Aberystwyth Arts Centre economic boost

Aberystwyth Arts Centre boosts local economy by £10 million annually

A new report shows that Aberystwyth Arts Centre contributes £10.65 million annually towards the Welsh economy with a growth of 50% over the last five years. It also supports 175 jobs, making it a major player in the creative industry sector.

Aberystwyth Arts Centre, the main regional arts centre for Mid and West Wales and a department of Aberystwyth University, commissioned Cardiff based Econactive to investigate the economic impact of the Centre to update an initial study they prepared in 2004.

The report’s findings show the substantially increased economic impact of the Centre from £5.5million to £10.65 million which now includes the new ‘Creative Hub’ of business units and studios for cultural industry and arts businesses. Employment supported by the Centre has grown by almost 40% within the period.

The report states; “The importance of centres such as Aberystwyth to provide innovative activities to ensure sector development cannot be underestimated. As well as supporting the creative sector, the operations of the Centre contribute strongly towards tourism and education in the region. The Arts Centre is unusual in Wales in that it has a strong artistic programme, but also acts as a popular visitor attraction. Their large number of visitors constitutes good value for public resource in the sector. For example, the National Museums and Galleries of Wales receives around £25m in public subsidy and attracts 1.5m visitors; £15 per visitor. Aberystwyth Arts Centre in its last financial year received public sector subsidies totalling £1m and attracted 700,000 visitors. This equates to around £1.40 per visitor, thus providing good value for public subsidy”.

In addition the Arts Centre’s also generated an estimated £1.1m additional tax revenue annually. This compensates entirely for the public subsidies the Centre receives via Ceredigion County Council, the Arts Council of Wales and Aberystwyth University.

For every £1 of public subsidy, over £10 of economic impact is generated by the Arts Centre, with the vast majority of this impact in the mid‐Wales economy.

Alan Hewson, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre, said:
‘This reports demonstrates the substantial and sustained benefits from investment at the Arts Centre, particularly over the last two years with the building of our multi award winning ‘Creative Units’ project. This investment has more than paid dividends, with the seed funding from the University, Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Assembly Government providing the catalyst for growth, even within a recession. It shows that the creative arts sector is a key agent for delivering economic growth in the current financial climate’.

Copies of the full report are available from the Arts Centre.