Councillor Rich Michalowski
speaker
33 appearances
3 recordings
1 series
first heard Aug 2024
last heard Feb 2025
Councillor Rich Michalowski’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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financial cost of our economy in Redhill to not having that provision for those three to five years and also having it disappear because everyone's given up and gone somewhere else?
So can I confirm that we are going to consider a 500-seater option?
Councillor Essex. Six or seven years. is the time it takes to go through the whole of secondary. So that's like a generation of potential for participation in the arts. So that's the kind of delay we're talking about here. And if you value that at £2 million a year, because that's the temporary value cost you're working on, then the delay so far has cost the council £2.5 million.
I really would like the big top-line promises, like you've just said, to be backed up by full refurbishment cost in there and a full temporary venue cost in there.
My concern is if we try to have the perfect most cost effective refurbishment without actually getting even a half decent 500 seat of venue between now and then, what use is that if we waste away our arts and culture that's been thriving for so long in the meantime? Maybe better to have something that's less cost effective in the long term that could be delivered a little bit more quickly.
I just want to apologise to any community groups if they felt that I was suggesting they do a disservice to their community in the comments I made here tonight. That was not my intention. And I'm sorry if my words might have been misunderstood if that wasn't the case.
Councillor Ashworth. When we first had this problem, we decided and took a decision that the panto must go on. And within a very, very short space of time, we leapt into action and we got a big top and we got everything moving. And it was a real feat. And okay, it was one particular event. But the 15 months have gone by since we discovered this rack.
And yet we're sat here tonight with people saying, what's the timescale for the alternative provision? And How long is it going to take to do this and when are we going to get to that? And in 15 months we haven't even made a start. Is this the best we've got in 15 months?
Councillor Green.
It sounds like, though, we have a path forward. The Harlequin is going to be rebuilt. Some temporary solution is going to be put in place. We on this committee will, as we always do, look at the plans for the rebuilding and we'll poke and prod at that. Could I suggest, would it be helpful if, perhaps more constructively, we invite people
We've got to have the commitment to deliver, but have the commitment to deliver what is necessary at the least cost and the shortest time to our residents. But it doesn't necessarily mean reinstating it as it was left in September 2023. We need to be making sure that we are providing something that is reflective of the future, not reflective of the past.
Redhill, by its virtue of its central position and accessibility, continues to be the ideal location for such an offering. I feel for those who have worked at the Harlequin, through absolutely no fault of their own, they'll be the most impacted should we support the recommended option.
Tonight, the role of this executive is to focus on what is in the best interests of the borough, which includes Redhill, and I trust that's what we will do.
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