Agenda item

Agenda item

HQ Theatres - end of year 8

A report of the Leisure and Environmental Services Section Head enclosing the

annual report from HQ Theatres.

 

NB  The appendix to this report is a public document.

Minutes:

Prior to considering the report from HQ Theatres, the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services brought the scrutiny committee up to date with the recent closure of the Colosseum, arising from potential issues with the ceiling in the main auditorium identified during a regular inspection.  Structural engineers were due to carry out a further inspection during the week commencing 2 December 2019. This had resulted in the postponement and cancellation of some events.  Inspections were being carried out to assess the extent of the problem and an update would be provided to members thereafter.  HQ Theatres had been in contact with customers and event organisers to reschedule events wherever possible.  Refunds were also being offered. 

 

The Head of Leisure and Environmental Services agreed to provide the scrutiny committee with information regarding the respective parties responsibilities for repair and maintenance costs in the existing contract and lease, which was due to expire in March 2021.  Early work to define the future requirements and potential partnership options for the venue had been undertaken by the Watford Colosseum Task Group.  Its report and recommendations would be discussed at Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December.

 

Returning to the main discussion item, the committee received the report of the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services enclosing the annual report from HQ Theatres.  This provided information on the performance of the Watford Colosseum Management Contract during Year 8 (September 2018 – August 2019).  The Venue Director, Jo Ditch, introduced HQ Theatre’s annual report which summarised activities over the past year, including a review of performance against the indicators agreed with the council.

 

There followed a discussion about the number of compliments and complaints from visitors to the venue.  Alvin Hargreaves, Chief Operating Officer at HQ Theatres, explained that the figures, as a proportion of overall feedback and against a total of 70,000 attendees in the last year, were not deemed high.  However, responses provided useful feedback and had enabled positive changes and innovations to be introduced to meet criticism e.g., pop up bars to counter slow service during popular events.

 

In response to a question about HQ Theatre’s monitoring data, the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services advised that questions regarding disability, gender, ethnicity etc. were optional and not all employees provided this information.  As such, relevant data sets were incomplete and could not therefore be judged to be representative.

 

Scrutiny committee members reviewed the management fee of £176, 060 provided to HQ Theatres to operate the venue and questioned whether this represented value for money for the council.  Alvin Hargreaves outlined the profit share arrangement in place which ensured that the council had received £34,503 for contract year 8 (compared to £19,973 in the previous year).  This represented the highest profit share contribution to date.  Attention was also drawn to the positive impact of Watford Colosseum on the local economy through its activities and events.  Using Arts Council England methodology, this was calculated to have been more than £1.8 million in 2018-19.

                          

Following a discussion about community hire figures over the past year, it was agreed that HQ Theatres would provide further information to the scrutiny committee about the types of events which had been booked.  This would include details about proposed events, which had subsequently been cancelled possibly due to problems arranging visas for performers.  It was noted that future options for community hire had been explored by the Watford Colosseum Task Group.

 

Reflecting council priorities, Jo Ditch and Alvin Hargreaves briefly outlined the steps HQ Theatres had taken to encourage wellness amongst staff, to improve accessibility at the venue and to promote Watford Colosseum as a dementia friendly facility. 

 

RESOLVED –

            

that the report of the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services be noted.

            

Action: Head of Leisure and Environmental Services and HQ Theatres

Supporting documents:

 

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