Leisure fund ‘perplexing’

Press, 1 July 1983, Page 1

Leisure fund ‘perplexing’

Funding of a summer programme organised by the Christchurch City Council has drawn strong opposition from Christchurch arts bodies. Three arts organisations have described the $125,000 budgeted for the seven-week leisure programme as “both disturbing and perplexing.” The management of the Christchurch Arts Centre, the Christchurch Festival, the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Court Theatre met yesterday and released a joint statement opposing the funding.

“This proposal raises serious questions about the method of local body funding for leisure activities,” they said. In 1983 the Court Theatre received no local body support and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and < the festival $20,000 between them through the Metropolitan Grants Committee. Of that grant, the Christchurch Festival would receive a total of $5OOO, said the festival director, Mr ! Ray Sleeman. The City ' Council would contribute ■ $2500.

The organisations emphasise that they do not oppose the summer programme itself, but its close proximity to the Christchurch Festival, scheduled for next March, and the level of the council’s expenditure. The chairman of the City Council’s parks and recreation committee, Cr Noala Massey, said last evening that the summer programme was not intended as competition for any other programme. “It saddens me that the

arts groups have taken this attitude,” she said. The council’s programme, which still had no name — “we are looking for something that suggests Christchurch, leisure and recreation” — would concentrate on leisure and recreation, mainly outdoors, said Cr Massey. The council’s recreation officers were looking for input from community groups as to what would be included in the festival.

“I see it as mainly outdoor activities. I am not saying that the arts won’t be included — it would be marvellous to have something like outdoor theatre — but the emphasis is on recreation,” Cr Massey said. The parks and recreation committee would be more than happy to meet the arts organisations to discuss the content of the summer programme, she said. It was hoped that the programme would run from November to March.

The aim of the programme was to provide recreation activities for people of all ages. Funding for the programme had been approved by a full meeting of the council, she said.

Mr Sleeman said last evening that the summer programme would not be using the city’s main venues, whereas the festival would be “pouring money straight back into the city coffers” through its use of the Town Hall and other venues.

“Last year the festival was granted $lO,OOO from the council, when there was no festival at all and other bodies have been affected with cutbacks in funds, and yet the council suddenly

come out with all this money for its own leisure programme." he said.

“Shouldn't it be supporting those professional groups such as the Court Theatre which they use in promoting the city? “They say the theatre is one of the only successful professional theatres in the country, yet they give it nothing." Although the council has budgeted for $125,000 for the summer programme, much of this will be subsidised by the Labour Department. In outlining the funding in the draft proposal of the programme, the Parks and Recreation Department said that $20,000 would come from the council, $lO,OOO from the Local Recreation and Community Development Scheme and it would be looking for sponsorship for much of the funding.

“If the festival got $30,000 we would be laughing," said Mr Sleeman.

He thought that Christchurch businesses would get confused by so many different organisations asking for sponsorship. “The festival has to rely on sponsorship for most of its funding as there is no other income, and we will end up in competition with the council. We are in greater need of the money than the summertime programme,” he said.