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ITEM EX8

EXECUTIVE – 26 NOVEMBER 2002

ABINGDON OLD GAOL DEVELOPMENT

Report by Director of Cultural Services

Introduction

  1. Over the last two or three years discussions have been taking place in Abingdon about the possible future use of the Abingdon Old Gaol and adjacent buildings, owned by the Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC), following the closure of the Sports Centre in the Old Gaol in 2001. The swimming pool and other sports facilities have been relocated to a new site on the edge of Abingdon and the Old Gaol is now vacant.

  2. Initially officers from the County Council were invited to discuss ideas for future usage with APAGE, an informal association of individuals representing various arts groups in Abingdon (theatre, cinema etc) and with Abingdon Town Council which is responsible for Abingdon Museum, in order to develop ideas for a new ‘cultural centre’ in the Old Gaol, to include the library, museum and other facilities. The issue was raised by the VWHDC through the Abingdon Area Forum. Specifications for the library, museum and other facilities were prepared and discussed.

  3. In the Autumn 2001, following consultation at the Forum, VWHDC selected FSP Architects and Town Planners to carry out a Feasibility Study to consider:

    • The theoretical capacity of the site and buildings in relation to the stated requirements of the potential users

    • Possible arrangements within the building of the potential users

    • A capital and revenue neutral scheme

  1. A copy of the Consultants’ Feasibility Study has been deposited in the Members’ Resources Centre.

  2. The Consultants were also required to consider the implications of the proposed development of the Old Gaol on other buildings in Abingdon in public ownership: the Guildhall (owned by VWHDC), County Hall (owned by Abingdon Town Council) and of course the library site (owned by Oxfordshire County Council).

    3. Background

  3. The Gaol was built almost 200 years ago as a formidable building adjacent to the main bridge over the Thames and close to Abingdon’s market place. Originally the building included the Court Room, and the Gaol was a model of its kind at that time with exercise yards, school, chapel, work areas and segregated cell blocks. From 1861, when Abingdon lost its status as an administrative centre to Reading, the Gaol has had a chequered history. It was used for a time as a corn warehouse and later as tenements. In 1974 it was converted to a Sports Centre. As a result of these various uses few original features remain within the building, although the exterior shell is largely intact.

  4. Adjacent buildings include the Old Police Station on Bridge Street. This was constructed in 1863. Surviving features include three cells, each complete with a simple mahogany sleeping bench/toilet seat. There are also two smaller 19th century buildings.- 25 Bridge Street and Bridge View.

    5. The Feasibility Study

  5. The Study provides a detailed historical and urban context for the scheme; an analysis of the existing buildings and of the potential users; an analysis of the options and more detailed descriptions of option 2C (a leisure/heritage option) and option 3 (a managed small business centre option).

  6. Option 3 fulfils a key part of the VWHDC’s original brief to produce an option which is capital and revenue neutral. It demonstrates how a small business centre of about 5000 square metres could be created at the Old Gaol site.

  7. Option 2C is described as ‘the current optimum option to fulfil the original brief, provide a balance between the aspirations of the various potential provider groups and create a leisure/heritage focus for the town centre’.

    8. Current Cultural Services in Abingdon

  8. The current Abingdon Library, part of the Charter complex at the northern end of the Bury shopping centre, has less than 50% of the floor area required to meet the Oxfordshire standard for a catchment area of 50,000 people. It is the second busiest library in Oxfordshire with an average of over 1,500 users per day. There is no possibility of expanding the library to its correct size on the present site. The library service would aim particularly to improve its childrens services, study services and open shelf book stock, increase the IT facilities available and to develop better links with lifelong learning.

  9. It should be noted that some reservations have been expressed in the town about the library moving from a popular central site to an untested location which is just off the main shopping area. The viability of a library at the Old Gaol site is likely to depend on the success of the whole development and in particular on accessibility and the design and treatment of the frontages and entrances. It is potentially a very attractive location which is little distance from the main shopping area and has the added benefit of river frontage.

