An online petition to save The Platform from closure has been launched by Morecambe-raised artist and dance teacher Anthony Padgett, and Lancaster MP Cat Smith has criticised the proposal, discussed at a Lancaster City Council meeting last week.
The Lancaster Guardian has reported that Labour Councillor Anne Whitehead, the city council’s cabinet member for finance, told councillors at last week’s Budget and Performance Panel meeting that The Platform’s current use as an arts and concert venue was no longer viable due to “escalating costs and resource constraints”.
The discussion comes as the Council is facing a potential deficit of £3.4 million in 2024/25, which could reach £7 million by 2026. Council tax looks set to rise by 2.99 per cent for the 2023/24 year. That would equate to a 14p per week increase for a Band D home.
The council has vowed to protect frontline services, which include collecting bins, recycling, street cleaning, maintaining parks, beaches and open spaces, and ensuring access to services for vulnerable people.
“Alternative uses will be sought for the building whilst the council continues to support Morecambe’s rich cultural offer in every possible way, particularly as it accelerates over the coming years as the Eden Project Morecambe takes shape,” said Coun Whitehead, adding that the city council would change its own ways of working and structures, with more partnering with other organisations.
Both the visitor information centres at The Platform in Morecambe and The Storey in Lancaster are also likely to shut at the end of the 2023 season, councillors arguing more visitors now seek out information online rather than in person at such locations.
All council buildings and assets are to be reviewed, including how Lancaster and Morecambe town halls are used, as the council is forced to make more savings to protect frontline services.
“We will support the district’s outstanding offer for visitors, said Coun Whitehead. “However the way we do it will change. We want to transfer from physical centres towards a more digital offer, primarily focused on online promotion.
“Arts, culture and events are key aspects of the district. We will continue to seek support, work in partnership and source external funding.”
Anthony Padgett, who runs dance classes at the venue, and the 1500 people who have signed his petition so far, are clearly dismayed The Platform is in the firing line for closure.
“The decision to close it down will negatively impact local businesses, the ties with the Eden Project and the economic development of Morecambe,” he says. “It is a short-sighted money saving that will deny economic growth in a deprived area.”
Cat Smith: “The Platform is a great local arts venue”
While Morecambe MP David Morris appears yet to have commented on the proposals, Lancaster MP Cat Smith says she is disappointed that Lancaster City Council has proposed to consult on the closure of Visitor Information Centres in Lancaster and Morecambe, including The Platform, a venue she describes as a “local epicentre for entertainment and community spirit.
“In view of this, I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling on him to see that the Government provide the additional funding to keep The Platform and Visitor Centres open in line with their ‘Levelling Up’ promises.
“The Tories keep cutting local council budgets whilst claiming to ‘level up’,” she added on Facebook. “Do they think the people of Lancaster and Fleetwood are fools?
“The Platform is a great local arts venue that will be an essential part of a visitor offer as well as a valued local asset.”
• If David Morris is your MP, write and tell him what you think of this – but please be polite
• If Cat Smith is your MP, write and tell him what you think of this – but please be polite
• Contact your councillors and tell them what you think – but please – be polite