Vision

‘ To provide an imaginative and broadly-based provision for the arts, to encourage interest in and care for the
  local heritage and to widen and deepen local cultural perspectives.’

Goals

• To develop a distinctive cultural and artistic profile across the South West that would encourage and enhance
  cultural tourism in the area
• To provide improved facilities for local arts, drama and music groups in Tiverton
• To present Tiverton as an ideal home base for a touring professional theatrical group that would perform
  locally in the main tourist season.

Principles

• Provision of wide opportunities for youngsters to participate in imaginative scenarios and activities is an
  important aspect of their development into adults
• Provision of local entertainment, including mobile ‘in-house’ entertainment, is important for the elderly and for   disabled people
• Tiverton’s heritage and local talent provide distinctiveness in the area that should be part of the basis of
  sustainable development.

Values

• The heritage and culture of the area is valued
• The natural beauty of the area is valued
• The talents of local people to harness this heritage, culture and natural beauty in terms of artisti    selfexpression is valued.

Strategies

• To identify and evaluate existing facilities for heritage, arts and culture
• To identify where facilities are limited or absent
• To examine how provision might be made to rectify limitations identified
• To examine site locations if the need for further facilities are identified.

Projects

• The Community Multipurpose Arts and Performing Arts Centre will provide for an identified need for flexibly-     sized, appropriately equipped facilities in Tiverton in an economically sustainable building. To encourage full   community use of the building, the facilities will provide opportunities for sustainable income generation.   Special emphasis will be given to encouraging creative development in children and young people, working   closely with Tiverton High School, which has Visual Arts status, the needs of patients attending Tiverton   hospital in terms of visual and drama-based therapy, and attracting an innovative and distinctive   entertainment organisation interested in working with schools to be based at the centre. This project fulfils an   identified need among local art and performing art societies for a venue where they can rehearse, store their   equipment and perform/exhibit. The standard of the facility should complement and match the standard of the   heritage provision at Tiverton Museum.
• The Merchants Trail promotes the historic heritage of Tiverton through a recreational and educational walk   through the town. The trail will be marked by bronze medallions with ten designs related to the woollen   industry and information provided on five panels and on leaflets. The trail will provide an educational aid for
  local schools, the ten designs on the medallions offering opportunities for research by children.
• The Arts Website promotes and supports visual and performing events in the area.

Our vision is to broaden the appeal, and make accessible for all, the wide variety of Performing Arts that are
available in Mid Devon. We want the range of Arts to increase and to raise the profile and people’s awareness
of what Art is around them. We want the Performing Arts in Mid Devon to flourish and to capture the
imagination of many people; insofar that it becomes an important part of the lives of people of all ages. We
believe this can be accomplished, and can reach and be accessed by all communities in Mid Devon.

The aim of our group is to build on this vision, to develop the concept of and to achieve a purpose-built,
multi-functional and substantial centre in Tiverton where the arts can be celebrated in all its forms. The
building will unite existing expressions of the performing and visual arts in Mid Devon under one roof and
become an attractive venue for new forms of art and touring companies. It will provide a performance area
that can accommodate an audience of 500 people, have practical and flexible smaller performance areas,
storage and office space, and provide café or restaurant facilities.

We have the full support of the majority of existing organisations and societies in Mid Devon who have
supplied us with written statements highlighting the crucial need for our goal.

We have also had meetings with representatives from many agencies and have galvanised a wide body of
like-minded thinking and support, including:
Mid Devon District Council
South West Arts Council
East Devon College
Tiverton High School
English Partnership
Tiverton Town Council
All have highlighted the current gap in provision and strongly agree with and support the need for such a
facility in Mid Devon. Talks have been held with Planning Officers from M.D.D.C to discuss potential sites in
Tiverton and these sites have been short listed in priority order to meet the demands that the structure will
make. It has to be said that suitable sites are rare. Discussions are still ongoing.

Members of the Focus Group have visited Performing Arts Centres around the country in order to fact-find
relevant information including issues around sustainability, usage, publicity and local support. This has been
enormously helpful in terms of defining and refining our vision and by providing practical and real examples
of successful and thriving centres.

Discussions have also taken place regarding the creation of a Web site that provides all the information
anyone needs in order to access concerts and participate in the arts. We hope this will reach members of the
community who otherwise fail to learn about Visual and Performing Arts events in the area, and enable them
to participate and enjoy them. We are working with the ICT Focus group on this project.

We are supporting a town trail researched and led by Tiverton Civic Society, in partnership with the Tiverton
Museum of Mid Devon Life. This brings to life the woollen industry of the fifteenth to eighteenth century, on
which Tiverton’s prosperity was built, through the buildings, monuments and names in the centre of the
town. Tiverton’s woollen kersey cloth was produced in numerous mills along the rivers Lowman and Exe, and
was famous across Europe. Kerseys were exported through the port of Topsham to the Low Countries, and
were the basis of many fortunes. The Trail will be developed with the Town Enhancement Scheme, and will
have an important educational and tourism element to it.
Richard Holmes, October 2006