More subsidy for town arts venue

Spalding’s South Holland Centre needed an extra £124,248 in subsidy when income fell short, a report has revealed.

South Holland District Council’s Performance Monitoring Panel will discuss an update on the centre’s action plan at a meeting on Tuesday.
The main ‘areas for concern’ outlined in the update were shortfalls in film income, room hire, other hire fees and catering rental income.
“Overspends occurred in some areas including salaries and utilities,” the report says.
But sales of merchandise saw a £10,500 increase and there was also a £26,500 increase in live performance income against the budget.
The total number of tickets sold during 2022/3 was 36,946 with several community events attracting more than 2,000 attendees.
“Film attendance has not recovered [from COVID] as hoped – the team has mitigated the cost of multiple screenings by reducing film programming alongside a review and subsequent adjustment in opening hours,” says the report.
Members will also be told that hiring the auditorium was providing the most ‘significant and reliable income.’
The centre was also hit by severe flooding in November last year which saw a pause in investment plans to key areas, including the function hall.
“There has been no recurrence of flooding since November and there is confidence that the roof is now watertight,” says the report.
The council is in the process of going back to market to invite applications for the catering contract.
The team at the centre is taking steps to address the challenge in the future.
“The industry continues to recover and attendance at live events has steadily increased, with December 2022 pantomime proving the most successful to date in terms of attendance.
“The team was also nominated in four categories for the National Pantomime Awards,” says the report.
A full review of fees and charges will be made and increases coming into force in 2024.
The centre’s business plan is with senior managers for a review process ready for sign-off.
There will also be a focus on marketing using the centre’s website, enhanced social media and new platforms including TikTok.
* The council is working to resolve a technical problem which has resulted in the film projector not working.
Scheduled stage shows also mean that films won’t be back on for the first three weeks in July.
Tickets were due to go on sale yesterday (Wednesday) for films including The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible.