Dome under threat again?

[pauldavis]

It's very sad to think the Dome will be no more, I have some great memories of spending the sumer holidays in my youth watching local bands perform in there and I've seen some great bands like Ocean Colour Scene and Blur there too.
Thing that annoys me isn't so much that the dome is going, but that for quite a long interim period (4, 5 6 years?) we're only going to have the Platform as a music venue in Morecambe. The acoustics and atmosphere in there are not up to scratch by a long way. The other venue that is mentioned alot is the Winter Gardens, but realistically that won't be oporational as a music venue for some time.
I think not having a venue for Music in Morecambe will be just another big blow for the Tourism and regeneration of the town and I hope that the council either rethink the closure(postponement until we have another suitable venue) or put more efforts into making sure that the interim period between the Dome closing and another viable Music venue opening is as small ammount of time as possible.

[gnasher]

Jan 6, 2009 22:16:38 GMT WillowTheWhisp said:

Jan 6, 2009 19:49:30 GMT musky said:

Isn't Cllr Archer Chair of the Winter Gardens. ?

She is 'chair' of the 'Winter Gardens Preservation Trust' which might give the impression that she would see the Dome as a rival entity but she was supposed to be in favour of it staying open at least until the WG is viable - but she is not on record as having voted against the closure.

From the mouth of Dame Archer herself, her name & signature alone are on the legal documents relating to the ownership of the WG.

She is quoted on the front page of Citizen when the decision was first made as having voted against it. I think with her strong interest in the WG, she should have declared an interest, she didn't. It would then be up to the rest to decide whether she could continue in the discussion.

I also think this personal interest strongly affects her position as having responsibility for the degeneration of morecambe and she is not neutral enough to make the right decisions.

It seems to be the case that a number of local councillors have local business interests. I've heard some stories about influencing decisions that would amaze you but they aren't for public reading.

[trevnhil]

gnasher wrote... "From the mouth of Dame Archer herself, her name & signature alone are on the legal documents relating to the ownership of the WG."

That statement would seem to say that Dame Archer is the legal owner of the Winter Gardens and the land upon which it resides.

This I find hard to believe.

Surely she has signed on behalf of the trust??

Regards. Trev..

[musky]

It's the same in all councils just cannot be trusted, like Gnasher wrote some stuff is not for public reading. I could write a book of goings on at a neighboring council of where I live now.

[gnasher]

That statement would seem to say that Dame Archer is the legal owner of the Winter Gardens and the land upon which it resides.

This I find hard to believe.

Surely she has signed on behalf of the trust??

I would hope so as well however those are the words she used, "my name and my signature alone". One of those times when you hear something you can't quite believe and remember it well.

[trevnhil]

Hi gnasher and All.
It is a pity when Dame Archer made that statement that some of those present didn't query it. But I know, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I also note that one of the advisers to the Winter Gardens Trust is...
Mr. Bill Maynard.
As Managing Director of Urban Splash, Bill is currently responsible for the superb restoration work over the road from The Winter Gardens at The Midland Hotel.

It is a also shame in this day and age that we are not able to find as much information as we would like on the World Wide Web.

Regards. Trev..

[gnasher]

My conversation with Councillor Archer took place in the middle of Morecambe Arndale where I went to find out why a councillor who was supposed to represent her ward was handing out pre-printed objection letters to the Urban Splash plans. She had no means of recording that I was in favour of the development and the argument went on from there. At one point she told me one of her objections was the development would "spoil the view". Knowing there was no view from a public area I pushed for more detail. The view turned out to be the view from a restaurant that doesn't exist and doesn't have planning permission in a theatre that has been shut for 20+ years. At that point I questioned her position regarding the WG and you all know the answer.

If a restaurant ever appears on the top floor of the WG, I also have her word that the public will be allowed onto the balcony area to admire the view at no charge.

[kidstypike]

Jan 11, 2009 19:31:31 GMT @gnasher said:

That statement would seem to say that Dame Archer is the legal owner of the Winter Gardens and the land upon which it resides.

