image: The exterior of the completed La Scala Arts Center. Image courtesy of Burrell Foley Fisher.
Scala, a new arts centre on Angel Street in Worcester, aims to bring people together to make the city a more creative and inspiring place to live and enrich people's lives.
The aims are set out in a draft business plan drawn up by Worcester City Council officials and the Creative Consortium, a group of local arts, cultural and creative organisations.
The business plan, which will be discussed by the city council's policy and resources committee on July 30, outlines how Scala
A space for anyone wanting to inspire or be inspired by creativity, the new arts centre will host live events as well as independent film, visual arts, a range of interactive creative activities, and educational outreach and development programmes.
In addition to these cultural elements, Scala, which will be created in the former Scala Cinema and Corn Exchange building on Angel Street, will be supported by two commercial activities: food and beverage provision and the letting of the new venue to third parties.
The creative consortium that helped develop the business plan
They include Worcester's leading arts, cultural and creative organisations – Dancefest, Severn Arts, C&T, The Kiln, Mobilise Arts and Vestan – and their skills cover a wide range of art forms and creative practices, as well as extensive knowledge of Worcester, most of which are expected to be closely associated with Scala when it opens.
Councillor Lynne Denham, leader of the city council and chair of the policy and resources committee, said: “We are very proud of the collaborative approach we took in developing the proposed business plan for Scala. Thanks to the Creative Consortium's hard work, talent and expertise, we now have a strategy to create a successful, lasting new arts centre that doesn't compete with existing entertainment in Worcester but brings something new to the city of Worcester.”
The refurbishment of the two buildings on Angel Street has been made possible by part of the £17.9 million secured by Worcester City Council from the previous administration's Future High Streets Fund.
The city council will not be allowed to use any of its funds to cover La Scala's running costs once it opens, so one of the key principles of the proposed business plan is to create a sustainable operating model for the new arts centre.
The Policy and Resources Committee meets on Tuesday 30 July and will be asked to approve the business plan, as well as to set up a charitable organisation (CIO) to run the arts centre once it opens.
Planning permission for the refurbishment of the former Scala cinema and Corn Exchange buildings was granted in March this year. The council is currently in the process of appointing a contractor to carry out the works, with a decision expected to be made in September.
