Dear all I have just emailed the following epistle (essay?!) to every single councillor on STC, as well as the Town Clerk. Of the 18 councillors (3 Wards), 17 are either on the Finance Committee or on the Planning Committee, and some both. I have copied this to Greg Clark MP, the editor of the Courier, the Theatre Trust (news section), and the Southborough Society. Dear Southborough Council I am a resident and rate payer of Southborough since 1981. I have, since that time, thoroughly enjoyed the Royal Victoria Hall, and all it has had to offer. I have sung on its stage, as a member of a local choir. My children have sung there, as members of a children’s choir. We have been to the brilliant pantomimes. To shows. To plays. We have sat in the stalls and on the balcony. We have sat at tables in front of the stage. We have had a great time, enjoying the atmosphere of this wonderful, and wonderfully versatile, Victorian theatre. I first saw the RVH in 1973 and remember the cast iron front of the theatre, it looked so iconic! By the time I moved down here that had gone, which I thought was a great shame... But the internal Victorian theatre, with its flats and flies, its curtains and raked seating, its balcony, was still there, so all was well with our world. I became aware (through myself becoming involved in theatre) of the technical problems with the theatre, such as the electrics. Then recently, they were sorted out, at a justifiable cost to the rate payers (including myself). The future was bright! What future. At some point, the powers that be, that is you, Southborough Town Council, together with Kent County Council and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, decided the future was... grey? £ -shaped? central-government-controlled? Someone, at some point, decided that housing was more important than community. Think about that for a minute. Housing being more important than what makes a community: culture, and a local place to perform/participate/enjoy. Apart from the issue of infrastructure (traffic, schooling, local businesses providing a vibrant community, that word again). No, doesn’t compute for me. Honestly, in your heart of hearts, does it for you? Who is going to move into that housing? Robots? I think not. People? Oh yes... and what do people need? SHOPS! No. There are plenty of retail opportunities in this area and beyond (you only have to look at the daily gridlock in what was designed as an industrial estate and is now a retail park, without improving any of the infrastructure) so we don’t need any more in Southborough. The Hub is a lovely idea, to get some heart into a community that is basically a strip development. But ripping out one large, beating, vibrant heart, to replace it with a feeble, possibly quite nice, but ultimately inadequate pitter-patter heartette is not the answer. What would put the heart back into Southborough is more independent shops like our wonderful butcher’s (there were at least 4, maybe even 5, in 1981), a viable greengrocer’s (again, I remember 3 or 4 back then), not another supermarket. As for a Village Hall: we’ve got a village hall, it’s called the Royal Victoria Hall. There are also a number of church halls available for smaller gatherings. Last year, I returned the consultation questionnaire, preferring Option B, whereby the RVH was retained and improved. I had objections to the housing infill, as I couldn’t see additional improvements to infrastructure, including schools for future residents. To find STC has voted for Option C was a big disappointment. Not least because it wasn’t obvious to me, or anyone I have spoken to, who gave the council the mandate to opt for that solution. Having looked into the conclusions by the management company, I’ve found out none of the options were actually financially viable. So shouldn’t there be a fresh consultation period? With new, viable, open and frank options to the public? Shouldn’t any decisions made about the RVH be made pending the outcome of this further consultation? How come the STC can suspend use of the RVH at this point? There are many people in the area, users of the Royal Victoria Hall, both as artists and as audience, who are willing and able to help Southborough Town Council (and other involved parties) to make the best of this wonderful asset we have in our midst. This help has been offered over the last few years, when it became clear the Council was struggling to market and maintain the Theatre. This help has been rejected, ostensibly (as I read in the Courier today) because of the complexity of ownership, and I quote ‘A spokesman from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council said: “We own the land [a strip of car park] and we wouldn’t want to allow the creation of rights over the land by a third party that could be detrimental to our ownership”. [TW Courier Oct 31, 2014]’. As a group of volunteers running the theatre wouldn’t challenge that ownership, I have no idea what they are worried about. Finally, this hall was built as the first Civic Theatre in the country, largely funded by Sir David Salomon, with the covenant that it was to be used for the benefit of the people of Southborough (as anyone can read on a plaque in the RVH foyer). Its importance was marked by the fact it was allowed the prefix Royal, which is granted by Royal Charter. But, equally crucially, it was also funded by Southborough Urban District Council, which means the people of Southborough themselves. It belongs to us. And yes, Southborough Town Council members, we are prepared to look after it. In conclusion, I urge all members of Southborough Town Council to reconsider their decision to moth ball the RVH, listen to the people who have elected them, and do their utmost, in cooperation with those who have the will and the means to help, to keep this iconic Victorian theatre, the first municipal theatre in the whole of the country, a building of historic interest, for the people of Southborough. Once it’s gone, regrets won’t get it back.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 16:52:02 +0000
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