It was supposed to be the party to end all parties. Instead, the celebrations to mark the 200th birthday of evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin seems to have created controversy and headaches. Andy Richardson examines the cost, and whether it was value for money.

The official unveiling of Quantum Leap in Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury’s Darwin celebrations have never been far away from the front pages of the Shropshire Star.

Shropshire Council has had to spend more than it planned, the unveiling of the controversial Quantum Leap public artwork was delayed because builders incorrectly aligned its “ribs” and police were asked to investigate amid concerns at the way the whole event was managed.

The party was years in the planning. Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council considered how to prepare for Darwin’s 200th birthday long before 2009.

The county’s first Darwin officer was appointed in 2005 and in 2006 SABC resolved to fully exploit the links between Darwin and Shrewsbury as a means of improving the economic prosperity of the town.

It wanted to boost tourist trade and provide easy access to destinations that were a key part of the great scientist’s early years.

On September 3, 2007, SABC’s deputy chief executive, Geraint Morgan, presented a progress report on how officers were preparing events to mark the bicentenary.

He said: “Since 2005, the borough council has employed an events and media officer, Jon King, funded primarily from non-replacement of posts within the wider cultural services.

Initiatives

“The prime purpose of this role has been to progress Darwin initiatives as they affect Shrewsbury.”

Eventually, SABC officers approached councillors with four options. They said that officials could either 1) do nothing, 2) spend £1 million, 3) spend £750,000 or, 4) spend £500,000.

Councillors felt that doing nothing was not an option but were concerned that spending between £750,000 and £1 million was excessive. They took into account the potential benefits for the sum invested and chose option 4), to spend £500,000.

Councillor Jon Tandy, who was a member of SABC at the time, recalls: “There was no way we could have spent £1 million. The lowest figure was £500,000 and that was what we agreed upon.

“The thing that annoys me more than anything is the accountability. Throughout the year, the general public in Shrewsbury have been ignored. Community events haven’t been at the forefront of the celebrations. The people of Shrewsbury have not had the benefit they could have had throughout the year and we can’t get to the bottom of who made all of the decisions.”

Winning

By 2008, plans had progressed. In July, moves to introduce a piece of public art to mark Darwin’s bicentenary took a step forward when detailed plans were submitted. The winning design for the structure, Quantum Leap, had been chosen in May and was to be built as part of a memorial geo-garden at Mardol Quay Gardens.

The cost of the artwork, however, was quoted as £55,000 – a small fraction of the £483,000 that it eventually cost.

Councillors, meanwhile, were considering plenty of events. Among those mooted were a Darwin Festival, a Darwin Debate for Children and Young People, a Darwin play and more besides.

Eventually, SABC approved its Darwin plans. Among the approved proposals were a geo garden with Quantum Leap art work, a community fund, Darwin play, Real Time/Shift Time Festival and students’ debate.

By the time Darwin’s birthday arrived, on February 12, 2009, the party was in full swing. Jon King, the Darwin Festival Director, welcomed camera crews from around the world as the international press descended. Signs were installed at key points around the town, creating a tour of Shrewsbury for visitors, and an action-packed programme of talks, lectures, community events and more besides was planned. In April, the newly-formed Shropshire Council took over responsibility for key events from the disbanded SABC.

However, as the months wore on, a number of plans started to unravel. There were problems with the construction of Quantum Leap, which delayed its launch by several months, budgets began to spiral and questions were asked about who was actually responsible for the overall budget.

A number of controversial bills had already been paid. On February 4, £886.65 was spent on balloons, a birthday cake and birthday party celebrations. On February 16, a further £600 was spent on more balloons, from the Giant Party Shop, at Mardol.

Councillor Tandy said: “I can’t moan about if it put a smile on peoples’ faces and got people involved. You don’t want to deprive the youngsters of being involved so I’m not going to go overboard about that.”

