CORNISH CIC CONSOLIDATES BOARD IN PREPARATION FOR £MULTI-MILLION TV AND SOUND STUDIOS DEVELOPMENT
The Cornwall-based Community Interest Company (CIC) ASONE has strengthened its board in preparation for the strategic development and initial build phases of the St Merryn-based performance sector business park, film studios, live venue and exhibition space. As initial work begins on a set of music studios on the former airfield site, David Morris, a Manchester-based Oscar-nominated and multi-award winning international creative producer, and Mike Bennett, a former Bristol-based creative development specialist, have joined the Board of ASONE as the company enters a number of critical funding rounds.
Based on an extensive 130 acre former airfield and family estate at St Merryn, near Padstow, Cornwall, ASONE has ambitious £140 million redevelopment plans to build and run a world-class creative centre. On site elements include a set of film studios, a live-work Village and Hotel, an Outdoor Events and Live Venue, a Performance Village and Aviation Hub, as well as four film and sound stages and a Heritage District and Visitor hub.
Initial development funding rounds have already been successful, and ASONE is proving its working model with its pioneering industry management of the ASONE Hub, formerly the Cornwall Music Education Hub. The strengthening of the Board, and the senior leadership team, brings heavyweight experience and contacts to consolidate the delivery team for the critical funding rounds and design, development and build stages of the extensive multi-use site.
David Morris is an award-winning Creative Producer with a proven track record in documentary and music video production, commercials, corporate advertising, live-streaming, branded content and e-learning. David’s projects have collectively received over 50 nominations - such as a 2018 Oscar nomination - and 16 awards that include, Best Documentary at the World Documentary Awards 2018, Best Documentary at the International Independent Film Awards 2017 and Best Documentary at IndieFest 2017.
David’s clients have included Disney, ESPA, Shiseido, MAC, Tom Ford, MyProtein, Illamasqua, Christophe Robin, Campari, YouTube, the Bacardi portfolio, BMW Group, Lavazza, and multiple others. With international client budgets running well into the millions, David’s understanding of what is required from a multi-faceted production facility will be integral to the development of this side of the ASONE site.
Mike Bennett has spent 25 years working in the digital media realm in Bristol and London, co-founding one of the country’s leading full service digital agencies. He has spent significant time working with public bodies to develop strategies and initiatives to promote the wider creative industries across Bristol, whilst helping creative businesses to develop and grow within the city.
Mike was appointed as a director of Bristol City Council, where he was responsible for identifying and promoting Bristol’s “unorthodox spirit” to a national and international audience to help boost travel through “creative tourism” and drive employment across the media and creative sectors. He recently moved to Liskeard and is excited to see how he can help and support ASONE Perform.
Mike and David join founder board members Jo Partridge, Rob Simpson and Cindy Dalgleish. Jo Partridge is the St Merryn site landowner and visionary of the project along with many other contributors. Jo brings a vast music industry experience spanning over 50 years and is well placed to ensure the project meets the needs of the sector.
Rob Simpson has over 20 years’ experience in large scale event production and is a director of southwest based production company Nub sound, working globally to provide management services for touring productions, live streaming, studio production and rehearsals. Rob is currently production manager for Sam Fender and has worked with a variety of artists from Bon Jovi to One Direction, Jamie Lawson and Ed Sheeran to The Fisherman’s friends. Rob also provides national and international recruiting and crew management services, is an installation and systems integration consultant and an in-demand audio engineer and production designer.
With excellent management skills and extensive experience in restructuring organisations and redeveloping buildings and sites, Cindy Dalgleish has created the new legal entity and Community Interest Company supported by the governance structure of ASONE. Cindy brings her proven ability to identify and develop multiple revenue streams with strong and the subsequent asset vehicles required in developing a site the size of the St Merryn space. Cindy is managing the day-to-day business of ASONE while also delivering her extensive working knowledge of agency management and the ability to develop strong funding and development partnerships.
Recent Board additions are, Oli James is the owner of Cynical Management which specialises in Touring and Artist Management and he is the current tour manager for Sam Fender and manages The Native and Meadowlark. Over the years, Oli has worked with acts such as Ben Howard, Example, Metronomy, Ry X, Circa Waves, Reef, Crystal Fighters and many more and Oli is also on the board of Directors for Plymouth Music Collective CI, a Not For Profit Community Music Project.
Ryan Jones is a Musician, Educator and music technology expert whose core focus is about seeking out the synergy between real world projects and their educational opportunities. He is part of our talent pipeline team and has a community focus.
Rose Goodship is an experienced creative business consultant, specialising in music, performance and emergent technologies and a passionate advocate for the development of a diverse Cornish creative sector.
ASONE Managing Director Cindy Dalgleish says, “Working as a tight-knit team, we have developed all of the architectural and site plans and have been continually building our networks and ambassadorial links around the preliminary start-up stages of the site for some months now. We have already gained critical initial development funding and now is the right time to bring in additional heavyweight experience from across the key creative sectors.”
Cindy continues, “With David Morris’ exceptional film industry experience, and the long-term property and project development background of Mike Bennett, in addition to the rest of our ASONE Board, we’re ensuring that there’s no stronger Board, either strategically or practically, in Cornwall and the surrounds. These additional directors consolidate the delivery team for the critical funding rounds as we move into the physical build stages of our visionary, extensive multi-use site at St Merryn.”