Drama made out of Suite crisis (From Prestwich and Whitefield Guide)

Drama made out of Suite crisis

7:00am Monday 16th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share

CREATIVE youngsters proved the under-threat Longfield Suite in Prestwich is alive and kicking when they showed Bury Council’s leader how it’s done.

At a highly charged public meeting last Thursday, teenagers from the Class Act theatre group performed a drama routine for Cllr Bob Bibby to illustrate how vital the Suite is.

About 300 people attended the meeting at the Suite to voice their concerns to Cllr Bibby, who gave them an update on the issue.

In early October, the Guide revealed the council’s Executive would review the future of the Longfield Suite and three similar centres.

Council figures claim they are losing a total of £600,000 a year. The Executive set up a task and finish body — a group of council officers — to analyse how the centres can be “reconfigured” to make a profit.

Cllr Bibby has not said what would happen if the group was unable to come up with a way to help the Suite balance the books.

So Suite users are demanding to know what would happen if the council decided there was no future for the facility in its current form.

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition stating their opposition to any closure.

Others have disputed the council’s figures which show the Suite makes a loss and that it is under-used.

At the meeting, Alan Turner, who organises the regular Danceclub 2000 event, said: “The Longfield Suite is a flagship site. It is fully booked until 2011. We need assurances about its future.”

Afterwards, Cllr Vic D’Albert said: “The suite makes a profit. It is only when the council adds on a bundle of central costs that it makes a loss. Why don’t we close the Elizabethan Suite in Bury? The council figures say it loses the most money.”

Class Act organiser Jo Bernstein said: “We have been teaching four to 18-year-olds for 12 years. The heart of the group has always been the Suite. A closure would be a massive blow.”

Cllr Bibby said: “I found it a useful meeting and I enjoyed the Class Act performance too. People feel they are going to lose something close to their hearts. What I made clear is that there is no firm proposal on the table. The group will consider the facts and conclude however they see fit.”

The task group will report on the issue before March 31.

• Print
• Email
• Share