*(1)

Bedford Borough Council – Report to Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Culture February 2020 Report by: Manager for Libraries & Culture Subject: ACCEPTANCE OF PROJECT GRANT FUNDING FROM ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND FOR AIRSHIP DREAMS

PROJECT DELIVERED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BEDFORD CREATIVE ARTS 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to request approval to accept a grant from Arts Council England of £49,850. The grant is intended

to deliver a project Airship Dreams at The Higgins Bedford and other locations. The project, which will involve working in partnership with Bedford Creative Arts, is a heritage-led artistic enquiry into Bedford Borough’s identity as the historical centre of the UK’s airship industry, and will involve a number of public engagement outcomes which are detailed within this report.

2. Recommendations 2.1 That the Mayor considers and, if satisfied,

a) accepts a grant of £49,850 from Arts Council England; b) agrees the use of the grant to deliver the outputs of the Airship Dreams project, enabling the funding to

be used towards: (i) An exhibition at The Higgins Bedford in October 2020 featuring a video and audio installation based

on archive film footage of the Cardington airship programme. (ii) A community created archive of local stories and memories of the airship programme, displayed at

The Higgins Bedford and shared online. (iii) An outdoor event in October 2020 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the R101 disaster,

featuring a projected film installation and music composed and performed with the local community.

(iv) A public engagement programme involving working with the local community in the development of the events listed above.

*(2)

3. Reasons for Recommendations 3.1 The project represents a partnership with Bedford Creative Arts (BCA), utilising external grant funding to deliver a high quality

programme of activity at The Higgins Bedford and other locations in the run up to October 2020 in the form of community engagement activity, and then from October 2020 to March 2021 in the form of exhibitions and associated events.

3.2 The exhibition elements and outdoor event will coincide with the 90th anniversary of the R101 disaster in October 1930. The

project therefore provides a timely opportunity to commemorate this event and to celebrate Bedford Borough’s role in the history and subsequent development of the UK’s airship industry.

3.3 The project builds on the pilot project Airship Dreams Week, delivered in partnership with BCA at Bedford Central Library in

May 2019 with a grant from Arts Council England (ACE). The pilot project identified themes which have been developed and expanded in this new project. The project will involve the local community in the development of the artistic outcomes, helping to achieve Libraries & Culture’s community engagement objectives, and the commissioning of high quality artistic output that will engage local audiences and has the potential to draw visitors to the town.

3.4 The project provides an opportunity to benefit from grant funding from ACE. It also demonstrates partnership working between

cultural providers, a stated aim of the Bedford Cultural Partnership. It will help to prove the value of commissioned artistic and cultural programmes delivered through Libraries & Culture, opening up the opportunity for more grant funding in the future for both the service and other local cultural providers.

4. Key Implications 4.1 The implications in accepting the grant offer with regard to any legal, policy, resource, risk, environmental or equality issues

have been considered as follows: Legal Issues

4.2 The Council will need to comply with ACE’s standard terms of grant and will be required to monitor and report on progress and performance.

*(3)

4.3 Payment of the grant is conditional on written confirmation of the remaining funding identified in the project budget (see Appendix A) being in place. This is dealt with in the Resource Implications section below. Bedford Borough Council will be the grant holder for the ACE grant and will commission BCA to deliver the project outputs; this arrangement is subject to approval of a waiver to contract procedure rules.

Policy Issues

4.4 The recommendation supports the following strategic priorities of the Council’s Corporate Plan for 2017-21: We encourage cultural and leisure activities. We support people to learn and realise their potential in life.

We enable people to engage in decisions and participate in community life.

Resource Implications 4.5 The project is a partnership between The Higgins Bedford and BCA. The total budget for the project is £185,415. This is

broken down as follows: • Grant funding of £49,850 from ACE applied for Bedford Borough Council • Grant funding of £113,565 from National Lottery Heritage Fund applied for by BCA • Grant funding from other sources of £8,000 applied for by BCA • Sponsorship from other sources of £6,000 applied for by BCA • Contribution of £7,000 from BCA • Contribution of £1,000 from The Higgins Bedford from within existing confirmed revenue budgets.

4.6 The Council will be the grant holder for the ACE grant of £49,850 only; BCA are the applicant for the remaining grant funding

and sponsorship applications listed above. As stated at 4.3, payment of the ACE grant to the Council is conditional on confirmation that the remaining funding is in place to allow the project to be delivered as planned. BCA expect decisions on the remaining funding applications by mid-March 2020. ACE grant award processes require the Council to accept the grant funding within one month of award but it should be noted that if BCA are unsuccessful in securing the additional funding identified at 4.2, the project will not go ahead in its current form and the Council will not claim payment of the ACE grant. The circumstances outlined here have been discussed with ACE who have recommended the course of action being followed.

