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WYESIDE AWARDED INVESTORS IN PEOPLE STATUS
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Wyeside Arts Centre in Builth Wells has become only the third performing arts centre in Wales to achieve Investors in People status; a national scheme that rewards and supports best practice in business improvement through people. Working in partnership with businesses Investors In People “helps organisations and people throughout the UK to improve their productivity and performance and realise their full potential”.
“We’re immensely proud, especially given we have achieved this with very limited resources. We are fighting for survival and I believe the Welsh Assembly Government’s IIP recognition panel were aware of this when they said we deserved this award”, said Guy Roderick, Wyeside’s Director. “They have congratulated us for our commitment, enthusiasm and hard work to achieve this rigorous national standard. We have a fantastic team of paid and volunteer staff working here. Wyeside is an independent voluntary organisation that doesn’t enjoy all of the benefits venues linked to colleges or local authorities do. We can only afford about half the number of staff that a local authority-run venue would have in place to provide the services we do. I think our successes as a team are partly due to the considerable challenges we have had to overcome over the past eight years.”
Not only has the Wyeside been praised for its best practice in financial, business, artistic and people management, it has previously received a very special acknowledgement when Mr Roderick was invited to a reception at Downing Street congratulating the best of the voluntary organisations from around Britain. “There were a lot of us there but I became engrossed in the stunning collection of British paintings on the walls of Number 10. So engrossed with the art I mistook the Prime Minster for a wine waiter when he came up to greet me.”
The Wyeside team is particularly delighted with this prestigious award given it has arrived at a time when questions have been raised about its future. “We have tried to communicate Wyeside’s impending dilemma to our funders for quite some time now, but we have experienced difficulty in establishing a constructive dialogue. For reasons I cannot understand our funders appear to have the wrong facts about Wyeside, but we will press on with our efforts to clarify them.”
The Wyeside is one of the oldest arts centres of its kind in Britain. Its Castle Cinema is the longest-running cinema in Wales. “Films have been screened in the cinema since 1911. There are people in Builth Wells who have been using this cinema for over sixty years. I made sure I spoke to some when we refurbished it because I wanted to maintain some of its original character, hence the reinstated ‘couples’ seats in the back rows, which have proved very popular. Wyeside’s dedicated team have worked incredibly hard for years now to keep this wonderful venue open for the public; they fully deserve this award. The Wyeside is an arts centre of considerable cultural significance and part of Wales’ heritage, it deserves to be supported.”
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Friday, May 4, 2007 |
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