  10. Abingdon Museum, housed in the old County Hall, has enjoyed increasing success since its refurbishment in 1994. Currently it is attracting more than 20,000 visitors per year and it has a reputation for innovative and eye-catching exhibitions. However the museum is on the first floor with no lift access; the exhibition area is limited to one gallery. The museum collections relating to Abingdon are extensive and include some of the finest archaeology, local history and ‘industry’ (eg MG, Morlands, Pavlova).

  11. Other cultural activities based in Abingdon include:

    1. Trading Faces – a well established touring theatre company based at the Old Gaol site. The company would like to maintain its base in the new cultural centre.

    2. Abingdon Music Centre – previously housed in the Old Gaol and temporarily relocated to the old Magistrates Court.

    3. Music Practice – also in the Old Gaol - is a small independent organization offering music tuition.

    4. Other arts- based users occupy parts of 25 Bridge Street including Common Purpose, Oxfordshire Youth Arts Office, Strategic Arts Development Officer and Sports Development.


    Proposed New Facilities

  12. Proposed new facilities in the ‘cultural centre’ include: an auditorium - 500 seats: a multi-purpose space to accommodate theatre, concerts, opera, orchestras, dance, rock bands etc. and for use as a conference facility; a cinema – 300 seats; a studio theatre – 150 seats; an exhibition space – for the visual arts and probably integrated with the library and museum provision.

  13. The Old Gaol could also provide a distinctive focus for lifelong learning activity in Abingdon and its surrounding area. This could both link closely and provide synergy for the cultural elements in the new centre. For example, children’s activities could be combined with family learning provision. Arts and cultural pursuits could be complemented by adult learning classes. A part of the building could be adapted to house a community ICT learning centre. Many of these activities would not only be income generating in their own right but they would also stimulate participation in some of the other activities taking place at the centre. This effect could be particularly powerful if combined with the development of partnership links with Abingdon and Witney College and with primary, secondary and special schools in the area.

  14. The cultural centre provides an exciting opportunity to innovate and particularly to bring about greater integration of all the cultural facilities and participants in the development.

    15. Conclusions

  15. The creation of a new cultural centre of this nature in Abingdon would have a major impact on the town and district. The focus of the town will shift from north of the Market Place, to the south. The cultural centre meets a number of key objectives in Oxfordshire’s Cultural Strategy and the Oxfordshire Plan: helping people fulfil their potential – encouraging lifelong learning, breaking down barriers to learning and development, improving access to cultural facilities; safeguarding our communities – engaged and self sufficient communities; supportive services; protecting our environment – enhancing the built environment; sustaining our prosperity.

  16. Although the Feasibility Study is a substantial and creative piece of work it fails to reflect some important points; in particular it fails to respond to comments and criticisms of the ‘favoured’ option (2C) which were made by officers of Cultural Services and Abingdon Town Council to the Consultants and VWHDC officers at meetings in March and April 2002.

  17. Specific concerns on option 2C are:

    1. The ‘ground floor’ facilities in the Old Gaol are predominantly evening venues (theatre, cinema etc); there is a danger that during the day the ground floor will be ‘dead’.

    2. There is no ground floor presence for the library. It is essential that the children’s library and popular adult fiction (the books with the greatest turnover) are located on the ground floor and desirable that as much as possible of the library public areas are on the ground floor.

    3. Access to the upper floors by lifts and stairs is unlikely to be adequate to meet the heavy demand – over 1500 people per day to the current library for example. Escalators would be much more ‘welcoming’ and would help to attract visitors to use the upper areas.

    4. The museum spaces are scattered over 4 floors; this is likely to lead to an unacceptable increase in staffing costs (for Abingdon Town Council) for supervision.

