Increased income and footfall have turned around the fortunes of Barnard Castle’s popular arts centre.
The Witham’s annual meeting heard income for 2024 was up almost £100,000 on the previous year to £525,700, and the deficit had shrunk by £7,500 to £16,400.
Liz Bromley, chairwoman of the trustees, said: “The best news I can report on for 2024 is the simply terrific growth trajectory that The Witham has seen in its core activity and in its levels of engagement within our community of Barnard Castle.”
Income generated by events went up by £41,500 over the year and the number of shows grew from 91 in 2023 to 126 in 2024.
Average ticket prices increased from £13.54 to £16.89.
Ms Bromley said: “Bigger and better shows can command a higher price.”
Over the year, attendance grew by 7,000 to 32,000, of which 21,000 came to live performances, screenings and films.
The chairwoman said: “Our café and bar sales increased by £31,000 – a 16 per cent increase on last year – reflecting the increase in volume and price which were necessary to reflect the rises in relation to food ingredients and higher wages for our excellent staff.
“All of this data shows the effort of the small, highly professional team that not only keeps The Witham running, but is constantly reviewing practice and coming up with bright new ideas to broaden our appeal.”
About 30 people attended the annual meeting at the centre on Monday, July 7, a dramatic increase on previous years where only two or three members of the public would attend.
Centre director Amy Hughes was thrilled with the turnout.
She said: “It is the most we have had yet and their comments were really positive which was nice to hear. It gives us hope for the future. We are moving forward.”
She added that the centre had had a lot more public exposure through its online presence which had led to a positive response from the public.
Since the appointment of a social media co-ordinator in June 2024, the centre’s Facebook views reached over one million while its Instagram was reaching 29,300 unique accounts.
Ms Bromley in her report said: The real impact of this social media activity in terms of reaching new audiences, taking feedback from our visitors, and advertising all our activities has been proved by a significantly improved footfall.”
She concluded: “Our centre director and her small team have taken the business forward with enthusiasm, commitment and sheer hard work.”
