wells and as a touring producer I can assure you that were this to go ahead there would be no shortage

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