Jonathan Essex
Appearances
The Planet Reigate Podcast
49: Our report on the big Harlequin meeting and the Morris Men’s group which may not dance to see 100 years… and more
I think it is right that it is deferred, so it's considered at the same time as the business case. But my concern is this. The motion was asking us to look to the long term, have vision and a strategy, not to commit reserves and money, to actually have a vision. Vision means going beyond what you think you can achieve and then working out ways of getting there, rather than starting by looking...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
49: Our report on the big Harlequin meeting and the Morris Men’s group which may not dance to see 100 years… and more
in your pockets to see how much money you have and then deciding whether you want to walk forward at all. I think we need to have that long-term perspective and let it guide our decisions here today.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
49: Our report on the big Harlequin meeting and the Morris Men’s group which may not dance to see 100 years… and more
That's why I think it's unfortunate that the proposal is to defer the motion and that we aren't able to consider the relevant parts of it, the parts that relate to the agenda today, such as the interim facilities, which appear to be only continuing for the next few months, while the business case in January is not looking to start things until the medium term next year.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
49: Our report on the big Harlequin meeting and the Morris Men’s group which may not dance to see 100 years… and more
We live in hope now that a business...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
49: Our report on the big Harlequin meeting and the Morris Men’s group which may not dance to see 100 years… and more
plan or a business case comes back in january that lives up to our expectations but when it arrives it then needs a further strategy or a further action plan down the line and that leads to a further thing which needs a further thing and so on and he added that there was a danger of having a perfect solution at some time in the future rather than a less good solution that was happening now it feels that we're dancing around the difference between the perfect and the good
The Planet Reigate Podcast
49: Our report on the big Harlequin meeting and the Morris Men’s group which may not dance to see 100 years… and more
You, Leda, have talked about the aspirations of five years plus of having the perfect theatre. On the other end of the spectrum, those in the arts want a theatre they can use, a good theatre now. We want a good plan, not necessarily a perfect plan, and many might prefer a good plan soon rather than a perfect plan now. in the long term.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
Peter, just like you've said, you've been saying for many months since the start of December that you're committed to the money for a new fish. I think that's welcome. We still haven't heard when...
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
apart from sort of three to five years, but more importantly, I think others have said to you that also many times, and maybe equally, the hearing doesn't seem to go in the other direction, that a full-size theatre, and it's the only one of that size in the whole of Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge, needs an equivalent temporary space.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
The music performance venue, which is highlighted in the papers, with no racked seating, sorry, that's probably the wrong phrase to use, isn't it? Raked seating is probably not the ideal space for a theatre. It looks like it's trying to put a theatre in a non-theatre space. And clearly what your survey of all existing buildings has shown is that the Harlequin is unique in the local area.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
And unless there's a temporary theatre venue, then something like three quarters of the audience and three quarters of the money And therefore, the most significant local performance arts community will be going elsewhere for the foreseeable future, serving other audiences in other places and potentially denuding themselves of where they're at. So I guess three different things I would be asking.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
Firstly, in terms of the cost commitment, I think it's clearly tied to time. Because if we pass the date when This becomes a shadow authority and the unit your authority is in the making across Surrey.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
And we don't have a significant sized temporary theatre venue rather than fairly small music performance space in existence. And we haven't let the contract and started repairing the Harlequin. I fear that without that, time scale, we risk a new set of councillors covering a different geography with respect to you, Richard, leader, sorry, with respect to what your commitment now.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
We want that commitment to be honoured by others too. So I think we really need to expedite this process at pace in a way that it hasn't been going for the last 16 months. And if we need to have a special council meeting to approve it on April the 17th or whatever, because that's when it's ready. Why don't we just bring it forward as soon as we can?
