Published Date: 09 December 2009

TODAY the Evening News calls on Scarborough Council to come clean on its strategy and intentions for the Futurist Theatre.

The call comes amid growing public alarm and concern that the council seems to be unaware of the strength of support for the building to be retained as a theatre.

To help clear up the growing controversy, we present the dozen questions alongside for the council to be able to state its position.

We invite the council to respond with straight answers.

Our questions are as follows:

1 WHY has the council not issued any statement of support in favour of the Futurist?

2 WHY has the council also declined to make any official statement in regard to the building being used as a theatre at all?

3 WHY does the council think that the Spa Grand Hall is a better
alternative to the Futurist?

4 WHY was the current leaseholder of the Futurist excluded from the latest consultant's report and its "findings" which were against the Futurist's role?

5 WHAT does the council plan to replace the big and versatile stage with?

6 WHY has Scarborough's most popular theatre been left in limbo for so long, with no public information available on the strategy from either the council or Yorkshire Forward?

7 Why has the council allowed the Futurist to deteriorate for so many years, with decrepit decor, toilets and heating systems, and with leaks, damp walls and poor environment, and low quality public and backstage areas?

8 WHY has the leaseholder of the Futurist not been able to accept any acts, shows or concerts for 2011?

10 Why has the leaseholder, with all his years of experience and contacts, been driven to appeal for public support to defend the Futurist as a performance venue?

11 WHY put at risk all the Futurist's spin-off benefits for hotels and restaurants and the local economy, as well as Scarborough's name?

12 WHAT provision is being made for an alternative cinema?
At the weekend top performers appearing at the venue made dramatic on-stage appeals to the capacity audiences of more than 2,000 people, urging them to protest against the council's moves.

Barrie Stead, the leaseholder of the Futurist, which is owned by the council, is having to turn away acts, shows, concerts and performers for 2011 because there is no official support for the venue more than a year ahead.

Mr Stead that this fact alone will kill off the Futurist, which has limped on without modernisation of facilities for years.

The council says that nothing has been decided, as it prepares for a multi-million pound investment at the Spa instead, including the Grand Hall and its stage.

In May this year another consultant's report, which excluded Mr Stead from its deliberations, said Scarborough had a straight choice – the Futurist or the Spa.

The report by council-employed consultants Drivers Jonas was in contrast to a first consultant's report which listed the renovation of the Futurist and adjoining sites as an option.

The latest report commissioned by the council with a remit to consider the matter again came down firmly in favour of the Spa, saying: "The two venues, so close to one another with a similar events programme, are competing for the same audience. This is an unsustainable situation.

"Far greater value could be achieved if either the Spa or the Futurist became the sole large-scale venue in Scarborough. The Spa has the advantage of being a multi-purpose venue capable of hosting a greater variety of events than the Futurist, which has fixed seating."

Read the full story and sign the protest form in today's Evening News

What do you think? You can leave your comments below
Email us: letters@scarborougheveningnews.co.uk

Write to: Evening News, Aberdeen Walk, Scarborough, Y011 1BB.

Text us: Text the word SENEDITOR and send with your message to 81800 (25p charge plus standard national rate. See terms in Public Notices)

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Last Updated: 09 December 2009 8:49 AM
Source: n/a
Location: Scarborough

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Bottom Ender,

09/12/2009 09:17:24

This scurrilous council almost to a man and woman devoid of any accountability to the electorate, dominated by inept officers who have an agenda all of their own all of which appear to ignore public opinion and expertise.
Get Xmas over and it’ll SBC into gear trying to tell us what agood job they have done for us over the past 4 years and just what good value they represent to us - the electorate.
The simply message to everyone who votes in Scarborough IF YOU WANT MORE OF THE SAME for the next 4 years then vote for the same crowd of cronies.

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darkstairs,

09/12/2009 09:29:36

Spot on #1

It is not just this issue that is bathed in secrecy, there are so many more decisions being taken "on the quiet" without any public debate or opinion being allowed.
Changing the elected councillors wont change a thing though, it is the unelected officers that run the show.

"the pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple"
Oscar Wilde

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Perspicacious one,

09/12/2009 09:48:22

WELL DONE the SEN.