  18. Although these concerns are fundamental to the plans for the Old Gaol and will require substantial further work, it is worth noting that:

    1. the working relationship between officers from the County, District and Town Councils and APAGE has been very positive;

    2. all those involved have supported the principle of the creation of a new cultural centre and are convinced that it will bring real benefits to the people of Abingdon and the wider community;

    3. all those involved have been, and continue to be, willing to discuss and negotiate the details of the plans and proposals;

    4. VWHDC has agreed to commission the consultants to undertake further work aiming to satisfy the concerns expressed above. County Council officers have been invited to a meeting with the consultants on 14 November and an oral report on the outcome of that meeting will be given.

  19. Other general points:

    1. The long term success of a cultural centre of this kind will be dependent on funding, management and its ability to attract and maintain sufficient audiences. Revenue funding remains a major issue. Of all the cultural facilities proposed for the Old Gaol, only the library and the museum would bring with them core revenue funding. The Feasibility Study refers to ‘a single managed centre within the Historic Buildings’ (6.01) and throughout the officer negotiations the idea of integrated management of the cultural centre has been discussed; this will be essential to ensure integrated programming, marketing, promotion and maintenance.

    2. Abingdon’s heritage: arguably ‘England’s oldest town’ Abingdon has an array of heritage assets which could be used to promote the town to tourists and to help regenerate the town centre. There are rich archaeology collections from the town from the Roman and Iron Age periods and from the Abbey; significant local industries, particularly MG cars with an international following, also Morlands Brewery, Pavlova Leather Works and the contemporary high-tech science industries.

    3. The County Council’s contemporary craft collection is housed at Abingdon Museum and could form the core of another popular theme for exhibition within the cultural centre, with opportunities to link to other town centre improvements such as street furniture, public art and signage.

    4. VWHDC is keen to move quickly towards a public consultation stage. A report on the Feasibility Study will go the District Council’s Executive in November. Officers of the County Council are concerned that the public consultation must be on plans which meet the needs of the County Council services. In order to ensure that the County Council is properly represented in the continuing discussions a member/officer working group (including representatives from the VWHDC, Abingdon Town Council and APAGE) is recommended. A suggested format is set out in Annex 1.

    Financial Implications

  20. The financial implications for the proposed cultural centre are complex. The Feasibility Study provides some financial details, but without more extensive audience research and analysis the business plans for the arts facilities particularly are not seen as robust. The Feasibility Study assumes that the County Council will contribute the capital value of the existing Abingdon Library to the project and that the library would bring with it its revenue budget. There is uncertainty about where the capital balance for the library will come from; the scheme does not appear as a priority in the County Council’s current capital programme. Similarly there is no allowance for the fact that the library will be more than doubling in size with consequential revenue implications. A long lease will be required by the Council for the part of the development to be occupied by the library.

  21. Similarly it is anticipated that Abingdon Town Council will transfer its operational budget for Abingdon Museum (part grant aided by VWHDC). The capital costs of relocating the museum would be eligible for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. However the Town Council will retain the residual costs of caring for and providing public access to the County Hall.

  22. The costs of rehousing and providing public access to the County Council’s contemporary craft collection have not been considered.

    23. RECOMMENDATIONS

  23. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. support the idea in principle of creating a cultural centre for Abingdon in the Old Gaol;

          2. agree in principle to:

              1. the relocation of Abingdon Library to the Old Gaol site subject to feasibility and financing;

              2. use of the capital receipt of the sale of the present Abingdon Library towards the new library in the Old Gaol;

          3. invite the Vale of White Horse District Council, Abingdon Town Council and APAGE to participate in an informal working group with membership and purpose as set out in Annex 1 to the report;

          4. request the Vale of White Horse District Council to commission their consultants to prepare revised plans for the Old Gaol following further discussions with the working group.

RICHARD MUNRO
Director of Cultural Services

Background Papers: Consultants’ Feasibility Study – refer to contact officer

Contact Officer: Martyn Brown, County Museums and Heritage Officer: 01993 813454

November 2002

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