A new proposal has been put forward by Gary Robinson at a meeting last Tuesday evening.
Gary, an Ulverstonian, has made a great success of the Canteen in Barrow and is willing to do something similar here! The guy has balls.
The Tuesday meeting was attended by two friends who reported that nearly all of the fifty people there were persuaded that this would be an excellent venture.
My own research supports this view because:
1. Gary has a track record of a big success in Barrow with the Canteen Media and Arts Centre. All those familiar with this are in favour.
2. The prime purpose of what is proposed is high quality entertainment that will involve and support local people in the arts scene.
3. Unlike community organisations in the town such as Ford Park that rely on grant funding for their existence, Canteen Media is based on sound , viable business know-how. Grant funding, in my view, should only be used as a pump priming exercise - to get something off the ground. To rely on it, is very unreliable, especially in the present economic situation with Charity funding being cut back.
4. The Roxy building has been already been designed to allow different activities to run simultaneously. It has good access and excellent sound proofing, with a stage in place downstairs.
5. The existing cinema and Gary's project will complement each other, with the prospect of something like Zeffirelli's in Ambleside being done here.
6. My own experience when I failed to get a full alcohol licence for the Corner House (now Oxfam) backs up Gary's approach. Strangely people would pay £2 for one drink but would not pay £1.50 for admission to my shows. With a jazz band to pay, I ended running at a loss and the 'community business' collapsed ! I'm thankful to find that here we have someone who has a lot better idea of how to succeed.
7. There's still a struggling jazz scene in the area that could do with a suitably design location to play in.
8. With a bit of effort and support from the thriving Classical Concert Scene - Manchester Camerata - we could get some cross-over with the musical scene at Ulverston Victoria High.
9. There seem to be a lot of responsible people coming into the town from a wide area who are looking for late night entertainment. The more of these that are around on our streets and back alleys, late at night, the better. We at present get trouble in Brogden St, next to the Roxy.
A combination of customers from Rustique and Roxy will be far more effective than CCTV, which too many think is the answer to all problems.
10. Canteen Media have encouraged other groups in Barrow to get started by providing facillities - I'll be looking at the Roxy for possible involvement in the visual arts - painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography and film making. And sound - bands, singing groups, local radio - TV? With the development of the Internet there are lots of possibilities.
We in Ulverston need to grab these opportunities with both hands and not let short-sighted people or the commercial pub scene stop this venture. The more people are brought together, the healthier society will be. We have a lot of creative and imaginative people in the town who are without a place to get together and hatch schemes, ideas and plots!
Perhaps UCAN could adopt the Roxy as its base?
Well now you have some ideas to bat about!
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9 comments:
An Interesting analysis Geoff, but I believe you are being overly optimistic in some of the points you have made...
I imagine that I am. So which ones are in real doubt.
The people I've talked to are full of praise for Canteen Media.
I would think that we'd need a place three times the size of the Roxy to do all I want, but isn't it the first step in the right direction?
1) When the building is awarded its new premises license, with longer opening hours, and becomes a going concern, the value of the freehold will increase substantially. How do we know that the owner of the premises will not then sell it, making a large profit, to a national pub chain, who will operate the venue very differently to Gary's proposal?
2)The 'arts centre' will be nothing like Zefferelis in Ambleside, which is a success primarily because of its lucrative vegetarian restaurant, which benefits from a wealthy tourist client base. There is little tourism in Ulverston.
3) I applaud your suggestion to encourage interaction between the local school and the community through music. Would a licensed premises be appropriate for this?
4) I don't really understand your No.9 Geoff. Are you saying that the arts centre would bring a better class of people into Brogden Street, who would then deter the trouble causers? Whilst I agree with that principle, I know that the arts centre is likely to attract a younger crowd, many of whom will be drinking at home before coming into the town centre. The premises could become a magnet for underage drinkers, even if that is not where they are getting the alcohol from.
5) I aggree with your point no.10 completely.
6) The main reason for objection by the 'commercial pub scene' is the fact that it has applied for a license to sell alcohol from 11am; suspiciously like a pub rather than an arts centre. A license to sell booze from 7pm would be more appropriate for this type of venture, and would make the whole thing seem more genuine ( see my point no. 1!).
7) Having made the points above, I must say that I believe the town would benefit from an amenity such as an arts centre, and I would definitely go there myself. However I believe that Gary Robinson should give assurances that nobody under the age of eighteen will be allowed into events where alcohol is served. Spending time in the company of drunken children does not appeal to the majority of responsible, adult drinkers.
Great to have some indepth discussion!
1. I thought that a licence was linked to the licensee ie Gary and not to the premises.
2. Agreed it will be a totally different in clientele but similar I think in philosophy -'culture' for the locals.
3. Definitely. Google points me to a discussion in the House of Lords standing Committee (http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200203/cmstand/d/st030515/am/30515s01.htm)
Where it reads:
"If we are trying to make pubs children friendly places, we must ensure that access is controlled and under the aegis of adults, preferably their family, in what we want to promote as ''family friendly'' environments. "
Children admitted but under the supervision of an adult!
4.I'm suggesting that the more people that are about the better will be the behaviour. We get bad behaviour when a few irresponsible people are on their own with no one about. Trees in Ford Park damaged. Trees near County Road left intact.
6.I too queried this - why until 3 am? Well there is a need at the Canteen Barrow. Friends that have been, tell me that there are sane people who enjoy activities at this hour and that we could expect people to come in from outlying areas. I used to go to Bass Clef night club for Jazz and danced to Alex Dankworth on his double base in London and it was great! And it fitted into a 9-5 working week.
7. Great but aren't you confusing attending with drinking see 3 above.
Let's push the boat out a little!
Ulverston badly needs a venue that will attract young people i.e.the under 40s from the whole area. The night life in Ulverston is dire ,the same boring pubs and then the inevitable gravitation to the pit knowns as the Sun or Palais de Pee whichever you prefer.Girls tell me there is nowhere to have a dance or listen to music so they go to Barrow ,followed by all the lads. The town is left to the older end and the few neanderthals who can't afford the taxi to Barrow or ,more likely,can't pronounce it.
Great to have someone with a turn of phrase and a sense of humour!
Do call in again soon!
I'm not sure about the "under 40s". We at 64 and 74 love a good dance with no venue here. Hence my visits to Buffers in the 80's. More recently the place opposite St Mary's Catholic church for a birthday party!
Why, though, do the bands have to bounce people out of their seats to get them to dance? Does my (and yours too) poor ears no good! I stuff wet loo paper in to cope!
Geoff ,your last comment made me wince. Young people don't want their night clubs cluttered up with old farts complaining about the noise and asking what time is the raffle ? Also Ulverston need s late night food outlets.pizza,chinese or whatever . All you can get now is a dodgy burger.
Wow.
What a bunch of stereotypes.
Talk about creating a straw man . .
I'll dance you into the ground mate and pinch all the good dancers!
Now with the benefit of hindsight I realise Sloane was right. Gary Robinson was/is a smooth and plausible character. In practice once the after 11 am drinking got established the town got inundated with load shouting half drunk young people from miles around causing havoc in terms of noise I went on the prowl regularly to check what was happening at 2 am and quickly changed my mind about what Gary Robinson stood for. In practice we had a very hard time to limit the opening hours to 11 pm and when we succeeded Gary closed the place down. So much for promoting the arts instead it was an opportunity to make money out of a place for after hours drinking with the accompanying bad behaviour from drunks. Why am I sucker for giving plausible people the benefit of the doubt. Be more cautious nest time!
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