Save St David’s Hall - an open letter to Cllr Huw Thomas, Cardiff’s Leader
St David’s Hall. Pic: Walt Jabasco
To: Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council
cc: All Cardiff councillors, MSs and MPs
Dear Cllr Thomas,
Cardiff Civic Society is very concerned about your plans to out-source St David’s Hall to AMG/Live Nation. Would you be willing to meet with us to discuss?
According to a petition launched by staff at the Hall notes, the venue currently hosts arts educational training and access for disabled patrons and young people via Arts Active. We understand that the Hall operates at a significantly reduced subsidy (roughly £700,000 p/a) and returns through its catering and operation divisions a marginal profit and that the reason stated for privatisation is the maintenance backlog.
We are alarmed to note that the petition claims that Cardiff Council is investigating options, with a decision due to go to council cabinet on the 15th December, but that at a meeting with HR in St Davids Hall earlier this month, it was made clear that the council’s opinion is that the long term lease of the building to AMG/LiveNation is seen as the only way forward.
We are further concerned to note that the petition states that no investigation has been made regarding alternative funding streams to raise the money (e.g. the Arts Council for Wales) or private fundraising for the building to clear the maintenance backlog, and the Council said at the meeting that they will not be doing so either, despite a letter being sent to you in January 2021, signed by the entire management team wishing to investigate external funding opportunities after the offer of corporate sponsorship to revitalise the building.
We are deeply troubled to learn from the petition that AMG/LiveNation has made it clear that they will not offer the arts educational side, and will dramatically reduce the cultural and classical output of St David’s Hall, as their bread and butter is large-scale pop events currently akin to the International arena.
As a heritage body we are dismayed to learn from the petition that the council intends to allow the new operation to undertake large scale structural alterations to a building that is in the process of becoming a listed building, including but not limited to extensive retrofitting to enable a large standing audience to increase the capacity of the venue and increase their profit streams. This would involve the removal of the stalls seating, and structural alterations to the auditorium which have the potential to ruin the acoustics of one of the top 10 concert halls in the world - a jewel in the crown of this capital city.
We concur with the petition that losing cultural output could mean the end of the Festival of Remembrance, Cardiff Singer of the World, the international concert series, the Welsh Proms, the annual Cardiff University graduations and so much more – and would in all reality be a travesty, all happening at a rushed pace without clear information being given to the general public.
In summary, we concur with the petition that St David’s Hall, the National Concert Hall of Wales, is a cultural asset and deserves to be saved. Privatising and potentially permanently losing something so important to both the capital city and the nation cannot be allowed to be rushed through by the council before all options have been investigated.
Yours sincerely,
Mr CJ Williams
Secretary
Cardiff Civic Society
secretary@cardiffcivicsociety.org