George Candler, from Shropshire Council’s leisure and culture department, said: “The decision was taken by the former SABC. It was a year’s supply of balloons. The balloons were handed out to children throughout the year at a number of free public events, including three Fun Day Monday activity days.”

Waste

The birthday invitations, meanwhile, had been sent to youngsters for a bash at the Lion Hotel while the cake had been shared by 150 people in Shrewsbury’s Square on Darwin’s birthday.

Councillor Jon Tandy said: “One of the items that concerned me most was a £2,000+ bill a personal development coach, who apparently taught people who to deal with visitors.

“It was an absurd waste. People like front-line staff, taxi drivers and others who deal with the public are intelligent people. They know how to be nice and how to point visitors in the right direction.”

George Candler said: “Half-day sessions were offered free of charge to any staff or business proprietors in the Shrewsbury area whose work involved dealing with visitors. The sessions comprised customer care and welcome training with information about Darwin’s connections to Shrewsbury and the activities planned for 2009. The aim was to help businesses create a really positive first impression.”

Other sums were paid out, including a fee to The Darwin Birthplace Society. Glen Lawes, the society’s chairman, said: “The Darwin Birthplace Society benefited in this year from part of a £10,000 grant from Destination Shrewsbury to develop Darwin web sites and material on the internet.

“The Darwin Birthplace web site – www.darwinbirthplace.com – designed and built by Orangeleaf Systems Ltd of Shrewsbury, has been very successful, attracting over 12,000 unique visits and a good measure of return visits since it went live in the spring.”

The biggest problem, however, concerned the incorrect construction of Quantum Leap. Builders reportedly installed ribs that were incorrectly aligned by as much as 18 inches. The issues were observed in July and led to the deconstruction and reconstruction of Quantum Leap.

The incorrect alignment also led to delays in the structure’s official launch, which had been due to take place during summer but was put back to October 8.

Other elements of the year-long party met with a lukewarm response.

The council’s £85,000 Real Time/Shift Time Festival ran from July 3-12. It comprised a wide range of arts and cultural events, including digital projects, music, film, bug trails, guided walks, street theatre, sculpture, robotics and debate.

Councillor Tandy said: “You ask most people in Shrewsbury about Real Time/Shift Time and they’ll tell you they didn’t know anything about it. I’m a councillor and, somehow, it completely passed me by. It cost a lot of money, but few people seemed to get anything from it.”

Members of the public had their say in an online Shropshire Star poll. They were asked in October whether Quantum Leap, built to a budget of £450,000, was worth it? 53.3 per cent (1,214) said no, while 46.7 per cent (1,061) said yes.

The budget for Darwin’s bicentenary stands at £730,000 – £230,000 more than councillors had wanted to spend. It could, however, have reached £880,000. The project received “in kind” support of £150,000 from Aggregate Industries, which designed, manufactured and delivered the 31 ribs which form the giant arch.

Context

George Candler says Shropshire Council did not have to pay the full £730,000 bill in any event. It received £355,000 from SABC and £120,000 from Arts Council England and Natural England.

He believes that figure should be set in context against the £6.7 million worth of publicity and public relations that the Darwin celebrations have generated.

Mr Candler says: “Shrewsbury’s Darwin celebrations has attracted media coverage to the value of £2,162,798. This was in the form of editorial copy, not advertising.

“The Tourism Industry recognises a formula that multiplies the value of editorial media coverage by a factor of three to arrive at a public relations value. The combined value of media coverage and PR to the Darwin celebrations is therefore £6.488 million.” An additional £212,000 of cash, grants and further support brings the total to £6.7 million.

Councillor Tandy debunks that figure. “The £6.7 million figure is nonsense. The council hasn’t quantified the benefit to local businesses – like shops and hotels – to find out what extra money came into the local economy as a direct result of more people visiting.”

Auditors at Shirehall are continuing their investigation into aspects of the bicentenary. Councillor Tandy concludes: “I’m glad that they are looking at the figures. I hope they don’t find anything wrong in it but I remain concerned at the way the whole project has been managed.”