It now looks like the Futurist could be saved with your support and we could have a theatre to be proud of.

Speaking of pride, the SEN now has a chance to gain some glory of its own, a local paper not just filled with rhetoric but taking decisive action as well, that would really be something to be proud of.

A local paper fighting for the rights of the residents with investigative journalism and questioning the powers that be forcing them to give answers to questions they would normally dismiss if a member of public asked them, SBC will no doubt use all their usual cunning and guile to fob you off, do not be dissuaded from the task in hand, you have the majority of the townsfolk behind you.

People power can even overcome the high and mighty attitude of Council leader Fox and his obnoxious cronies, support the Futurist, support the SEN and this way will be supporting OUR town, its time to reclaim it from shady councillors and their even more shady ‘special relationship, here’s your brown envelope, private developer friends'.

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English like wot she is meant to be spoke,

09/12/2009 10:05:35

Well, full marks to the SEN for effort, even if most of the "questions" asked are pointlessly rhetorical.

I too deplore the culture of secrecy with the Council at the present time, and the furtive, undemocratic way in which decisions about The Futurist have been and are being made.

However, I must say I find the continued obeisance to "the leaseholder", and the slavish way his every thought is reported as if it were undisputed fact, is not helping the cause. Rather, it makes me suspect this campaign is born more out of self-interest on the part of him and his cronies than any public-spirited concern for the people of the town. I'm still waiting to read what contribution this "impresario" proposes to make towards the upkeep of the building from his own profits as opposed to our Council Tax.

Everyone in the town, surely, wants The Futurist to remain - but can we afford it?

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FairDealForFiley,

09/12/2009 10:06:21

Whilst not denying that Scarborough deserves a theatre to be proud of, why should the people of Filey, Whitby and the hinterlands continue to have to subsidise, through their council tax, The Spa, The Stephen Joseph and now the Futurist, especially since the latter two are in private management. None make money, in fact The Spa costs a ridiculous amount to run - possibly because it is run by SBC. SBC need to make up their minds once and for all.

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Neighbourly,

Scarborough 09/12/2009 10:14:49

When is this town going to wake up and realise that it can't afford the Spa and the Futurist (and probably the Stephen Joseph too) - and that probably only one can/will survive.

The Futurist is a mess, living in the past, grotty, with a shocking programme, inarticulate staff and with an overall feeling of decay.

The only positive thing you can say is that it does not look out of place amongst the rest of the tat around it.

This area of South Bay needs to be completely redeveloped - and we should be looking towards the future not some dreadful phony version of a past that never existed.

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1007,

09/12/2009 10:22:03

RE6 Interesting comments but tell me this.

When was the last time the Spa or SJT pulled in a crowd of 2000 people?

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Perspicacious one,

09/12/2009 10:41:28

*7,When was the last time the Spa or SJT pulled in a crowd of 2000 people? or even a quater of that?

Answers as usual to Impresario t.fox@panto's'R'us.com

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Metamagic Anti-EU Jedi,

Delusional Scarborough 09/12/2009 10:42:20

Good question 1007.

Reality and this town rarely mix well.

If the Fururist had a viable future there would be a queue of buyers. There ain't.

For all the tub-thumping spendthrifts who weep crocodile tears over the incompetence of the coucil, go ask Council Tax payers who are just making ends meet without subsidies, just how they feel about chucking another few million at a failed enterprise? (A very fair comment from FairDealForFiley, but I doubt most Scarborians think that far out)

to quote the regular fat-head, 'English like wot she is meant to be spoke'; "Everyone in the town, surely, wants The Futurist to remain -"

NO I DON'T....

I want to see functioning private enterprises earnuing profits and creating employment. If the Futurist has to be demolished to achieve that, so be it.

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English like wot she is meant to be spoke,

09/12/2009 10:48:39

Charming comment from #9, but I seem to recall what I actually wrote was "Everyone in the town, surely, wants The Futurist to remain - but can we afford it?"

What we will get if he and his friends have their way will be more of what we have already got in the North Bay: "functioning private enterprises" earning profits perhaps, but as for creating employment... Sounds to me like you need to take a bite of the reality sandwich yourself.

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