Shropshire Star

Shrewsbury arts venue anger at £400,000 handout for Theatre Severn

The director of a Shrewsbury community arts venue today said she is "astonished" that Shropshire Council is providing £400,000 for maintenance at the town's Theatre Severn.

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Alyson Lanning, director of The Hive, in Shrewsbury, called on the council to provide more support to small independent arts associations.

She said: "Once again I find it absolutely astonishing that Theatre Severn is able to make a case for financial support at this level when The Hive, like many other independent charities running their organisations on a shoestring, have to dig deep to find the money to meet the costs of running the venue."

  • The Hive rents its Belmont town centre premises from Shropshire Council on a peppercorn arrangement, but has to meet all other costs itself.

  • It provides “a significant grant-funded portfolio” to support creative arts projects for children and young people across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

  • However, because grant-funded programmes are ring-fenced to provide the projects, the venue costs have to be raised through its events programme.

Shropshire Council approved nearly £400,000 of funding for maintenance work as part of its 2015/16 budget.

The money will be spent on the theatre's fire detection system, its emergency lighting, and to carry out general electrical work.

Ms Lanning said The Hive had to raise its own money to fund a new fire alarm system.

She said: "It makes it so much more of a bitter pill to swallow when only recently, The Hive had to pay for an updated fire alarm system.

"We had to find over £5,000 out of our budget to pay for this. On top of that we have had to pay for new doors, auditorium maintenance repairs and more. Can someone advise me who I should speak to at Shropshire Council to make a case for The Hive's 'essential repairs' costs?

"It is equally frustrating to hear that a building like Theatre Severn – built in 2009 – has already incurred a repairs bill of almost £400,000. The Hive, a Georgian building in the centre of the town, presents a minefield of issues, the staff and trustees of The Hive face these challenges constantly – without access to the council coffers to cover the cost."

Ms Lanning appealed for help in finding the organisation's running costs.

She said: "The Hive has raised almost £4 million in grant funding over the last 10 years and this has been spent on children and young people in Shropshire. Our role is to support young people, particularly those who are at risk or vulnerable. The Hive would welcome support from the powers that be in Shropshire to recognise how tough it is for us to maintain our small organisation."

Shropshire Council was approached to comment on Ms Lanning's claims but had not responded by the time of going to press.

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