Ring those Bells - The Tower can continue booking until the Spring 2008 !!!!!
Some good news. HCC have effectively reversed the decision made by Councillor Snaith in July to transfer the Tower to Kings' School. They have allowed the Tower to continue bookings until Spring 2008 and pushed the decision up to the Council Leader - Ken Thornber. The decision will be made on 7th December. It will at last be subject to a detailed consultation because HCC have also promised to carry out a proper investigation of all the options -including a wide consultation. This is clearly great news and what we have asked for all along.
This is thanks to all the campaigners and to the local Lib Dem Councillors (Phyrn Dickens, Alexis Fall and many others - too many to mention by name) and to James Stephens the local Conservative City Councillor. They have all been superb. The support from the two main prospective parliamentary candidates - Martin Tod (Lib Dem) and Steve Brine (Conservatives) has been invaluable. It is clear that this has been a campaign that has been fought by people from all political spectrums.
The staff at the Tower have been through a pretty tough time over the last few months with all the uncertainty. They all do a great job - often under very trying conditions!!! They will be really busy over the next few weeks putting the Spring Programme together - again with the Sword of Damocles hanging over them! If anyone can put a Programme together in such a short time and in the face of adversity - it's our man John and his team.
Some good news. HCC have effectively reversed the decision made by Councillor Snaith in July to transfer the Tower to Kings' School. They have allowed the Tower to continue bookings until Spring 2008 and pushed the decision up to the Council Leader - Ken Thornber. The decision will be made on 7th December. It will at last be subject to a detailed consultation because HCC have also promised to carry out a proper investigation of all the options -including a wide consultation. This is clearly great news and what we have asked for all along.
This is thanks to all the campaigners and to the local Lib Dem Councillors (Phyrn Dickens, Alexis Fall and many others - too many to mention by name) and to James Stephens the local Conservative City Councillor. They have all been superb. The support from the two main prospective parliamentary candidates - Martin Tod (Lib Dem) and Steve Brine (Conservatives) has been invaluable. It is clear that this has been a campaign that has been fought by people from all political spectrums.
The staff at the Tower have been through a pretty tough time over the last few months with all the uncertainty. They all do a great job - often under very trying conditions!!! They will be really busy over the next few weeks putting the Spring Programme together - again with the Sword of Damocles hanging over them! If anyone can put a Programme together in such a short time and in the face of adversity - it's our man John and his team.
It's really important that we increase the awareness of the Tower and fill the house for the upcoming Programme. The Tower does not have a lot of resources to allocate to marketing - so lets spread the news informally. Let all your friends, work colleagues and family know what a great venue it is. You could e-mail the link to the Tower web-site to all your local contacts http://www.towerarts.co.uk/. There are some great things coming up. Ask anyone at the Tower or any of the campaigners how else you can help
The full details of the consultation are at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/communications/mediacentre/mediareleases.htm?newsid=167465&stDate. It promises consultation with a Tower Users working group, a review by a consultant to look at options for a sustainable future and a survey of Winchester residents by a research agency. Very different from the (lack of) consultation carried out in the lead up to the decision by Councillor Snaith in early July.
I hope that all the stakeholders can draw a line under what has happened in the lead up to the previous decision. Let's move forward and do the right thing for the people of Winchester and Hampshire.
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