Agenda item

This report seeks to provide insight into the Castle Concerts recent financial challenges and provide a viable option to ensure the Council removes the financial risks associated with delivering a commercial music concert series. 

Discussion:

The Committee received a comprehensive report providing an insight into the recent financial challenges of providing the Castle Concerts and suggesting a viable option to ensure that the Council removes the financial risks associated with the delivery of a commercial music concert series.

The Committee discussed the report noting the history of the Castle Concerts and the way in which they had been adapted over years to respond to the changing commercial music environment.

The Committee acknowledged the importance of the Castle Concerts in supporting the Council’s cultural offer and in particular referred to the introduction of ‘Under Siege’ in 2009 providing a celebration of young musicians and helping to raise the ambitions of young people by giving them an opportunity to perform on a large scale festival stage.

The report set out a full financial analysis of providing the Castle Concerts over the past 11 years having regard to the number of tickets sold, ticket prices, cost of performances and total expenditure, including marketing of the event.

Whilst the ability for the public to bring alcohol into the concerts had been stopped in 2018 following advice for most of the events after issues of anti-social behaviour both inside and outside of the castle grounds, and this decision had not proved popular with some local people, this had not proved a deterrent to ticket sales for big named artists in 2019.

The Committee was advised that there were now an increasing number of similar festivals in direct competition with the Castle Concerts at other venues in Kent but that a number both in Kent and across the UK were struggling and had been cancelled in 2019 due to poor ticket sales.

It was also noted that the limited capacity of 4,500 in the Castle Gardens and ticket price ceiling limited the income that the Council could generate via ticket sales.

The Committee noted the various options set out in paragraph 4 of the report and noted that soft market testing had proven that there was scope for new commercial music concerts in Rochester Castle Gardens and Great Lines Heritage Park. For this reason, Option 3 was being recommended as a way forward which would result in the Council withdrawing from the direct delivery of the Rochester Castle Concerts and working with a third party to deliver a commercial music concert series in Medway thus removing the Council from future financial risk.

In response to questions, the Director of Regeneration, Culture, Environment and Transformation and Deputy Chief Executive reminded the Committee that any recommendation from this Committee would need to be referred to Cabinet for consideration and he informed the Committee that as the Castle Concerts currently had a £50,000 income target in the budget, should Option 3 be selected as the way forward, this £50,000 would need to be addressed through the 2020/2021 budget process.

Referring to the potential of a future music festival on the Great Lines Heritage Park, a Member drew attention to the need for an event at this venue to be carefully considered on safety grounds and control due to the size of the site and access into and out of the site.

During the debate, Members expressed their appreciation to the Council’s events team who were involved in the organisation of the Council’s events programme.

Decision:

The Committee agreed that it be recommended to Cabinet that the Council withdraw from the direct delivery of the Rochester Castle Concerts and officers work with a third-party (option 3) to deliver a commercial music concert series in Medway removing the Council from future financial risk.