Consortium AGM 2009
Minutes of Cultural Consortium Annual General Meeting 2008/9
Wednesday 22 July 2009 6.30pm
Albert Bar, South Parade Pier, Southsea
Welcome, introduction and apologies
Present: Please see attendees list at the bottom of the minutes.
Apologies: Martin Chalk, Michelle Heard, Joy Foskett, Chris Furness, James Priory, Linda Collins, Ken Goddard and Kay Bosher.
These apologies were accepted.
Stephen Morgan welcomed and informed everyone of the housekeeping arrangements of the venue. Steve Pitt then said a few words about the Albert Bar. The general manager is James and he has been working very hard to get the venue as you see it now, live music will be returning to the Pier soon and the bar is available for hire
Minutes from AGM 2008
The minutes of the AGM 2008 were checked at the Executive meeting following the AGM so the suggestion was to take them as read. These were proposed by Steve Bomford seconded by Anna Potten.
Chair’s Verbal Report
Stephen introduced this item referring to his written report available this evening in the pack on documents on each chair (available on the website).
The global economic downturn and recession has meant real challenges for Culture in general. In these times the Cultural Consortium’s role in lobbying and campaigning for the cultural offer of the City seems more important than ever.
Here is a flavour of some of the things the Consortium has supported during 2008/09.
We ran a consultation session in February 2009 and subsequently produced a report containing recommendations for the Local Strategic Partnership on how to establish the proposed Culture Partnership board. This board will take the lead on delivering the cultural priority in the Vision for Portsmouth 2008-2018, we hope that this can be launched in the Autumn 2009. A copy of the report can be found in the pack on documents on each chair.
- We have been focusing on building our capacity and membership base by:
- Refreshing the Cultural Consortium website
- Piloting an online discussion forum
- Speaking to a number of groups and individuals
- Co-opting people onto the Executive group or subgroups
- Continuing to develop our presence on Facebook
- Promoting cultural events, seminars & newsletters
- Speaking at forums, meetings and groups, e.g. the recent LSP Conference.
We have also provided representation on key groups and organisations and each representative will speak about each group.
Community Involvement Partnership Board – John Phillipson
This group is made up from the Voluntary Sector, faith groups and Neighbourhood Forums. It reports to the LSP and oversees funding allocation.
Economic Wellbeing Partnership Board – Peter Wainwright
This group again reports to the LSP and is responsible for the Local Area Agreements.
Big Screen Steering Group – Bryony Whitmarsh
- This group, organised by Portsmouth City Council has been set up for nearly a year now and is open to anyone (contact (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)). The Big Screen is one of 17 across the UK. Portsmouth was chosen by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG). The programmer for all the content shown on the Big Screen is Dave Battcock, (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) –he can be contacted about any ideas for content. The Big Screen will become a cultural resource after the 2012 therefore the Cultural Consortium has been active in helping to frame the terms of reference for the steering committee to make them more inclusive, enable the steering committee to represent the community and to encourage members of this group to actively work together towards a common goal. Another contribution has been to ensure that there is something on each agenda about what is happening on Big Screen’s elsewhere in the country. We are keen that as many people are aware of the steering group as possible, and would encourage you to pick up the information sheet and contact Craig Willcock if you are interested in attending – or if there is something you feel the group should discuss.
Used for live events in the square – deckchairs in first week of Wimbledon, second week = short tennis in the square in front, strawberries and cream on sale – BBC News filmed live interviewing the tennis players on the Friday. Graduations are being filmed live and streamed to the screen this week and the Barber of Seville was shown last week for first evening event. This coming weekend is the Open Weekend which starts the count down of 3 years until the Olympics.
Visit Portsmouth Website – Steve Pitt
The Cultural Consortium Committee have been working in partnership with the Destination Portsmouth group which is made up of any cultural organisation in the city, in the PO1 – PO18 post code area. We have met with the Tourism team in Portsmouth City Council to discuss reducing costs and ensure that the Visit Portsmouth website is the best that it can be. This will take some time and the website will soon be prompting you for your views. Please logon, take a look and complete the survey, please be honest as this will inform the work to help make the improvements.
SM – the Executive group are all volunteers and I thank everyone for their contribution and commitment.
We have set up a ‘cultural pledge’ on the website and would welcome you to make your pledge here tonight any pledges made tonight will update live on the website.
Changes to the Constitution – Stephen Morgan
As mentioned at last year’s AGM the Cultural Consortium felt that the constitution required updating to enable us to be more open; you will find in your information pack on your chairs, a copy of the constitution with the tracked changes, there is also a document listing the changes. Unless there are any objections I would like to take these changes all together.
Proposed John Phillipson and seconded by Bryony Whitmarsh, followed by a show of hands in acceptance of the changes.
Treasurer’s Verbal Report
We have a bank account with the Co-operative Bank which was opened before last years AGM. There are three signatories, Stephen Morgan, Jonathan Fost and Stephen Pitt, only two signatories required to sign.
Following settlements of tonight’s AGM the balance will be £6,945. This money will support the future series of Culture Matters events.
Proposed by Brandon Prince and seconded by Terry Carter.
