Alderley Edge Parish Council is currently formulating a business plan to ensure that their considerably investment in the Festival Hall is recouped and the community facility is turned into a profitable venture for the community.
As they strive to make the Festival Hall a self-sustaining facility for the community a number of purchases have been approved, in order to improve and extend the services on offer in an attempt to increase the returns for the village.
Councillor Geoff Hall, Chairman of Alderley Edge Parish Council, is currently working with Catherine Jones who took over management of the refurbished hall at the beginning of August, to create a business plan for the venue to promote the hall as a "customer friendly modern facility, not just as a shabby space that people can take or not".
Key tasks that they have recently been undertaken include reviewing the pricing for both the bar and hiring of the hall, initiating effective marketing of the hall, introducing robust systems to manage bookings and controlling bar stock levels and ensure the hall and Medical Centre facilities are maintained at a high level.
Additionally they have reviewed manpower requirements to ensure they have the necessary skills and resources to provide customers with a first-rate service.
As a result parish councillors have agreed in principle to the appointment of an assistant for the Festival Hall on a flexible contract.
Speaking at the Parish Council meeting on Monday, 10th October, Councillor Hall said "To ensure that Catherine is able to run the hall effectively and this is particularly an issue around obviously having late evening events and also running her day job, she really needs some support - someone who can take messages when she is away and she does;t really have anyone who is competent to do that at this present time.
"We have actually spoken to somebody we think is worth giving a try on that basis, Rachael, Craig and I have met them along with Catherine but it would be on a flexible contract so we will have scope to vary hours and to terminate it if it doesn't work but the resourcing requirement is really related to running the festival hall which requires an additional resource."
The Parish Council is also working to identify ways to boost income and profitability so they can reinvest in the hall for future generations.
Councillor Geoff Hall explained their vision "The Festival Hall has a unique history as a dance and music performance venue and we believe that there is scope to build on this heritage.
"In the recent past the Hall has solely been let out as a rentable space to third parties, with very limited additional services provided.
"Our objective is to make the Hall a commercially self-sustaining space for music and dance, and an attractive venue for weddings, parties and corporate events.
"We also want to raise the Hall's profile within the village, so that it becomes a treasured and well-used venue for local groups and societies, who will be bale to use its facilities at favourable rates."
The Parish Council believes there is scope to improve the returns to the village and they intend to do this by developing packaged services for specific types of customer. For example, offering wedding customers not just the use of the hall but a package which includes catering, decoration, flowers, bar provision and photography.
Secondly, by staging their own events, for example music nights or Christmas fairs, which would not only bring in income from ticket sales but also increased increased revenue from the bar.
The Parish Council has agreed to spend up to £1000 to put a track up for some stage curtains, which Alderley Edge School for Girls has kindly given them, to improve the acoustics at the hall and £2900 to purchase additional staging because the current staging only provides them with a limited space in the centre of the hall and they need to double its size.
They also agreed to spend up to £2040 on purchasing an additional 120 chairs to replace some of the old chairs which would mean they had 240 new chairs in total.
To date the cost to Alderley Edge Parish Council for the refurbished Festival Hall has been £600,000.
Councillor Geoff Hall said "In completing the work so far we have benefited from generous donations from the Emerson Foundation and the Institute Trust, as well as from private donors. These have enabled us to build the meeting room adjacent to the entrance (named The Emerson Suite in honour of the donor). Also to install acoustic panels, staging, electric black-out blinds and stage lighting. With the support of the Festival Hall Advisory Group, we have now also applied for a grant which (if we are successful) will enable us to complete the meeting rooms on the first floor at the back of the building.
"This has of course involved a great deal of work by a small number of people, but we are now well on our way towards creating something very special for our village."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
We (Alderley Edge Royal British Legion) are supporting the Hall on 30th October with a Tea Dance. One can dance (ranging from ballroom to jive to, possibly, the okey cokey, barn dance, Virginia reel, etc.) or relax, listen and watch the dancing. Flyers are posted round the village.
There is a series old smaller rooms that can be used as well for smaller events. I would recommend the hall to anyone and the Catherine the hall Manager is extremely helpful.
So if your thinking of holding any event please go first to see the hall and support our new village hall.
The last P.C. had an assistant for the then manager. She was terrific. She was an apprentice. Her net cost was (as I recall) nothing .Govm. monies paid for her.
Has a new apprentice been considered?
The language 'somebody we think is worth giving a try' is a tad unfortunate?
Job description? Person spec. ? Post advertised?
And relaid instead of cheap replacement !!