| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Must be doing something right | |
| Posted by: | John Connelly | |
| Date/Time: | 23/01/13 17:46:00 |
| Since Watermans opened in the 1980's it has received millions of pounds in subsidies from public funds, including the former GLC, the Arts Council, and, every year since it opened, Hounslow Council. Local council taxpayers are Watermans' cash cow! Refurbishments a number of years ago were funded mainly from planning gain monies extracted from developers in the Brentford area. Some would argue that this was at the expense of other local community facilities, though councillors at the time saw Watermans as the priority. It has suffered from time to time from financial crises. Around the Millenium, for instance, if Hounslow Council and the Arts Council had not provided a huge rescue package the centre would have gone bust. The centre is still heavily subsidised, though this is almost always the case at arts venues. I noticed reference to the Sunday Jazz sessions that took place, if I remember correctly, 20 to 25 years ago. At the time these were in competition with the Bricklayers Arms in Ealing Road. Unlike Watermans, whose jazz events were heavily subsidised by public funds, the Bricklayers ran their events commercially. Sadly, the Bricklayers, like many other local pubs, has gone. Hounslow politicians have struggled over the years to justify the subsidy at Watermans. It was always low down on my priorities compared to youth centres and old people's centres, many of which have closed locally in the last decade. However, there has always been a vocal minority willing to campaign to retain arts subsidies at Watermans. When Hounslow Council changed political control in 2006 it is notable that people who annually proposed cuts in Watermans subsidies changed their tune when in office. What most people who have been involved with Watermans over the years would accept is that the present building, originally itself received as planning gain from developments next door, is not a good design for an efficient arts centre, subsidised or not. |