Friday 15 February 2013

Bandstand Grandstanding?

Knocking on doors is a really useful aspect of democracy and it doesn't cost anything. One of the issues that was brought to my attention yesterday was about moving a bandstand from a park in Lancaster to Happy Mount Park in Morecambe.  Maybe it was mentioned to me because there was a petition last year which was signed by 1700 people and it could be that I had just met one of those signatories.

There are plenty of brass bands that use Happy Mount Park. I have seen them play many times and the setting is lovely. I have only been in good weather but I understood that when it rains the performances continue in the cafe. As I understand it the bandstand is not used in Lancaster so you would think it makes sense to get it moved especially when you know that it originally came from Morecambe. What may make less sense is getting 1700 people to sign a petition when you don't know a few major details.

Do the brass bands need or even want a bandstand? Is the bandstand in Lancaster big enough for the bands that play in Morecambe? Can the bandstand be moved? Who would pay for the move?

As it happens the bandstand couldn't be moved so maybe they didn't get round to asking the other questions, but it sounds like those who signed the petition haven't been told that it was a non-starter. It makes you wonder who put the petition together.

When asked about moving the bandstand, Lancaster City Council deemed that the move was not possible. However if Morecambe wanted to go ahead with a new bandstand then 'consultation would need to take place to establish whether a permanent bandstand really was needed. The City Council has no resource currently available to undertake this consultation'.

According to The Visitor , it was Morecambe Town Council that submitted the 1,700 name petition, Well a great deal of time has already been wasted and unfortunately it is still going on...

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