Gale's View (Herne Bay Gazette) - Kings Hall

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January 18th 2018

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The Kings Hall is one of the significant jewels in Herne Bay 's seaside crown. It is also, aside from a  superb kitchen refurbished fairly recently at ratepayer's expense, no longer fit for purpose. It is losing about a quarter of a million pounds annually and that money is haemorrhaging directly from council taxpayers' pockets. A responsible City Council can no longer ignore this issue. The time has come to secure  refurbishment and a new future for the facility. To do nothing is not an option.

 

The Kings Hall Working Group, so ably chaired by Cllr. Andrew Cook and with input from Ward Councillor Ian Stockley and others, presented its report to the Community Committee in September of last year and a further Community Committee meeting will consider the matter further in the immediate future. The Working Group considered all possible options from demolition through mothballing to the transfer to a Community Trust, the use of the premises as a ' village hall' and the leasehold or full sale to a private operator. They rightly dismissed the demolition option and concentrated their attention on ' village Hall' status, sale for commercial development, leasing as an entertainment venue or leasing to a community trust. All of these, and other, options remain on the table and although many wild hares have started running as a result of the test- marketing of the Hall the process, recommended by the Working Group and the Community Committee, was exactly that and no more. A toe in the commercial water.

 

The Working  Group noted correctly that a range of external and internal operators had tried, and to date failed, to make a go of the Hall. It's location, lack of passing trade and footfall, lack of on- site parking, lack of accessibility, rising costs, the inflexibility of the single large hall, grim acoustics caused by the post- construction  re- configuration of the stage and the pressing need for extensive re- furbishment of the fabric have all militated against success. While some 70,000 visits to the Hall were made last year very many of those were repeat visits and ticket sales for events ran at only just over 50% of capacity. It is clear that the majority of residents of Herne Bay have not visited the Kings Hall recently if at all and most of those who do use the premises are over retirement age. As the Hall  stands it has small attraction for young people and the cafe and restaurant services are not viable out- of - season because the venue is so weather- dependent. In addition to the current annual subsidy an expenditure of getting on for half a million pounds over the next couple of years will be required just to maintain, not enhance, the building.

 

My guess is, as one who has in a previous incarnation worked in and with a number of civic and private performance and entertainment venues, that an expenditure of some three million pounds, together with planning consents for parking and enhanced public transport, will be needed to realise the potential of an Edwardian building that is in need of care and attention to revitalise it for service throughout this century.  I have never believed that it is the proper task of local authorities to try to act as impresarios and such efforts almost invariably end either in tears or massive subsidy or both. 

 

It ought, though, to be possible to attract private investment in a long leasehold property while maintaining community rights over aspects of the use of the building. The re- configuration of the main hall to create the potential for smaller and more flexible units, the restoration of the stage to its original location to improve the acoustics, the possible installation of a mezzanine floor to provide office, dining or alternative community space such as an art gallery, are all worthy of consideration as is a co- operation with the East Kent Colleges for training purposes ( The Yarrow Hotel in Broadstairs is a significant co- operative success).

 

What we cannot and must not do is set up an underfunded Community Trust scheme to fail but if a Community Trust can operate with a commercial partner on a shared leasehold basis then that is another matter. There are plenty of community venues and facilities in Herne Bay but the Kings Hall is the the only sizeable public performance venue in the Town. We need to develop it and to preserve it, but not in aspic. We owe it to future generations and a growing population of The Bay to be visionary and bold and I hope that the voices not just of the usual commentators but of the whole Town will be heard and heeded before a final decision is taken.

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