(1) The Benefit to the Public
The Jazzitoria plans to utilise a listed building* near to the centre of Croydon next to Surrey Street market. This will save a derelict building and ensure maintenance and upkeep of a local historic landmark. The enhancement will add to the variety of existing public amenities and the country would benefit from having a co-ordinating body for New Orleans, Dixieland and Traditional jazz. The site is ideally situated to accommodate the disabled since a car park is adjacent and space is available within the confines of the property. The building has a ready access from the ground floor without the need to ascend flights of steps. Modifications to obtain easy entry will need to be carried out.
(* Croydon has given planning approval to Headway Property Initiatives Ltd for the building - a castle-like water pumping station - to be turned into a pub.) (Croydon Advertiser 5/7/96). The Jazzitoria will therefore have to look elsewhere to site its dream castle. We give ourselves praise for speeding up action to be taken to renovate this unsightly building.
(2) The Long Term Effect on Financial Stability
The finances of the Jazzitoria have been stable since the time of formation. All expenditure, including formation expenses and other related expenditure, such as the purchase of equipment for the 8 year old publication Kings Jazz Review have been met by the directors and publishers. At present all activity in the Jazzitoria is on a voluntary, unpaid basis. There are no staff costs. Financial control would be exercised by the company Secretary and the Financial Director. Provision of the grant will create a capital base for a number of activities which will be at least self-financing. It is planned that the Jazz Castle, as it will become known, will be put to a number of uses aimed at capturing sufficient revenue for this purpose.
(3) The Amount of Partnership Funding
We envisage partnership funding will come from the Local Authority, and other sources as Croydon Council have in the main expressed interest in our proposal. However such funding will only be forthcoming if the Arts Council, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and
the Millennium Commission accept our proposals.
(4) The Quality of Design and Construction
Although neglected over recent years, the main structure of the suggested building remains sound. It is a solidly-built construction of brick and stone in the mid-nineteenth church style erected in the year of the Great Exhibition and has functioned as a water pumping station for many years. Once we have been able to contact the present developers and inspect the interior of the building we will be in a position to consider the feasibility of adaptation to the purpose we envisage. We are pleased to comply with the preservation orders relating to its exterior and interior, and an approach to the National Heritage Memorial Fund for additional support is envisaged.
We would obtain the best advice and make use of the best methods for refurbishment and adaptation. We have already been in touch with ADAPT and the Centre for Accessible Environments. We would envisage using, preferentially local architects, trades and crafts people where necessary. The local art college, for example, would be approached to provide designs for new stained glass windows to replace those on the ground floor.The site is large enough to accommodate the castle-like structure as applied for in our Millennium Commission application for up to £50m and further investigation to adding an annex to the building will be pursued.
(5) The Quality of Artistic Activities
It is our intention that the building should function as the nerve centre for New Orleans, Dixieland and Traditional jazz in the UK, at least until such time that the regional centres can be developed. The concert hall area would be used for professional jazz artists. Terms would be arranged on the basis that they devoted some of their time to teaching young and less experienced players. Rehearsal rooms would be available for teaching purposes, and the staging of concerts for newly formed bands and international competitions. Accommodation would be made available for touring bands.
(6) The Relevance to Local, Regional and National Plans for the Arts
As far as we are aware there are no national plans specifically for the advancement of New Orleans, Dixieland and Traditional jazz. That is one reason why we envisage the Jazzitoria providing the appropriate focus and springboard. As far as national plans for the arts in general are concerned, we envisage the Jazzitoria would provide the necessary input to fill the gap. The foregoing comments apply equally to regional and local plans. As far as regional plans are concerned, we aim to organise regional contact points throughout the UK for the exchange of information, notification of events, arranging and exchanging publicity material and the distribution of the Jazzitoria journal (Kings Jazz Review) on a commercial basis. Initially regional responsibilities will be undertaken by the five Directors of the Jazzitoria, each of whom will be responsible for establishing and developing contact points in an allocated region of the UK. Since there are some 650 clubs all over the country this will mean an average initial responsibility of 130 for each Director. In due course we would see the necessity for staff employed at the Castle, probably on a part time basis to assist with administrative and other tasks.The local scene would be handled by two of the Directors who live in Croydon.We would not preclude our structure making itself the use for the development of other arts and crafts, clubs and activities as a secondary role in order to link our activity to a national plan for the arts in general.
(7) The Contribution of Artists and Crafts People
We would give preference to local artists and crafts people in any necessary design and refurbishment work. Should they not be available locally, the London and South East regions would be the secondary source. Interest would be stimulated by publicising and the running of design competitions for logos, banners, posters, publicity material, stained glass, murals, interior decoration and joinery. We would ensure that up-to-date access methods are made available for the disabled. Visual recording of our art form has been sadly neglected over the years. We have however, produced one successful tape recording of a local band ourselves, but the main recording label for artists in our field is Lake Records of Cumbria, who have produced several notable albums with top artists, Ken Colyer, Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Monty Sunshine, Sonny Morris, Phil Mason, Chris Blount and are now covering lesser known, up and coming artists, with No 57 Compact Disc being their latest.
(8) The Quality of Plans for Education and Marketing
One of the prime functions of the Castle will be to stimulate interest audience development and participation throughout the country. A number of musicians already teach their instruments in schools and this will be developed throughout our network. We plan to do this through printed publicity, advertisements, telephone communications and fax, and principally through the setting up of a Local Area Network (LAN) computer system for rapid transmission of information and links to the Internet to attract international interest. We shall learn enormously from the experience of America's Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society formed because they became conscious of the need to preserve America's national music culture which was showing signs of severe neglect and decline. Their 16th Annual San Diego, USA, Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival was reported by an English visitor as being an excellent event, co-incidentally, so too was the 16th Traditional Jazz Festival, Leatherhead, Surrey.
There is a wealth of talent about on both sides of the Atlantic which we can draw upon to cater for this
No 8 criterion.
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