Laurie Bell, CEO of The Cheltenham Trust on leading an organisation from surviving to thriving and further growth
The Cheltenham Trust is an independent charity and the lead provider of culture and leisure in Cheltenham. It manages Pittville Pump Room, the new Heritage Deco orangery cafe, The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham Town Hall, the new Garden Bar orangery, Leisure at Cheltenham and the Prince of Wales stadium and its new sports bar.
As the guardian of much of the town’s heritage, the trust has a major role in sustaining and improving these historic venues and developing them as significant visitor destinations. The adverse impact of the pandemic forced the trust to repurpose its business. It adapted using its premium outdoor spaces launching new outdoor cafes at Pittville Pump Room and the Garden Bar in Imperial Gardens. It was the first time since 1930 that there had been a café at the pump room.
The community response was overwhelmingly positive, attracting more than 521,000 customers in the first 12 months. Both cafes have grown organically from two trestle tables and a temporary marquee, to operating in two temporary deco-style orangery structures. The visitor numbers continue to grow, along with the demand for the trust to continually evolve to meet expectations.
As the CEO of the trust, I learnt so much while leading the organisation through the pandemic. This learning is being channelled into the growth of the organisation as we move towards a sense of normality. Living and operating through crisis tests the strongest of leaders. Leadership of an organisation that has to continually adapt, refocus, take risks and deliver takes resilience, determination, a strong and robust team, and an insurmountable level of positive energy.
There is absolutely no doubt that having the right team, with the right aptitude and skills is paramount. Crisis management doesn’t sit comfortably with a lack of ‘can do’ approach. It needs that tangible willingness to take on whatever is needed to assist the business to survive and recover. I discovered many rising stars and huge potential, and by tapping into this talent we not only managed to survive but to thrive and grow in a new and unforeseen direction.
The unexpected learning for me was the realisation of the value of café culture both for the local community and visitor destinations. Suffice to say café culture is now at the heart of the trust’s revised business model.
An example is the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum that will reopen next April hosting a new vibrant and activity-filled community arts café at its heart, along with a new community art and exhibition gallery and artist studios.
As we make the shift from recovery to a new business model, our focus is the provision of culture, community and commercial to achieve the growth we are projecting and to meet customer expectations.
The combination of culture and cafes is powerful and popular – whether that’s children’s theatre and story time events, live musicians, community choirs, creative workshops, dancing, talks, artisan markets or exclusive afternoon teas accompanied by the Steinway piano – it works.
We also recognise the value that cultural and leisure activities have in helping improve personal health and wellbeing, particularly mental health wellbeing, which after the past 18 months is more important than ever. Next year to aid wellness we are encouraging the exploration of new cultural and leisure experiences to inspire and stimulate the imagination and improve overall wellbeing.
The trust will also host its first festival next June – an American Retro Festival – to mark 80 years since the requisition of the pump room by American troops in World War II. Bringing history to life is proven to engage and broaden awareness and interest. This new two-day festival will help strengthen Cheltenham’s reputation as a festival town and showcase its extraordinary heritage.
As CEO I realise that as we move towards life without COVID-19 we must continue to reinvent, adapt and grasp every opportunity to encourage visitors to enjoy the wonderful venues that I have the privilege to manage.
The trust is on a growth trajectory that is both a huge opportunity and challenge. Leading an organisation from surviving to thriving and further growth needs vision, strategy and delivery. It can only be achieved with the right team that shares the vision and has the passion and tenacity to see it come to fruition. The trust has proven what can be achieved in the darkest and most challenging of times. The vision for the future builds on this achievement to ensure that as the lead provider of cultural and leisure activities, the trust helps position Cheltenham as a destination of choice.
I am looking forward to more normal times. Since 2018 my leadership has been tested through major incident and crisis. As the lead for all communication following the nerve agent Novichok attack in Salisbury and the recent and ongoing pandemic, I gained unprecedented learning. What I’ve realised is that you can adapt, repurpose, review and grow – both as an individual and an organisation!
