Will Lib Dem Mayor Dave Hodgson wreck this theatre or will a local campaign manage to save it?
With the Bedford Corn Exchange, Civic Theatre and Harpur Suite all centrally located, you’ll never be short of pickings when it comes to having a good night out that is guaranteed to be full of entertainment. Whether you are looking for comedy, theatre or music you’ll be sure to find something to suite [sic] all tastes.–Bedford Borough Council website
Having just arrived for my second stay in the Borough and County Town of Bedford and having a look around and I saw the lovely Civic Theatre in the town centre.
Sadly, I have yet to see the inside, but I am very glad to see a civic theatre still in existence. Far too often, local councils seem to want to close theatres instead of preserving and improving the cultural life of their areas. It seems that Bedford Borough Council is no different.
I’m rather disappointed and somewhat embarrassed that it is a Lib Dem Mayor (as in a directly elected one) who is pursuing this policy. It seems that Dave Hodgson and his Executive are seeking to change the theatre into a Council ‘One-Stop Shop’. This has been objected to by many local residents and a Save Our Civic campaign, with a petition of almost 5,000 signatures presented to 10 Downing Street earlier in the year.
The Theatres Trust objected to the proposal when it was unveiled in April, and more recently has objected in writing according to Peter Davies.
“In your Development Plan Document, Core Strategy and Rural Issues Plan dated April 2008 one of the Plan Objectives 14 (page14) is to ‘Protect and enhance the Borough’s built, cultural and community assets’ as a ‘destination for cultural tourism’. Policy CP2, Sustainable Development Principles, states that the development and use of land will ensure that (vi) ‘important cultural features are protected’. Furthermore, we note that objective (6) of the Milton Keynes & South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy aims to ‘create sustainable communities by ensuring that economic, environmental, social and cultural infrastructure needs are met’ and that a key priority for Bedford is to ‘Revitalise the town centre of Bedford and enhancing retail, cultural and leisure facilities.’ We therefore fail to see how the loss of the Bedford Civic Theatre without alternative provision in the catchment area can be justified or meet the aspirations and ambitions within your Core Strategy.”
I hope that the Mayor will see sense and change this decision, as this Liberal Democrat is rather annoyed at these actions. If Mr Hodsgon were to check the Preamble to the Constitution of the Federal Party of the Liberal Democrats, he would see that
We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity.
It will be difficult to nurture creativity when the valuable creative space of Bedford’s Civic Theatre has been lost to the people of Bedford. How many people – not just theatre groups, but dancers, musicians, and others – will miss this important council resource when it is changed to create something that could (and in my opinion should) be located in County Borough Hall?
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