Richard Bigg
speaker
138 appearances
5 recordings
1 series
first heard Jun 2024
last heard Feb 2025
Richard Bigg’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
I haven't seen all the recommendations coming through yet. They'll be in the papers on the 23rd. I have said consistently that at the moment we haven't found any suitable temporary venue. we have to consider the cost. I know people think that there's a money tree somewhere, there isn't.
My priority is to get the Harlequin back up and running, partly because of our lease obligations and partly because I genuinely believe that it's a huge asset for Redhill and for the borough and for the wider area. And I've met lots of people over the past year that have expressed the importance.
Groups like Seability, and I know the importance of the theatre to them and the fact that they've got one space that they can get used to and understand where they're partially sighted. So there's lots of reasons to get it back up and running as quickly as possible. and I want to make sure that we're concentrating on the right thing.
I have to say that it was fantastic that we put up a big top, but it took a huge amount of resource for five months that we lost, that that resource could have been working on the Harlequin. Those sorts of things, we have to balance them out. So for me, the most important thing is to speed up as much as we can the return of the Harlequin. And that's what we'll be concentrating on.
But obviously, we want to provide temporary provision in the meantime. And we're doing everything we can. The team have been working fantastically hard to find solutions. And all those solutions will come. And there's still time for them to find a 500 seat option. But I haven't heard from them yet that there is one. And the priority must be working on the Harlequin.
Those sorts of options may well come to the executive. But I think you do a little bit of a disservice to all the community groups that are providing those services and have worked to find solutions to obviously a difficult situation to make sure But those are provided for the residents of the whole of the borough and are going on. You talk like there will be no provision.
I have not said at any time this evening that there will be no provision for five years. I've said exactly the opposite. But this constant talking about one particular size venue... when actually the community groups that use our space require all different sizes. So we must do the cost-effective thing to provide for our community groups. That's what we'll be doing.
That's what will come to the executive.
So I think let's not do a disservice to all the fantastic groups that provide all those services to many of our children all the way across the borough and will continue to do while we go through this very difficult situation and I think that's the most important thing that the service is provided and we will do everything we can as a borough to help provide that and that's what we're doing and that's what will come to the executive in January.
So I thank you Chairman, that was a bit of a rant but... Thank you.
Thank you. We had to get the full survey done to get a full understanding of the situation. And because it's not an individual ownership building, it was, to be honest, complicated and took some time. And we regret the time that it takes. We've said that at the August meeting. We said at the July meeting. What I can do is work as fast as we can going forward to get things sorted.
And now we have the full report. Now we understand. the obviously quite serious nature of the RAC that we have in the theatre and in the auditorium, we can move forward. So, yes, it's not perfect, but we did need all that information before we can move forward. Now we've got that, we move forward at the quickest pace we can. So, thank you, Chair.
to help with the Hunt for a Temporary Event? A great suggestion, Councillor Green. Thank you very much. And yes, absolutely. The more we can do, the more we can help these groups. And they all have, and that is one thing I realised in my conversations, was they all have different needs. And so there's no one-size-fits-all.
And I think we have to remember that the Harlequin wasn't just a theatre event. It was a lot more than that. There was rehearsal space, there was office space, there was the bar, there was the cafe, there was meeting rooms. All of those things, all used by the community, but all were quite different.
And they don't have to be in one place, but we have to meet the needs of as many of those community groups as we can for all different reasons. And I spoke to one that's a group of 20 people that meet once a month to have coffee and have a chat and talk, and they're in a church at the moment, and the church has accommodated them just over the road, and they're carrying on with their meeting.
But absolutely, that venue and more like that can make a difference. So absolutely, I appreciate your comment. Councillor Walsh?
It's important that we find ways of keeping you informed of progress, but also we really need to understand, while we've got this opportunity, what we do going forward and we want your input on that. And that's why that October engagement session has been done. It may be an evening, it may be over a weekend, we're still working on it.
But we want as many people as possible to come and tell us what they feel the future of live theatre arts culture in our borough would be.
I'd urge every member of the public to write to the government and the Arts Council to ask them for funding, because the more funding we can pull together, we know we're going to need money. There is no question. It's going to cost money.
Myself and all the executive have been pushing for the survey. We want to know what we're dealing with and what the cost implications are. I think it's well understood... Sorry. Sorry. We've been pushing for the survey. We obviously haven't got a survey yet. As soon as we've got... Sorry, if you keep in track, I will have to ask you to be quiet, please, while I'm speaking. Please.
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