THE man who helped revitalise a major North East naval attraction has taken charge of The Witham, in Barnard Castle, and hopes to steer it into calm waters.
David McKnight was responsible for turning around the fortunes of Hartlepool’s HMS Trincomalee – Britain’s oldest historic fighting ship still afloat.
The 19th century frigate was in poor financial health when Mr McKnight took over as manager. He brought in vital cash by using it as a venue for comedy acts, dancing, dinner events and live music.
Now Mr McKnight, an arts enthusiast and former consultant, is turning his hand to The Witham, which faced a struggle to survive last year until a successful major public appeal was launched, leading to Durham County Council also providing funding.
Just a few hours into his job last week, he revealed how he plans to plot a course to profitability.
He said: “It’s a number game. We need people to support the building but that can’t be out of obligation. We need a programme that people want to see. It’s not rocket science but there is no magic bullet. It’s going to take effort and hard work to do that and get the message out.”
But before making any big decisions, he plans an audit of the centre to see where money can be saved and made.
Mr McKnight, who describes himself as a “huge” fan of live music, added: “The Witham is a great venue. I can remember it 20 years ago as it was. It’s now a fabulous facility for Teesdale and we’re lucky to have it. But we need to put it on a commercial footing and make it sustainable. However, we need to maintain the ethos of The Witham.”
Born in Sunderland, the 56-year-old lives near Bedale, although he has significant links to Teesdale, having lived in Gainford for nearly a decade.
He is married to Linda and they have a son, 18-year-old Alex who attends Darlington College, where he is learning to be a motor vehicle engineer.
Mr McKnight’s career began as an environmental chemist, before he started a business that aimed to increase the use of inland waterways by leisure traffic. The foot-and-mouth epidemic in 2001 put paid to that but he continued working in the tourism industry, later taking over as commercial manager at HMS Trincomalee.
He says he sees a link between his old job and his latest post.
“When I went to HMS Trincomalee, I knew nothing about ships but I brought something that they didn’t have – a commercial outlook.
“We have got good people at The Witham and I need to bring my contribution along. But I can assure you I know more about arts and culture than I do about ships,” he says.
In his spare time, Mr McKnight volunteers to run a programme of live music in
small venues in the Yorkshire Dales.
“We live in a small rural community and there was nothing much going on. We saw a gap. I like gardening but I love music,” added Mr McKnight, who says his favourite act of the past year was Tom Attah, an authentic blues singer.
“This is why I applied for the job – I love culture and the arts.”
Mr McKnight revealed how he and his wife spent a year or so immersing their son into the arts, taking him on theatre trips.
Mr McKnight says he hopes to use his experience and passion to reach out to more visitors to Teesdale. As well as
targeting day trippers, holidaymakers and locals, he wants The Witham to target areas such as North Yorkshire.
With concerns being raised about Barnard Castle’s high street, Mr McKnight says a successful Witham will provide a boost.
“I’m hoping The Witham can play a big part in the town’s future,” he said, adding: “It’s going to be a great 2019.”
Sarah Gent, The Witham’s marketing manager, says this year has already started well. The first weekend in January saw a sell-out arts workshop and more than 200 people also attended two screenings.
It comes after the spring programme was launched with the aim of putting on more crowd-pleasers, such as a David Bowie tribute act and screenings of the Sound of Music and Mamma Mia 2.
“The feedback we have had so far has been really good,” added Ms Gent, who explained how The Witham now had targets to meet with ticket sales.
Mr McKnight added: “If we can’t sell enough tickets, we can’t sustain the building for local people. It’s that simple.”