This I find hard to believe.

Surely she has signed on behalf of the trust??

I would hope so as well however those are the words she used, "my name and my signature alone". One of those times when you hear something you can't quite believe and remember it well.

In Spring 2006, The Friends judged the time was right to purchase The Winter Gardens and formed a charitable trust company limited by guarantee. The Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust Limited now owns the building and complements the Friends’ fund-raising by focussing on applications to potential funding bodies based on recent professional assessments that argue persuasively the theatre has a viable future if restored as a multi-purpose venue.


Ref ....www.thewintergardensmorecambe.co.uk/

[WillowTheWhisp]

Thanks Dave.

Someone was wondering about the finances of the Winter Gardens (regarding donations etc) previously. It might be that the person to contact on such matters is the Treasurer Stephen Jones.

[accykeef]

that the public will be allowed onto the balcony area to admire the view at no charge

and block the view of paying patrons
AccyKeef to Dame Ev in cloud cuckoo land, are you receiving me, over?

I find it hard to believe that U.S. would have thrown all that money into the Midland, if the area around it was to be nothing more than a grassy waste land. I don't think we are getting the full story on that at all.

A Councillor who has such a vested interest in a planning decision should not be allowed to vote at all, in fact she should only be allowed into the voting chamber as a member of the public. This is corruption because I cannot see all her little 'puppy dogs' voting against her as they may find themselves greased up and sliding out of the back door.

I would have more confidence in the Council if they were to make public ' The Big Picture' rather than just let us witness their petty little squabbles.

I suggest that they get some realistic costings of developing the WG, the area around the Midland and the joke which is Frontierland. Perhaps a large supermarket, with a vested interest may like to put some suggestions forward.

I have even sorted out the rallying call for Morecambe, after 3

1 - 2 -3 BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY RAH RAH RAH

[gnasher]

In Spring 2006, The Friends judged the time was right to purchase The Winter Gardens and formed a charitable trust company limited by guarantee. The Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust Limited now owns the building and complements the Friends’ fund-raising by focussing on applications to potential funding bodies based on recent professional assessments that argue persuasively the theatre has a viable future if restored as a multi-purpose venue.

Seriously, perhaps you could contact them and ask the question, whose name is on the legal paperwork? I am ignored by them, probably because I called their leader rude and ignorant ;D Well, what else can you say when a councillor finding themself unable to answer a decent question simply turns their back on you and ignores you. Democracy my arse.

[kidstypike]

Jan 12, 2009 19:58:00 GMT @gnasher said:

In Spring 2006, The Friends judged the time was right to purchase The Winter Gardens and formed a charitable trust company limited by guarantee. The Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust Limited now owns the building and complements the Friends’ fund-raising by focussing on applications to potential funding bodies based on recent professional assessments that argue persuasively the theatre has a viable future if restored as a multi-purpose venue.

Seriously, perhaps you could contact them and ask the question, whose name is on the legal paperwork? I am ignored by them, probably because I called their leader rude and ignorant ;D Well, what else can you say when a councillor finding themself unable to answer a decent question simply turns their back on you and ignores you. Democracy my arse.

Does it really matter who signed the paperwork as long as he/she was signing on behalf of the trust.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Jan 12, 2009 17:48:28 GMT accykeef said:

I have even sorted out the rallying call for Morecambe, after 3

1 - 2 -3 BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY RAH RAH RAH

Oi! We don't allow swearing on the BayWeb!


As for councillors turning their backs on people who ask questions they don't want to answer I think that must be an occupational disease. It would be lovely if they would just give people all the relevant information though so we have a bit of a clue what's going on.

[gnasher]

Does it really matter who signed the paperwork as long as he/she was signing on behalf of the trust.

It matters a lot when it comes to councillors declaring conflicts of interest in meetings and votes. I believe her WG position is in direct conflict with some of the developments in morecambe yet she is allowed to participate.

[mpprh]

Bring back Nellie Bolton ?

Peter