| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Watermans Gone | |
| Posted by: | Simon Hayes | |
| Date/Time: | 17/04/24 16:37:00 |
| Hmmm, not sure you are entirely accurate in your appraisal there. The company/companies supposedly developing these sites are in serious financial problems and have been for some time, well before interest rate rises and Ukraine invasions. They acquired the land but never really had the wherewithal to do the construction. What has upset people is that the council will have been aware of the financial position of the Hounslow Arts Trust, who operated the Waterman’s. There has been a serving councillor on the board of trustees for years. If they didn’t know then they weren’t doing the job properly. There was a feeling of letting the building deteriorate for a while, and the offer from the centre was increasingly poor. The board of trustees carry the blame for that as it wouldn’t have taken much effort to entice more punters through the doors with a wider range of activities and hugely better advertising in the local area and beyond. The promise that a new centre would be built before the old one went was always a dubious one. The council insists a new centre will appear but without any set date it’s a hollow promise. A decent quality community led alternative sounds attractive but in reality it’s a remote aspiration without significant funding from somewhere. Those energy bills will still need paying. The accusations of politicising the issue are ridiculous. Labour councillors are very quick to claim credit for things, even if their input is minimal, yet rapidly distance themselves from negative publicity. It’s not exclusive to Labour, but they are the local authority and do share some of the blame here. |