Vivacity to increase investment in Peterborough art and culture despite drop in service use

Vivacity is the independent, not-for-profit organisation with charitable status that manages many of Peterborough’s most popular culture and leisure venues on behalf of Peterborough City Council.

Speaking to members of the members of the council’s Growth, Environment and Resources Scrutiny Committee at their meeting this week, Peter Appleton, CEO of Vivacity, said: “The decline is mostly due to over-saturation of our leisure facilities, especially the fitness centre in Werrington where we have lost the use during daytime.

“We also have an ageing stock and fierce competition now in the fitness sector in what was an already saturated marketplace.

“Couple that with the ongoing effects of COVID-19 and we simply don’t know what numbers we will be looking at by the end of the year, so we have taken the precaution of predicting a decline of this magnitude.

“That said, Vivacity still equates to some £600 million of social value for the services we provide and we hope to increase our input into art, culture and music in the coming year as well overseeing the expansion of the museum of Peterborough.”

Cllr Angus Ellis said: “I am pleased that you are saying Vivacity will increase its support of culture in the city because as far as I can determine from your report there is no funding for culture in Peterborough. Can you explain that please?”

Adrian Chapman, council service director for communities and safety, said: “I think that is very unfair of you councillor as we have only recently invested a lot of time and effort into regenerating the library management system in the city which is now strongly supported by some 4,400 volunteer hours that have been invaluable in keeping for example the Summer Reading Challenge going, as well as the Year of Reading competition.

“In addition, we’ve organised 120 disabled people who participated in a range of activities as part of the Inclusive Sports Day at the athletics track, and family film days and evenings with silver screenings which have attracted a whole new audience to the Key Theatre for affordable cinema.”

Mr Appleton added: “Don’t forget the 30,000 people who attended the 2019 Heritage Festival, not to mention the more than 5,500 people who came to our Vivacity Health and Wellbeing Rehabilitation classes for stroke, cardiac and respiratory rehabilitation.”

Cllr John Fox asked: “If you are doing so many things then why do you say that there is an overall decline in your services likely to be around two per cent over the year in the report, rising to a possible 10 per cent?”

Mr Appleton replied: “As we’ve seen the decline is mostly due to stronger than expected competition from the private sector in the fitness region where companies are now offering better equipment, more modern equipment with much more flexible membership opportunities – some of which, because of our commitments to venues that we use, we simply cannot compete with.

“There have also been significant increases in staff costs over the past year coupled with the increases in operating costs of the venues we use – all of which adds up.

“During 2019, Vivacity and the trade unions agreed to pull away from the national pay award structure and determine pay locally from 2020/21, establishing an Employee Consultative Forum as the collective mechanism for consultation and negotiation.”

Cllr Jon Fox also said: “What about the Lido, is it making a profit yet?”. Mr Chapman replied: “No, unfortunately the Lido doesn’t make a profit yet. When the weather is not so good it has no turnover at all, and ironically when the weather is very hot – as we had last year – the perception of over-capacity actually kept people away when we could’ve accommodated more swimmers and families.”

Members received the report, commenting that it hoped the relationship between Vivacity and the city council could ‘weather the storm’ and with more investment aim towards an independent Vivacity in five years’ time.

Robert Alexander, Local Democracy Reporting Service