Visit West Cornwall

Project for backstage support facilities
The Penwith Cultural Tourism Report (June 2003 by Perfect Moment) states that Penwith receives an estimated 800,000 visitors a year, with a direct annual spend attributable to arts and crafts based cultural tourism of £88.4m pa. The research also found that 20% of Penwith visitors indicated that they intended to visit outdoor theatre, i.e. 160,000 people per year. This strongly suggests that a healthy market exists if this project is to come to fruition.

Project Champion
Bernard Rees, St Just & District Trust, Greystones, Carn Bosavern, St Just, Penzance TR19 7QX Registered Charity No. 1062870 Civic Trust No. 10728670

Project Aim
To realise the optimum heritage, creative and economic potential (through cultural tourism) of the Plen-an-Gwary in St. Just. The 'Plen-an-Gwary' (Cornish: 'Play of the Play') is one of only two surviving examples of outdoor amphitheatres in Cornwall and is Britain's oldest working theatre space (according to Jack Robinson – outdoor theatre specialist previously associated with Kneehigh, Eden and London's Globe Theatre).

Project Description
The St Just & District Trust wishes to purchase the former telephone exchange building adjacent to the Plen (currently owned by the British Legion used by the Just Youth & Community and occasionally by the Ordinalia company as a dressing room), for two reasons:

1. To secure it from the open market and private housing development. This is the only way to enable on-going and increased performances by the Ordinalia. Community and other visiting theatrical groups would also be precluded from using the Plen to its full potential unless the site is secured from private development. By purchasing the site the applicants will safeguard future usage of the Plen by groups like the Ordinalia and ensure that the Plen continues to work as it has done for hundreds of years.
2. To develop a modest yet modern, purpose-built facility comprising of basic services: dressing rooms; toilets; storage to suit all users /festivals associated with the neighbouring Plen.

Location
The former telephone exchange consists of a large wooden building on a walled plot of land immediately adjacent to the Plen, which itself is situated directly outside the new Town Council offices in central St Just.

Project costs
Purchase price £70,000
Develpment costs £151,700 (as at March 2004)
Fees @ 12.5% £19,000
Anticipated total £240,700

The construction cost was priced by Davis, Langdon & Everest QS in response to a design prepared by Nigel Grainge Architects. The consultancy costs of £10,000 were met by Objective One Technical Assistance funding in order to enable tangible progress with. To date HLF 'Your Initiative' <50k, the Arts Council, Esmee Fairburn & the Chase Charity have been contacted and expressed some verbal interest in the project, although they do not consider the site purchase alone to be an eligible project in itself. However, from the applicant's perspective, the purchase alone would at least secure the site from other uses that would otherwise preclude theatre activity in the Plen.

Key Partners
Given the considerable amount of work involved in progressing sustainable grass roots community projects a locally based Working Group has been established to assist the project's development, share expertise and workload and raise awareness. It is made up of:

• Bernard Rees, Chair of StJDT, member of St Just Town Council and President of St Just British Legion.
• Ross Williams, Director of the Arts Centre Trust and Producer of the Ordinalia. Has also informed the Architect's initial sketch designs.
• Milo Perrin, St Just Arts Co-operative (local art and craft traders, galleries and artists).
• Jack Morrison, Freelance Stage Manager and open-air theatre specialist (formerly at Kneehigh & has worked with the Globe Theatre and Eden).
• Poppy Treffry, Arts, Culture and Media Officer for Penwith District Council and practising visual artist.
• Lucia Crothall, Marketing and Promotions Officer for Cornwall County Council's St Just Heritage Area Project.
• Jonathan Julian/Tatia Mitchell, Community Development Facilitator for the Penwith IAP Team.

Latest Activity
The Arts Council for England has invited the applicant to submit a preliminary proposal, feedback is expected shortly and it is hoped they will invite a formal application for up to £100,000. Others contacted include Ann Preston-Jones, Cornwall Archaelogical Unit, Jennifer Lowe, County Arts Officer, Deborah Boden, County World Heritage Bid Co-ordinator and Kate McCavana, Objective One Partnerhip's Historic Environment Officer, all of whom have been verbally supportive of the project principle to date. The Working Group has been speaking with local people to gauge community support for the project as well as the cultural sector, e.g. Carn-to-Cove, Minack.

‘Lafrowda Youth Arts Project
The aims of this project are:

• To engage young people in a year round programme of arts/ theatre activities and related events.
• To develop awareness of the links between local heritage, economic regeneration, and the creative industries - the impact these have on the local community and the opportunities available to it.

Grant funding will be used to employ a project co-ordinator who will devise and deliver a diverse, needs-based high quality programme (and its related ‘costs’ ) and ‘ train up’ 1-2 young people (16+) as apprentices in this area of growth.

What difference will it make?
The project will create new opportunities and choices for young people within the creative arts. It will develop projects at a ‘grass roots’ level reducing crime and anti-social behaviour. It will promote inclusion, community cohesion and citizenship, resulting in growth in self- confidence, skills + knowledge and social responsibility. We will provide volunteer placements and access to training for disadvantaged young people with clear progression routes, enabling them to attain positive outcomes without having to leave the area. We will also forge partnerships with other related organisations e.g schools, festivals, MCTI’s, town councils and forums, theatre groups, etc.

Who will benefit?
It is anticipated that 50 young people will benefit per annum (although at moment Lafrowda works with over 450 children and young people in all areas of its programme – so this may be an underestimate). The young people who will benefit include those aged between 11 – 18yrs – with vocational training opportunities for disadvantaged 16 –25yrs olds.

Consulting and involving young people
We will have strong links with a well established local voluntary community arts organisation who have been working with 5 – 18yr olds (main focus 5 –11) in a participatory way. Young people have already been involved since 1997 as musicians, actors, prop costume and set makers etc. in large scale community events such as the Lafrowda Festival and the ‘Ordinalia Trilogy.’ We shall be partnership working with the secondary school who are bidding for specialist ‘arts’ status. Young people will be involved and ‘given a voice’ at all levels. The importance of this work has already been highlighted by the Cornwall Youth Forum in their recently produced manifesto; we want “ the encouragement and promotion of young people’s arts (visual, dance, music and drama).”