Opinion: ‘Great news Key Theatre can stay open’

I hope by now many of you will have read about our announcement which secures the future of the Key Theatre.

Subject to dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, we have come to an agreement with the operators of the New Theatre in Peterborough which will see them take over the running of the Key from February 1.

It’s great news for the theatre and everyone connected with it and I’m excited to see their plans for the Key going forward, which I am sure will have a positive impact on the city’s cultural offering.

New Theatre Peterborough has already established an excellent reputation in the city with its strong repertoire of shows, which is one of the reasons we chose them.

The agreement will also see the Chalkboard Restaurant and Key Youth Theatre remain on site for at least the next 12 months.

The existing programme of events will continue as planned, with tickets remaining on sale to the public. Anyone that has bought tickets can be reassured that their money is safe.

We never wanted to see the theatre close and understandably there were many upset people when we announced in December that we could no longer fund it going forward, but unfortunately that is the reality of our very challenging financial situation.

However, we committed to doing everything possible to keep the venue open and I am pleased we have been able to deliver on that pledge, whilst still making the savings that we need to in our budget.

The New Theatre is now awaiting confirmation from Arts Council England that it can support the Key financially to get it back on its feet as soon as possible.

This announcement is an excellent example of how we can continue to provide those services which are not statutory without spending taxpayers’ money, by working with our partners.

Tomorrow we will publish our phase two budget proposals which will close the gap in our finances for 2022/23. There are still some difficult decisions to be made, but the sooner we make them the sooner we can reach financial sustainability and continue to invest in all our futures.

So please take a look at the proposals when they are published and tell us what you think by visiting our website. Hard copies can also be requested by emailing [email protected].

We have an exciting future ahead of us, but first we must find a way to deliver what people need and work out where and when they need our services, and then deliver them in an efficient, cost effective and sustainable way.

- I am disappointed to continue to read derogatory comments from councillor Chris Harper, the former Conservative member and now a member of the Peterborough First group. In a recent story in this newspaper, he implies that the Conservative group and others put party politics before the residents of Peterborough.

This is simply not true.

To date I have declined to comment on councillor Harper’s recent resignation and his online rant, but I can no longer let this pass without adding the following.

It’s my opinion, and that of others, that councillor Harper comes across as a self-righteous hypocrite. He has previously heavily criticised those that “cross the floor” (switch parties), even going as far to say that those who do so should be forced to resign their seat by law and go back to the electorate to re-run the vote. He has chosen to ignore his previous comments on social media about this matter which is why he is a hypocrite.

Councillor Harper has clearly no idea of what is going on within the council and is seemingly unwilling to take 
responsibility and face up to the difficult financial challenges that this council faces. I would also refute the accusation that we/I am leading the city down a: ‘wrong and dangerous path’ – in fact what councillor Harper and his sympathisers are doing by their actions merely serves to undermine the council and its political stability which increases the risk of intervention from Government.

I don’t mind that he criticises me personally, I have been around long enough to take it. But I lay this challenge down to councillor Harper – if he thinks he has a different path that leads us to financial sustainability, then lay it out and I will gladly step aside. I have never told him to put up or shut up as he claimed recently – but now I will.

- I note with interest a story being reported by Peterborough Today (the Peterborough Telegraph’d website) about members’ allowances and the suggestion that we forgo these by councillor Ansar Ali, a Labour party councillor, who will put this idea forward as a motion to council next week.

To me this is simply electioneering and politicking by opposition. We don’t get additional allowances for special responsibilities alone – I can do 60 hours a week on council business and many of my colleagues are putting in hours like mine. Councillors’ allowances are set by an independent remuneration panel and are based on professional judgement and comparisons with other local authorities.

I know we have financial troubles, and I am working to fix those and making good progress, but now is not the time to cut allowances when we are relying on members to do even more. It is only right and proper that people receive financial recognition for the commitment that they put in as a councillor. Many could, or would, do it for free I am sure, but many cannot because they have other financial commitments, and they also miss out on other opportunities to earn money to be a councillor as they give up so much time to do it.

I will not be supporting councillor Ali’s motion as I think it is political posturing and is insult to all councillors who do so much for the 
residents of Peterborough.