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Category Archives: BH Live
Council paid £1m compensation for unfinished Fairfield Halls
EXCLUSIVE: A year-long investigation has uncovered multi-million-pound payments by the council on its arts centre, largely because of the bungled refurbishment managed by Brick by Brick. And it is now suggested some payments may have been unlawful. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
£30m Fairfield Halls project never went to competitive tender
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Brick by Brick’s management of the refurbishment of the Halls has been subject to disputes with at least two leading contractors £3m grant to build an art gallery was diverted to pay for other work – … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mott MacDonald, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Vinci Construction UK Ltd
22 Comments
Directors Murray and Cheesbrough start exodus from council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The director of planning and the borough’s culture chief are to leave Fisher’s Folly – the first top-level departures since the council issued its Section 114 notice. By STEVEN DOWNES Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon’s director of planning, and … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paula Murray, Planning, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Paula Murray, Planning
16 Comments
Arts Council refuses to investigate job losses at Fairfield Halls
Arts correspondent BELLA BARTOCK on the mounting scandal at the council-owned arts venue, where fears grow that it might never reopen The Arts Council has told Inside Croydon that they are powerless to intervene after BHLive, the social enterprise appointed … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Fairfield Halls, Theatre
Tagged Arts Council, BHLive, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour
7 Comments
BHLive laid off Halls staff just days after receiving £2.5m grant
EXCLUSIVE: Our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, on the mounting scandal surrounding the operating company in charge of the Fairfield Halls Within days of being awarded a £2.5million government grant intended to help the arts venues that they operate through the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BH Live, Fairfield Halls
Tagged BHLive, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls
4 Comments
Fairfield Halls operators get £2.5m Arts Council covid grant
BELLA BARTOCK, our socially distanced arts correspondent, on a mystery surrounding a massive government recovery grant BHLive, the operator who runs the Fairfield Halls on behalf of Croydon Council, has received a £2.5million grant under the government’s Culture Recovery Fund … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Fairfield Halls, Theatre
Tagged BHLive, Chris Symons, Fairfield Halls
1 Comment
5 Croydon arts groups win covid grants, but not Fairfield Halls
The government and Arts Council England yesterday handed out £257million to 1,385 arts and cultural venues and companies around the country. Five of the recipients are based in Croydon. But not a penny of the Cultural Recovery Fund has been … Continue reading
Culture is worth £5.5bn to London economy, says Arts Council
The impact on the local economy of the continuing closure of the Fairfield Halls is hinted at in a report published today by Arts Council England which reckons that arts and culture contributed £5.5billion to London in 2018, supporting 67,075 … Continue reading
BHLive starts redundancy process for staff at Fairfield Halls
There have been unconfirmed reports that BHLive, the Bournemouth-based operators in charge of running the council-owned Fairfield Halls, have this week begun making their full-time employees in Croydon redundant. According to BHLive insiders, the move could see the Fairfield Halls … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Oliver Lewis
Tagged BHLive, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Oliver Lewis
5 Comments
Virus sees council turn Fairfield into a £43m rehearsal space
Our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, reports on how the council has belatedly come up with a handful of measures to see the Fairfield Halls at least partially come out of its covid-induced ‘hibernation’ A month after the venue management laid … Continue reading
Fears grow at Fairfield Halls over operator’s unsigned lease
The Fairfield Halls may be in “hibernation” until next year because of coronavirus, but Croydon Council is now facing another crisis over its ill-fated £43million refurbishment project, with growing fears that the company appointed to manage the arts complex could … Continue reading
Croydon in crisis: Contractors in £9m row over Fairfield Halls
EXCLUSIVE: The council’s blundering house-builders Brick by Brick face the threat of a multi-million-pound legal action in a payments dispute over the refurbishment of the town centre’s arts venue. By STEVEN DOWNES The building contractors who carried out the refurbishment … Continue reading
80 casual staff laid off as Fairfield Halls goes ‘into hibernation’
EXCLUSIVE: Our unfurloughed arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, on dark times for Croydon’s major arts venue Fairfield Halls’ casual staff, who have been furloughed since the arts venue closed its doors for the coronavirus lockdown in March, have been told that … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Fairfield Halls, Neil Chandler, Theatre, Timothy Godfrey
Tagged Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls
4 Comments
Facing uncertain future, Fairfield Halls returns all its pianos
The Fairfield Halls had the removal men in yesterday – taking away the arts venue’s pianos. Inside Croydon understands that the pianos – nine in total, including two grand pianos – have been returned to their makers after the venue … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Music, Neil Chandler, Oliver Lewis, Theatre
