Council look to commission consultants to advise on future delivery model for Tŷ Pawb

Wrexham Council are looking to commission a consultant to provide a series of short advisory reports covering Wrexham’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2029 and incorporating the future delivery model for Tŷ Pawb.

Three written reports will be produced in total, and the completed reports will need to be presented with a summary PowerPoint presentation to decision-makers and take questions as part of the max £11k project.

The council’s documentation notes how the aim of the work is to “inform and guide the future of arts and cultural services in the city of Wrexham, including the UK City of Culture 2029 bid campaign incorporating Tŷ Pawb”.

The three elements of the output will include:

Report 1 – Roadmap for setting up a cultural trust to deliver Wrexham’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2029.
This detailed report will identify the step by step process required for setting up a cultural trust to develop and deliver Wrexham’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2029. This report will function as an operational roadmap for the City of Culture Executive Group.

Report 2 – Options Appraisal on future delivery models for Tŷ Pawb
This report will detail a thorough options appraisal on future delivery models for Tŷ Pawb. It will consider remaining ‘in-house’ as part of Wrexham County Borough Council and options for moving to an externally operated model.

Report 3 – Action Plan on how Tŷ Pawb could be integrated into the aforementioned cultural trust in future

The deadline for those bidding for the project is January 3rd.

Considering the opening for the work has only just been advertised there appears to be very tight turnaround to appoint a consultant, do the research and then deliver the work as all three final reports must be received by the council by Friday 24th February 2023 with a firm note, “There is no capacity within the project plan for slippage in regards to this date”.

The idea of a cultural trust to deliver and run the City of Culture bid is not new, with some detail emerging back in September.

Although not referenced in the selection of links to inform prospective bidders, the topic of delivery models for the council’s Tŷ Pawb facility has been assessed historically by consultants before.

The facility in the former People’s Market was set to be handed over to a local cultural trust or similar external operator ahead of its opening in April 2018 as consultants warned that it would be hindered by red tape if under council management.

However back in 2017 the council’s executive board voted in favour of keeping Tŷ Pawb under council control for at least three years – with issues surrounding state aid and procurement legislation cited at the time as potential barriers to having the facility operated by a local trust.

Despite the reassurances that the Fourth Street business plan would be adhered to under the council’s control, just 18 months later a new business plan was created.

In 2021 it was noted that due to pandemic delays there was now  a “…priority of the advisory board to consider the future governance of Tŷ Pawb during this year; and to make recommendations to Wrexham Council regarding this by April 2022”.

In July of this year councillors examined the progress of the centre, with that report viewable here alongside the current operational plan, which noted “It is essential for Ty Pawb to strengthen its business model by adopting an integrated business approach before considering an alternative delivery model. The original plan dates 2019 – 2024 indicated that various delivery models with the potential of independence from WCBC would be considered within three years. The onset of Covid has impacted this greatly, and it is our belief that recovery and growth needs to happen before we consider an alternative delivery mechanism.”

That report gives an indication to the timeline that is in operation, “It is now anticipated that a priority of the Advisory Board to consider the future Governance of Tŷ Pawb during this year (23/24); and to make recommendations to Wrexham Council regarding this by April 2024.”

Those interested in consulting on the project can contact Wrexham Council.

(Wrexham Council linkrot: Due to WCBC changing how reports are hosted, some old articles have links to wrexhamg.gov.uk’s ‘moderngov‘ subdomain that no longer work. Reports can still be accessed by viewing meeting calendars around the dates of articles and hunting backwards from there.)