Election of Members for the Executive Group 2008/09
Cllr Lee Hunt, Cabinet member for Culture & Leisure for just 8 weeks, took the chair of the meeting at this point.
The current executive is stood down, and thanks given to Peter Moutray, Martin Chalk, Zene Bray, Mary Vallely and Mary Tunnell for their support over the last year. The nomination closure date was 17th July and 3 nominations have been received.
Standing for re-election are Stephen Morgan, Peter Wainwright, John Phillipson, Jonathan Fost, Anna Potten and Steve Pitt. These were re-elected on block, proposed by David Cooper and seconded by Syed Haque.
Co-opted members now standing for election to the Executive are as follows:
Steve Bomford, photographer and lead in the Noir et Blanc social enterprise, you will also find a copy of their magazine on your chair.
Bryony Whitmarsh, has previously worked for the City Museum and Records Service, now working for the University of Portsmouth, believes in celebrating Culture.
Co-opted members now standing for election to the Executive were proposed by Syed Haque and seconded by John Phillipson.
New nominations to the Executive are as follows:
John Attrill, part of the voluntary organisation Frank Sorrell Discovery Centre, he represents over 6,000 people who have learning disabilities. Worked for Hampshire County Council for a number of years and worked hard to keep a model of HMS Victory in Portsmouth. Proposed by Ian Pratt and seconded by Cllr Cheryl Buggy.
Date of the first Executive meeting is Wednesday 12th August 2009 at 7:30pm in Conference Room L, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square.
Cllr Hunt
I have been in post for just over 8 weeks. The new Blueprint will replace the current cultural strategy, and this along with the seafront strategy will be reporting to the portfolio meeting in September. The economic wellbeing of the city is important.
The City received a visit by FIFA on Monday as part of our bid to become a ‘host city’ for the 2018 World Cup. The delegation were totally bowled over with the unique factor of the City and its open spaces which would be perfect for the ‘Fans Fest’ sites. If we were to win the bid it would bring in millions of pounds to the city.
The City is also bidding to become the UK City of Culture for 2013; this is a joint bid with Southampton as we both have lots in common.
There have been lots of positives in Cultural Services recently, the funding approval for the Mary Rose Trust, the opening of the new Mountbatten Centre and its 50m pool; there has been a 200% improvement on numbers swimming since it opened. The Big Screen recently showed a live performance from the Royal Opera House of ‘The Barber of Seville’. The Interim Seafront Manager, David Evans, has been working to improve the seafront area. The income from the concessions will be reserved to create a seafront budget. The Pyramids is a complex issue, there has been £100k vandalism damage to the glass so far.
A question and answer session followed.
Ray Wheeler – the seafront budget is it enough?
Cllr Hunt – Cultural Services budget is cut by 27% over the years. It totals £13m but we can’t help everything, we are trying to help by keeping the Seafront concessions rent within the Seafront budget, this is in addition to the current seafront maintenance budget.
Terry Clark – I would like to give support for Stephen Baily, he attended a recent neighbourhood forum meeting and gave a presentation which was excellent, I would recommend anyone to invite Stephen to speak at their meeting.
Cllr Hunt – we are a team and work as such, we are working hard to retain the budget but things do change.
Peter Wainwright – what is the importance of the Culture Partnership board and how can members take part?
Cllr Hunt – lots of community groups meet around the City and these need to be joined together, this board should be the way to do this.
John Attrill – why don’t commercial groups invest in Culture in the City and how can we keep this money within the City?
Cllr Hunt – many authorities are looking at returning Business Rates to the City but I’m not sure that this would be good for PCC. Some businesses are investing in the city, for instance, the ‘Love Albert Road Day’ they are paying for the policing of the event. The University of Portsmouth are a business and they too are investing. Recently advertising has been installed at Waterloo station as this is a direct train link to Portsmouth.
Brandon Prince – bars, clubs and all life has gone from the seafront, this has been driven by the Police, there isn’t enough left to keep the seafront going.
Cllr Hunt – the Police and PCC have looked to concentrate the entertainment areas to enable policing it easier, this has shown increased assaults/arrests and is a negative aspect, but this is because the Police presence is larger, if the Police weren’t in the area most incidents would be over before the Police arrived, therefore possibly no arrests. Statistics don’t show the reasons behind the numbers.
Alan Scott – We need to get people and businesses to invest in the city.
Cllr Hunt – there are plans to convert the Zurich building into a hotel. The Grammar school put on the Portsmouth Festivities program each year, many businesses do contribute but it is not always obvious. We have the Kings Theatre, New Theatre Royal, Building Schools for the Future and Priory school are looking to expand with investment from Vospers.
We have a very innovative and forward thinking team of officers who often work in their own time in the evenings and at weekends to make things happen.
If you have any other comments or ideas please forward them to Cllr Hunt at the Civic Offices.
Speakers – Peter Wainwright facilitating
Sabrina Richards – Hilsea Lido Pool for the People
The Lido is part of the cultural history of the City, the group took over the property recently, and have created a trust a lot of research has taken place over the last 12 months. The focus has been on the architectural heritage and the provision of a space for young people and families.