Tagged BHLive, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, coronavirus, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, Neil Chandler, Phoenix Pianos
7 Comments
Culture deals with covid-19 without making a song and dance
The sense of doom and gloom caused by the covid-19 pandemic had well and truly taken hold of London by the middle of last week. There was a dark humour about the place reflected by the public address system at … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Cinema, Croydon Bach Choir, Croydon Male Voice Choir, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, David Lean Cinema Campaign, Fairfield Halls, Music, Talawa Theatre Company, Theatre, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Croydon Council, Croydon Male Voice Choir, David Lean Cinema, Fairfield Halls, London Borough of Croydon, Save the David Lean Campaign, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon
1 Comment
Big claim lands Fairfield Halls in bother with Authority
In the latest embarrassing blow for the council-owned arts centre, the Fairfield Halls has received a warning from the Advertising Standards Authority over repeatedly making misleading and false claims to be “south London’s biggest arts centre”. The official reproach ought … Continue reading
Posted in BH Live, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London, Tony Newman
5 Comments
Seconds out: Operator hopes wrestling will boost Fairfield Halls
EXCLUSIVE: The art venue’s director quit in a dispute over dumbing down of its programme in a bid to boost ticket sales, reports BELLA BARTOCK, who has discovered that BHLive are recruiting for Neil Chandler’s replacement, but offering a lesser … Continue reading
Fairfield Halls needs to be more London, and less Bournemouth
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Could Brit Awards-winner Stormzy help to save the Fairfield Halls? Following Inside Croydon’s exclusive news report yesterday that Neil Chandler, the venue’s artistic director, had quit amid growing concerns about poor audiences in the first six months since … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BH Live, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Music, Neil Chandler, Theatre
Tagged BHLive, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Neil Chandler, Stormzy
6 Comments
Fairfield Halls director quits less than six months after opening
EXCLUSIVE: A £42.6m white elephant without its mahout? Our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, reports on the most dramatic of exits from the Fairfield Halls Neil Chandler has left the building. The Fairfield Halls’ venue and artistic director has left his … Continue reading
‘Lack of trust’ sees arts venue selling just 26% of tickets
With the Fairfield Halls refurbishment costs now confirmed as £42.6m, and still rising, the venue is struggling to win back its audiences, as KEN LEE reports The costs of refurbishing the Fairfield Halls rose by another £1.6million in just five … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Jo Negrini, Neil Chandler, Sean Fitzsimons
Tagged BH Live, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Jo Negrini, Labour, Leila Ben-Hassel, London Borough of Croydon, Neil Chandler, Sean Fitzsimons
10 Comments
Croydon is named London’s ‘Borough of Culture’ for 2023
Croydon has been named London Borough of Culture for 2023. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, announced the decision at City Hall this morning. The “prize” is an additional £1.35million funding from the Mayor towards the borough’s cultural programme. At … Continue reading
Posted in Amy Lamé Limited, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Dance, Fairfield Halls, Mayor of London, Music, Sadiq Khan, Theatre, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon Council, Labour, London, London Assembly, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Oliver Lewis, Sadiq Khan, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Newman plays a numbers game and exposes his short-comings
Could a Town Hall chamber boast by the bungling council leader have managed to reveal that the Fairfield Halls’ prestigious panto struggled to sell tickets? Oh yes it did… Our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, reports Tony Newman gets yet another … Continue reading
Posted in Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Comedy, Dance, Fairfield Halls, Music, Neil Chandler, Theatre, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Private Eye, Tony Newman
2 Comments
Newman fails to deny that Fairfield Halls bill has reached £60m
The refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls could end up costing Croydon’s Council Tax-payers £60million – or even more. And there are fears within the town’s arts circles that BH Live, the events and management firm brought in by venue owners … Continue reading
Posted in Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Tony Newman, Tory
7 Comments
After £41m+ spend: art centre has no gallery space for art
An arts society formed in the borough 150 years ago faces an uncertain future as it has emerged that after spending more than £41m on refurbishing the Fairfield Halls, in a display of incompetence stunning even by Croydon’s usual standards, … Continue reading
Posted in Arnhem Gallery, Art, BH Live, Chris Clark, Community associations, Croydon Art Society, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray
Tagged Chris Clark, Croydon Art Society, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Tony Newman
6 Comments
We went to the Fairfield. It will be a while before we go again
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The re-opening of the Fairfield Halls last week, after a refurbishment that took nearly four years and cost £41million, has met with some decidedly lukewarm reactions from Croydon residents and theatre-goers. Here reader DICK BUDGEN gives his first … Continue reading
