Relief and joy at arts centre pledge
Maidenhead: Norden Farm chief welcomes council funding promise
Norden Farm’s chief executive Jane Corry hassaid she was ‘over the moon’ after the council leader pledged to offer the venue ‘no less than £115,000’ in next year’s budget.
The Royal Borough came under fire last year for initially proposing not to give the Altwood Road arts venue any cash as part of its 2022/23 budget.
A petition by the Public Campaign for the Arts group was launched with support from Theresa May MP, who also voiced her public concern over the council’s decision.
The Royal Borough eventually U-turned and decided to include
Norden Farm in its budget, giving it £115,000 to help keep its doors open following rising pressure to take action.
Cllr Andrew Johnson (Con, Hurley and Walthams), the leader of the council, this week announced that he will propose that the arts centre gets no less than this figure in the 2023/24 budget, which will come into force from April next year.
The Conservative leader was present at Norden Farm’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday, November 7, where he announced his commitment to support the charity.
“A pleasure to attend the AGM of Norden Farm Centre Trust last week and hear further detail about their exciting plans for the future,” Cllr Johnson said on Twitter.
“I was also pleased to confirm at the AGM that I will be proposing Norden Farm receives no less than last year’s RBWM funding of £115,000 for 2023/24.”
In response to the leader’s announcement, Jane Corry, chief executive at the arts centre, said she was ‘over the moon’.
“It was just a huge sigh of relief,” she said.
“It has not been voted on by the council yet but to have the leader say ‘yes, we believe in you’ means a huge amount to us.
“We were over the moon to hear about that.”
Jane added: “We could not manage without their funding – it is absolutely crucial to us. Even with the money, we have still got a funding gap like everybody else and our bills are going up.
“Everything is more expensive and we share that with everybody else and the money is essential for us to keep our doors open.”
At the AGM, Norden Farm members reviewed the previous financial year and looked ahead to the future, which involves a collaboration with The Curve community centre in Slough.
The Maidenhead venue has received nearly £1million in funding from Arts Council England – spread over three years – to support art provision at the Slough centre.
Jane said that ‘lots of things still need to happen’ as the charity starts its new partnership with its Berkshire neighbour, which will see more shows offered to audiences after Slough Borough Council’s financial troubles put a strain on resources there.
Independent third party consultants tasked with reviewing Norden Farm’s finances were also at the AGM.
“They underlined that the funding from the council is absolutely essential – having a third party share that view was helpful to see that Norden Farm is a well run arts charity and delivers a lot for its size,” Jane said.