Sutton Council subsidises halls and theatres by £5.65 per visit on average; 22% of residents use them.

Options include retaining historic buildings and improving our heritage offer; community groups taking ownership of theatres or council selling them.

Arts development outreach service could be created to support local groups.

Sutton Council has launched a review of it arts and cultural services in order to help make £40m worth of savings to its annual budget over the next five years.

The savings are being forced by unprecedented reductions in funding from central government and growing demand for council services.

The council has come up with proposals to protect the borough’s heritage as much as possible while having to make difficult savings in arts and culture where a minority of residents use the services. From 8 September residents will be able to give their views via an online survey at www.suttonsfuture.org. The council is also running a telephone survey and a workshop for arts groups. The review is part of the Sutton’s Future campaign which encourages the public get involved in shaping the borough’s future.

Sutton has eight cultural venues: Secombe Theatre, Charles Cryer Theatre and workshop, Wallington Hall, Grove Hall, Whitehall, Honeywood Museum, Little Holland House and The Life Centre.

The venues cost £2.2m a year to run, and generate around £420,000 a year in revenue – meaning the council has to spend £1.8m a year on them. The theatres require investment to modernise and improve them, and Wallington Hall needs major renovation work.

Sutton Council is trying to be as fair as possible by making savings in some non essential services that are not used by everyone. A recent survey has shown that they are used by less than a quarter of residents (22%) and every visit costs the council an average of £5.65 to subsidise. The majority of local people (60%) who go to cultural events, do so outside Sutton. Since the Sutton’s Future survey launched on 10 July, residents have ranked cultural services as the least important service out of 14 services.

The council is proposing to protect the borough’s heritage by retaining the three historic houses and museums – Whitehall, Honeywood Museum, Little Holland House – and enhancing their offer through external grants such as the Heritage Lottery Fund. The council will match 10% of funding secured and has already successfully bid for £251,000 for a major restoration of Beddington Park. It currently has a further £6m worth of (HLF) bids in the pipeline.

In order to make necessary savings, the council is proposing to relinquish ownership of its four theatres and halls except Grove Hall which it would lease.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said:

“Sadly, some very tough decisions must be made and we are trying to be as fair as possible. Each of these buildings and services are competing with private sector offerings and the cultural hub of central London. On average, we subsidise each visit to a cultural venue to the tune of £5.65 yet less than a quarter of residents use the services. That is a big drain on our finances at a time when we need to make £40m in savings to protect universal services and support for our most vulnerable residents.

“We believe museums are essential to protecting the borough’s heritage. We are working closely with the Heritage Lottery Fund to bring in external funding that will improve our offer for future generations. We are looking very closely at all the options, but some closures are inevitable to make savings. If there was another way, we would be taking it.”

Proposals include:

• Boosting the borough’s heritage offer by securing external funding for Whitehall, Honeywood Museum, Little Holland House along with other sites including Beddington Park and The Grange Garden
• Meeting with arts groups to see if they want to, and are financially capable of, taking over the ownership and management of Secombe Theatre and Charles Cryer Studio Theatre. If that is not possible, the sites will be sold.
• To sell Wallington Hall as it is in extremely poor condition both internally and externally.
• To lease Grove Hall which is currently mainly used as a nursery
• To review The Sutton Life Centre. The educational facility was used by 137,976 visitors in the last financial year. It includes a library, a community centre, meeting space, a climbing wall and a multi-use games area.
• To set up an Arts Development Outreach Serviceto support cultural and community groups. It could deliver an arts programme, deliver grants, help groups get funding and find venues.

There will be a workshop where arts groups can meet with councillors and council staff to register their interest in taking over one of the two theatres, and give their views on the Arts Development Outreach Service.

Residents have until 3 October to take part in the online survey. It is expected that a decision will then be taken on the proposals at November’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee meeting.