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
And if we can share the terms of reference cross-party to get things agreed informally, rather than wait to the last minute. Now, we want to move quickly on this. My concern is, if you wait till June, then we're not going to get a temporary theatre up and running until sometime after we've agreed that we want one.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
So why not separate the timing for the temporary venue from the timing of the permanent venue? Have a separate team working on the the permanent reconstruction to the temporary venue and have that temporary venue built around the arts and getting it back to go.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
In terms of the temporary venue locations, I think you've dismissed Gloucester Road car park, but I haven't seen any other proposals or any really element of the report that discusses alternative locations for a full-sized temporary venue. And I was here in 2014 when the temporary use of the whole car park for Sainsbury's during their long build program was considered.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
It was supported by significant car park capacity analysis. Well if we could do that then, and we moved mountains for Sainsbury's, why can't we move the same kind of mountains for our theater goers?
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
You've made a commitment that there's money available for the refurbishment of the Harlequin. Can you commit that we will sign the deal before we enter it into a shadow unitary so that there is no risk that the commitment made here today will unravel in the future? and then on the temporary venue.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
I understood. Until January 9th, which was a little while after we discussed this in August last year, Most of us in the room that aren't on the executive might have thought that all the alternatives which were being considered were alternative theatre options for the Harlequin, such that it would be an alternative option leading to the new theatre.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
And we discovered at the overview and scrutiny that
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
actually a full size temporary option wasn't even on the long list so it's only really been considered in the last couple of weeks it's not in the long it wasn't in the long list on january the 9th it might be might have slipped in now in the last couple of weeks but it wasn't in the long list previously it said it was discounted and didn't make the long list and it's not clear that we've had any proper analysis of alternative parking potential in red hill
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
I'll have to look very carefully at ONS papers. It wasn't clear that it was there when we discussed it at ONS. Maybe it's there now, which is great. It's been added on the last couple of weeks.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
For clarity that I'm not intending to mislead or confuse, the appendix to January the 19th talked about an arts festival, a theatre bus, a 100-seat venue, a 150-seat venue, a 200-seat venue. a temporary performance space in the summer, a temporary performance space only at Christmas, and then use of existing spaces in schools and colleges. That was the long list.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
There was no temporary theatre option there. And wherever numbers of audience were mentioned, it says 100, 150, and 200. If there was an intention in the long list to have a higher number, then surely it would have been included the longest. It might have slipped into the more recent one, but in terms of what's been in the public domain and open to scrutiny by councillors, there was no £400
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
500-seater option considered at ONS. Otherwise, surely it would have been in the ONS papers.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
It says Christmas only and summer only, not a temporary performance space.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
because of the previous one that we'd already invested in sorry with respect i wasn't talking about the figure i was talking about the time the only temporary spaces in that long list are for christmas panto and for the summer there isn't a temporary full-size theater option considered in the long list and i don't think i need to do fact shaming in a council chamber because honesty is one of the seven principles of public life i'm just saying look at that time you did not consider a temporary
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
That would mean having a temporary venue so that all the year-round programs of the Harlequin can be used on a temporary basis, not just when it comes back. A Christmas only and a summer only as two separate options in a list of a long list is not a full-size temporary venue. That's what it says.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
All we know is that in January the 9th, there wasn't a temporary option considered in all the work that happened from July 1st through to January. The fact that it started to be considered in the last couple of weeks, and you recognise that's been considered as an option now, great. But what I'm saying is it hasn't been given the same amount of focus as the other options.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
And in the same way as you've said, you've repeated 10 million lots of times. You may have heard, since we've been allowed to start scrutinising this in January, although we requested it back in August, that phrase temporary theatre venue mentioned because actually it's quite important to people and that's why we've mentioned it here tonight.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
73a: *Extra Episode - Harlequin '£10m decision' at RBBC council meeting 30.01.25
That's what we mean a temporary theatre venue to replace what the Harlequin is now. I mean, it's not difficult, what I'm trying to suggest. Look, if you want to retain the theatre programme year round and build up to it, build back better was a phrase in COVID. You know, you build back up to what you've got before. You need it all year round.