The Phoenix is an independent cinema which is uniquely operated by a charitable trust on behalf of the people of North London.
Barker Langham were commissioned to carry some public consultation work within the local community. Our aim was to develop a deeper understanding of the needs of these audiences to underpin the Phoenix Cinema Trust’s proposals for heritage and learning activities – part of their wider building restoration plans.
We initially surveyed 29 groups by telephone. Barker Langham then organised a focus group to allow stakeholders to visit the cinema and discuss the planned activities. Two sessions were held, and a total of 14 stakeholders attended. Most of the sessions were devoted to a structured but informal discussion of the proposed heritage activities. Stakeholders were also asked to suggest activities they would like to see as part of the project.
The participants greatly appreciated the opportunity to be able to comment on and contribute to the plans for the cinema, which is very much seen as a community resource. The findings were collated and analysed by Barker Langham, and then incorporated into the Trust’s HLF application. The HLF bid was successful in winning £600,000.