We are looking further at sports and swimming, the lifeguards need constant training and continually work as a team. The site is an open training space.
The behind the scenes tour of the lido will take place on 12th & 13th September as part of the Heritage Open days and we will be holding our Family Fun Day on 12th September.
Next year is the 75th anniversary of Hilsea Lido.
PW – The Cultural Consortium could help with some training days on the Vision.
Steve Bomford – Re-Store
Noir et Blanc in partnership with the Caravan Gallery have created another component called Neb Space. This looks at using empty shops as an alternative space and there are more than 130 in the following slide show.
We met with other interested parties, such as the New Theatre Royal, Aspex and Artspace, on 29th June and encouraged all to participate and there are many ways of doing this and it will enable the community to reclaim the high street. This group will be a point of contact for interested parties, but does not have the capacity to deliver all projects.
The Caravan Gallery is a mobile gallery set in a caravan they travel around the urban areas and take photos then display them in the gallery which is set up in the area where the photos were taken.
There is another meeting set for 12th August to discuss all the ideas that have been put forward. The minutes of these meetings can be found on the website www.nebweb.co.uk City Growth are also looking at a similar project but they are concentrating on the Northern Quarter area and will be lobbying Portsmouth City Council.
Mike Dobson – Portsmouth Cycle Forum www.pompeybug.org.uk
Mike is not just a cyclist; he drives and uses public transport.
The Vision for Portsmouth 2008 – 2018 refers to transport.
Dr Tim Hands was part of the group initially set up to look at the cycling needs of the City. Of the group of 12 Tim was the only person who cycled and use public transport.
Portsmouth’s target – to increase cycling by 4% over the next 4 years. Unfortunately cars come first on Portsmouth’s roads, pedestrians & cyclists get to share what’s left.
The number of children who cycle to school is not recorded.
Not enough cycle lanes in the City meet the standards.
The new QA hospital building have not thought about cyclists either, there are not enough cycle racks and none of those that are there are under any sort of cover.
We need to promote good cycling as there are bad cyclists but there are also bad drivers.
Bryony Whitmarsh – what is happening with the seafront cycle route?
Mike Dobson – We need to have a safe route from the Hayling Ferry to the Isle of Wightand Gosport Ferry this will require a reallocation of road space.
David Cooper – Kings Theatre
Lots of work has been completed to restore the Theatre to its glory, this have be done by a fantastic team of volunteers.
During 2008 we concentrated on the mechanics of the theatre, with the completion of the tower and the reciting of Aurora to the top of the tower, which I never thought that I would see.
Tours are available at any time and can be tailored to suit each group, just contact the Theatre.
We have been working on the theatre program bringing back the national tours, such as Chicago and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
The number of performances have increased over the years and this also means that the number of attendances has increased.
In 2004/5 we had 135 performances and 88,000 attendees, income of £4.2 million to the City.
In 2007/8 we had 268 performance and 149,000 attendees, income of £4.5 million to the City.
50% of attendees came from outside of Portsmouth. 50% of the program is community based.
We have a community & education section and a full time education co-ordinator. We run joint workshops with the New Theatre Royal. We are working with the local community with the Kings card. We are also working with schools on events such as the Schools Book Awards with 1,400 children and the Music Madness event involving 26 Schools.
The future will be difficult, we are affected by the Credit Crunch but we are doing better than others. The main problem for us is parking and the city’s transport system for getting on and off the island.
Any other business
Stephen Morgan – we need your help and your views on the Culture Partnership, your culture pledge for the website and any questions for Cllr Hunt.
Please let us know of anything that you feel needs some discussion.
Stephen Morgan thanked the speakers and all who had attended and introduced Los Guapos, 2 Argentinean ukulele players who will entertain us for the next 10 minutes; we hope that you will enjoy their alternative performance...
Meeting closed 8:40pm
Attendees
Cllr Cheryl Buggy Cllr Lee Hunt Terry Carter
Christopher Hyson Bryony Whitmarsh Stephen Morgan
John Phillipson Alan Scott Richard Adair
Steve Pitt Anna Potten John Atrill
Brandon Prince Peter Wainwright Sharon Watling
Charles Burns Steve Bomford Karl March
Cllr David Stephen Butler Ray Cobb David Cooper
Josie Dalling Mike Dobson Jonathan Fost
Margaret Nicholls Sabrina Richards Ben Clabon
Becca Hoy Jayne Rodgers Stuart Olesker
Syed A Haque Michelle Stafford Ian Pratt
Ray Wheeler
Login
You are not currently logged in.
Please Login or Register if this is your first time.
Consortium News
If you would like to submit your own news please use submit news section
Consortium AGM - 25th July, 2011NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of the Cultural Consortium will be held at...
Read the rest of the articleGetting Around - Monday 20 September, 2010 - free community event 6pm till 8.45pm.
Getting Around is a community event about involving people in shaping the future of transport in...
Read the rest of the articleNotice of the AGM of the Portsmouth Cultural Consortium
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of the Cultural Consortium will be held at...
Read the rest of the article