Framework agreement for cultural services set to be approved

A report on the issue will come before the cabinet at its Town Hall meeting on Monday.

It highlights that Culture Warrington was formed in 2012 as Warrington’s lead cultural organisation responsible for the strategic delivery of arts, culture, heritage and events, managing the town’s three ‘largest and most prominent’ cultural venues – Pyramid Arts Centre, Parr Hall, and Warrington Museum and Art Gallery – and is responsible for ‘delivering the services for culture’ through a contract with the council.

It also states that Culture Warrington is ‘best placed’ to deliver the arts and cultural activities, as outlined in the report, due to a number of factors.

These include venues being the ‘only suitable venues for certain activities’ within Warrington, staff are ‘appropriately trained and experienced’ to deliver cultural events, and using Culture Warrington staff is a ‘cost-effective way’ of managing an event, particularly when it is held within one of their venues or close by, such as Queens Gardens.

Other factors highlighted include that Culture Warrington has ‘networks’ of cultural providers, both locally and regionally, who ‘can be called upon’ to support the delivery of cultural programmes, and Culture Warrington already has working partnerships with local community groups, schools and colleges, making community projects ‘much more efficient to run as the time taken for these relationships to be built is eradicated’.

The cabinet is recommended to approve entering into a four-year framework agreement with Culture Warrington for the provision of a range of cultural services.