Issue - meetings

To receive the report of the Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace, detailing –

·        Summary of progress since the last meeting

·        Proposal for Major Grants bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for approval

Duncan Wilson – Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace – introduced the report as set out.

NOTED

·        The report summarised the outcome of the public consultation.

·        The Heritage Lottery Fund bid would be submitted on 30 November, and a decision was expected in April 2013.

·        The masterplan for the theatre, BBC Studios and East Court had been completed to RIBA stage B, which was required for the HLF bid, and further work by Farrells in 2013 would provide an idea of the level of investment required elsewhere in the Palace.

·        The HLF bid was for a total of £16.8m – around 70% of the total cost, the remainder of which would be raised via match-funding.

·        Potential designs for a hotel were shown, and it anticipated that these would be more likely to attract investors if the HLF bid was successful.

BBC Studios

·        The funding would enable the restoration of the theatre, the East Court entrance and BBC Studios A & B. 

·        The scheme allowed for the unblocking of all external archways and the provision of a studio exhibition using technical models.  The BBC had offered use of their archives.

·        It was still to be decided whether an entrance fee would be charged to access the studios.  The use of the BBC archives was only for non-profit projects, however Duncan Wilson would investigated whether this included or excluded any contributions asked for to cover the running costs of the studios.

Theatre

·        A key point of the theatre refurbishment was to retain the character of the existing theatre, and also to allow for the space to be used flexibly.  The space was not commercially viable just as a theatre.

·        The theatre floor would be flattened, to allow for the space to be used for conferences, banquets and other receptions.  There would be no fixed seating, to allow for these different set ups.  The possibility of an adaptable floor had been explored but the cost was too high to consider this option.  Adaptations could always be made in the future, and the Roundhouse in Camden was a good example of where this has happened.

·        The balcony would be structurally repaired, and would have fixed seating.

·        There had been approaches made by Complicite, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Cirque du Soleil with regards to using the theatre space.

·        The English National Opera had also expressed an interest in running a project in the Great Hall.

·        In response to whether there would be any governance issues in running the space, Duncan Wilson explained that it was likely to be run by the Trading Company as usual for events elsewhere in the Palace but in the event that a longer licensee for a particular operator or promotor was requested, Charity Commission approval might be required.

East Court

·        Due to its’ size, the East Court was an expensive area to redevelop.

·        The East Court would be used to tell the story of Alexandra Palace through pictures and models.  This would be the starting point for a visit and lead  ...  view the full minutes text for item 252