ALTON Assembly Rooms will next Thursday host a meeting of the electors of Alton, called by six electors under the Local Government Act 1972, to discuss the future of the building.

The electors want Alton Town Council to reconsider its decision to employ Alton Community Association to take over the running of the Assembly Rooms “until the electors and users of the Assembly Rooms have been publicly consulted”.

And they move that “Alton Town Council does not enter into any agreements with Alton Community Association until it has presented a business and marketing plan to the electors which demonstrates how it will improve and better the income of the Assembly Rooms as it currently is under the council’s own management system”.

But it may be too late. The authority agreed at a full council meeting on February 10 to enter into an operating contract with Alton Community Association to provide caretaking, booking and marketing services for the Assembly Rooms. And as The Herald went to press on Wednesday, the town council was due to review the legal agreement and receive an update on the implementation plan.

In clarifying the situation, the town council has confirmed that Alton Community Association is to be paid a fee, agreed annually and paid monthly, to provide a booking agent service, supply staff for the Assembly Rooms, and provide marketing services to promote the venue as a hiring facility. The fee for year one (from April 1) is expected to be in the region of £23,000, subject to contract and inclusive of all staffing costs.

In addition, there is to be a revenue share agreement for any income generated which exceeds an agreed threshold level which will act as an incentive to increase bookings at the venue.

While in no way undermining the tremendous wok of Alton Community Association, the big question appears to be whether the Assembly Rooms is a community asset, paid for by the tax payer and without pressure to make a profit. And over the loss of a popular manager who many believe has brought “flair and energy” to the running of the facility.

Alton Town Council confirms that the Assembly Rooms is indeed a community asset, owned and managed by the town council on behalf of the people of Alton. The Grade II Listed building currently costs the public purse between £20,000 and £30,000 per year to run, including the cost of maintenance, and has done for the last 15 years.

According to the town council, it has tried for many years to reduce this burden on the public purse. Different business models have been applied, but to no avail. A collaborative arrangement with Alton Community Association is seen as the best way forward.

The community association was approached to take on the challenge by the town council as it already had a computerised bookings system and was already hiring rooms at the Assembly Rooms. A number of hirers already use both sites so are familiar with the staff and the service they provide.

Also, Alton Community Association is already supported by the town council by way of grant funding in recognition of its charitable endeavours and of services provided to the town.

Councillors felt “it would be of greater benefit to the community to pay a local charity that has been in the town for more than 40 years to run the facility, than an outside third party or a commercial operator who might restrict community use”.

With different room sizes, the new arrangement will give customers more choice and it is envisaged the use of the Assembly Rooms will increase as a result of the collaboration.

Alton Community Association will be actively marketing the venue as a hiring facility to both existing and new customers, and the revenue share incentive scheme should ensure that proactive marketing is rewarded through additional income for both parties.

Only income generated from venue hire will go to the town council. Any third party, including Alton Community Association, wishing to hire the venue to stage events would pay the town council for room hire but would retain their own ticket sales or monies generated by the event.

The town council will continue to use the Assembly Rooms to meet its own needs but, if booked, would approach Alton Community Association for use of one of its rooms or look further afield.

All current regular hirers of the Assembly Rooms have been notified in writing by the town council of the new arrangements with Alton Community Association and to confirm that their current bookings will not be affected, their terms of hiring will remain unchanged, and at the current agreed hiring rate.

Alton Community Association will be contacting all these clients individually over the next few weeks to discuss with them their hiring arrangements going forward, which will include set up and break down and any requirements specific to their particular use of the Assembly Rooms, to ensure there are no changes in the service level offered, facilitating a smooth transition on April 1.

There are a number of events planned at the Assembly Rooms during 2016. Those which are run by third parties will be unaffected by the changes, but the town council will no longer be running the Alton Teddy Bear Festival, Alton Comic Con, and the Vintage Fair and Tea Room. Discussions are ongoing to try to secure third-party hirers to stage these three events, so they remain on the town events calendar.

Of the four members of staff currently employed at the Assembly Rooms, a statutory TUPE consultation is currently under way to establish whether any or all will be automatically transferred over from the town council to Alton Community Association as part of the agreement.

The meeting of electors starts 7pm at Alton Assembly Rooms on Thursday, March 10.