“The Milton Rooms is a key community facility and performing arts venue for the towns of Malton and Norton and the wider Ryedale district, which operates in accordance with the attached vision statement that was agreed with the Council;
It is Council policy to support the Milton Rooms as a community venue and hub for the arts in Southern Ryedale, and for this purpose it has allocated in its budget the sum of £340,000 for improvements;
The Milton Rooms is a successful and important community facility, which has been run by volunteers for years without any public subsidy or paid staff (except a caretaker), and the pressure on volunteers is now a serious and urgent issue;
The Milton Rooms wishes to appoint a part-time venue manager, whose salary will be recovered from new streams of business, including the hire of the newly redecorated Georgian Assembly Room;
It may take some time before the Milton Rooms is able to break even and cover the cost of the employment of a venues manager, and the Council is therefore asked to underwrite the cost of this part-time appointment for the first three years.
The Council therefore agrees to underwrite the annual cost of employment, by the Milton Rooms, of a venue manager for a period of three years, up to a total amount of £25,000 a year.”
MILTON ROOMS VISION STATEMENT
Vision
The Trustees vision is to become a hub for the performing and visual arts in Southern Ryedale with the ambition and potential to attract performers and audiences from a wide area to enjoy high quality events. We also recognise the importance of the Milton Rooms as a community facility, and we intend the Milton Rooms to remain at the heart of life in the two towns. Our vision for the future of the Milton Rooms is tempered by what we think can realistically be achieved by a group of volunteers, working in a time of financial austerity. We will therefore prioritise the financial sustainability of the Milton Rooms whilst at the same time modernising and improving the facilities, and widening the programme on offer.
· Modernise – tickets sales, office and administration arrangements, website, social media
· Improve – new seats, new toilets, brighter surroundings, catering facilities
· Cultural programme – widen the programme on offer, to become a cross-artform arts centre, embracing different genres and more challenging work
· Develop the audience – through gaining better understanding of the audience and potential audience, better marketing and advertising, aim to increase tickets sales, and be able to guarantee a large, enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience for all types of events in the Milton Rooms
· Financial acumen – make the best possible use of the finance available from a wide range of sources, including our own income from ticket sales and venue hire, in conjunction with grants and donations
Minutes:
The following motion was not moved and seconded and therefore not debated.
The content of the motion would be considered by the Milton Rooms Working Party as agreed under the questions and answers under the Leader’s Statement.
“The Milton Rooms is a key community facility and performing arts venue for the towns of Malton and Norton and the wider Ryedale district, which operates in accordance with the attached vision statement that was agreed with the Council;
It is Council policy to support the Milton Rooms as a community venue and hub for the arts in Southern Ryedale, and for this purpose it has allocated in its budget the sum of £340,000 for improvements;
The Milton Rooms is a successful and important community facility, which has been run by volunteers for years without any public subsidy or paid staff (except a caretaker), and the pressure on volunteers is now a serious and urgent issue;
The Milton Rooms wishes to appoint a part-time venue manager, whose salary will be recovered from new streams of business, including the hire of the newly redecorated Georgian Assembly Room;
It may take some time before the Milton Rooms is able to break even and cover the cost of the employment of a venues manager, and the Council is therefore asked to underwrite the cost of this part-time appointment for the first three years.
The Council therefore agrees to underwrite the annual cost of employment, by the Milton Rooms, of a venue manager for a period of three years, up to a total amount of £25,000 a year.”
MILTON ROOMS VISION STATEMENT
Vision
The Trustees vision is to become a hub for the performing and visual arts in Southern Ryedale with the ambition and potential to attract performers and audiences from a wide area to enjoy high quality events. We also recognise the importance of the Milton Rooms as a community facility, and we intend the Milton Rooms to remain at the heart of life in the two towns. Our vision for the future of the Milton Rooms is tempered by what we think can realistically be achieved by a group of volunteers, working in a time of financial austerity. We will therefore prioritise the financial sustainability of the Milton Rooms whilst at the same time modernising and improving the facilities, and widening the programme on offer.