Consultation launched: proposed changes to Inspiring Music’s music centres
Monday, 3 March 2025
We're inviting residents to share their views on proposed changes to Inspiring Music’s music centres.
Inspiring Music has been providing music lessons in schools and local music centres for nearly 40 years, ensuring young people have access to quality music education. However, due to financial pressures and a drop in membership, we're reviewing how the service operates.
Your voice matters: find out more and have your say.
The service currently runs 3 music centres, in Ampthill, Biggleswade, and Leighton Linslade. Each location offers 4 music sessions on a Saturday, which are open to people of all ages and levels of experience.
Sadly, while the service successfully moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person attendance has not fully recovered despite efforts to boost membership.
At the same time, rising costs – for staff, equipment and other costs associated with hosting the music centres – and funding which hasn’t increased since 2016, have led to a financial shortfall of nearly £40,000 per year.
This shortfall means the service is unable to support some projects, as funding is being redirected to cover other costs. It has also led to a shortage of tutors, and the limited budget means the service is unable to expand its offering by investing in new instruments and music activities.
Therefore, we're proposing a new model. A music hub in a location that's central to the area – such as Ampthill – would offer Saturday morning sessions with specialist tutors, while smaller satellite centres in larger towns across Central Bedfordshire – such as Biggleswade, Dunstable, and Leighton Linslade – would provide after-school music programs.
Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:
The future of the music service is not in doubt; we still want to provide access to music lessons across Central Bedfordshire. However, we do need to think carefully about how we provide this going forward, and that’s why we’re proposing changes.
The proposed new model – having a central hub in a central location and satellite centres in larger towns - will help us to reduce costs, make lessons more convenient for families, and expand the types of music on offer to better reflect young people’s interests. All this will help us keep the service sustainable over the coming years, so it’s accessible to residents.
Members of the public are being asked to take part in a consultation on the future of Inspiring Music’s offering, and the proposal to reconfigure its music centres. It has launched a 4-week consultation, running from Monday 3 March 2025 and closing on Sunday 30 March 2025.