4.7 The project will require the contribution of in-kind support in the form of staff time to deliver the community engagement and

*(4)

exhibition elements. The project will be built into staff work programmes as a core strand of the Libraries & Culture community engagement objectives. A cash contribution of £1,000 only will be made from existing service programming budgets in order to secure the grant funding investment. There is no ongoing revenue budget implication resulting from the project.

Risk Implications

4.8 Acceptance of the grant will commit the Council to undertaking the work forming the funded project. As stated at 4.6, this is

however subject to BCA securing the remaining funding required to deliver the project. Should BCA not secure this funding, the Council will not receive payment of the current ACE grant and the project will not go ahead in its current form. The circumstances outlined here have been discussed with ACE who have recommended the course of action being followed.

4.7 If the acceptance of the grant is not approved, the Council will have to reject the offer of grant funding from Arts Council

England and not proceed with the work forming part of this project.

Environmental Implications 4.8 There are no environmental implications identified in accepting the grant offered. Equalities Impact 4.9 In preparing this report, due consideration has been given to the Borough Council’s statutory Equality Duty to eliminate unlawful

discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations, as set out in Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. 4.12 A relevance test for equality has been completed. The equality test determined that the activity has no relevance to Bedford

Borough Council’s statutory equality duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. An equality analysis is not needed.

5. Details 5.1 Airship Dreams is a year-long project delivered in partnership between The Higgins Bedford and BCA. The project is a

heritage-led artistic enquiry into Bedford Borough’s identity as the historical centre of the UK’s airship industry. BCA will be commissioned to manage the project, ensuring that the artists engaged are of a high calibre and bringing a high quality arts

*(5)

programme to the public. This includes commissioning the artist and managing the delivery of the programme. Bedford Borough Council will be the grant holder for the ACE grant only. This arrangement is subject to approval of a waiver to contract procedure rules.

5.3 International artist Mike Stubbs will be commissioned to produce an artistic response that celebrates and commemorates

Bedford Borough’s role in the Imperial Airship Scheme, which ended in October 1930 when the R101 airship crashed over northern France. 2020 is the 90th anniversary of the R101 disaster.

5.4 Mike Stubbs will work with local communities to explore this heritage through three creative responses.

• An exhibition at The Higgins Bedford (Sir William Harpur Gallery, from October 2020) where audiences will be immersed in an Audio Visual installation using archive film footage of the Cardington Sheds and a commissioned soundscape.

• A community-created archive of local stories and memories about the airship programme, displayed at The Higgins Bedford (Connections Gallery, from October 2020) and shared online.

• An outdoor event to commemorate the R101 crash featuring a projected film installation accompanied by music composed and performed with the local community.

5.5 These creative responses will be preceded by a public engagement programme involving working with local communities to

collect and curate archive material and personal stories relating to the area’s airship heritage. This will achieved via events with community groups and schools (prioritising working with schools in the vicinity of the Cardington Sheds), and through the development of a community choir who will work with a local musician to compose a piece of music to be performed at the outdoor event.

6. Summary Of Consultations And Outcome 6.1 The following Council units or Officers and/or other organisations have been consulted in preparing this report:

Chief Officer for Regulatory Services & Culture Management Team

6.2 No adverse comments have been received.

*(6)

Report Contact Officer: Tom Perrett Manager for Libraries & Culture The Higgins Bedford Castle Lane Bedford MK40 3XD Tel: 01234 276313 tom.perrett@bedford.gov.uk

File Reference: N/A Previous Relevant Minutes: None Background Papers: None Appendices: Appendix A – Project budget

Airship Dreams Project Budget

INCOME £ Notes

Arts Council England grant 49,850 Applicant and grant recipient: BBC

National Lottery Heritage Fund grant 113,565 Applicant and grant recipient: BCA

Other grant funding 8,000 Applicant and grant recipient: BCA

Sponsorship 6,000 Applicant and recipient: BCA

BCA cash contribution 7,000Higgins cash contribution 1,000

185,415

EXPENDITURE HEADINGS £Artist fees and associated costs 20,890Production costs for exhibition and event content 19,650Exhibition installation costs 8,529Exhibition and event equipment costs 25,100Community workshop costs 4,897Schools workshop costs 7,189Community archive recording costs 6,600Outdoor event production costs 30,109Marketing costs 12,200Accessiblity costs 1,500Project Management and commissioning costs 31,751Evaluation fees 5,000Contingency 12,000

185,415