Last updated 12:24, Tuesday, 19 August 2008

TONY Cummings’ letter, “Palladium should be a credit to our town” (Evening Mail, August 13)” appears to be written in good faith, but is I am afraid full of inaccuracies.

A great deal of work has been carried out by Nash Thakker, Copeland Borough Council’s market town initiative manager appointed in 2004, on many projects in Millom and Haverigg, including the New Network Centre, Millom Business Forum, the Haverigg Lighthouse (new nursery) Project, the Millom Swimming Pool Project, and he was involved in the transfer of the Millom Palladium from Millom Amateur Operatic Society to M&HEDG in 2007.

A lot of effort by a variety of people went into the Palladium Project to obtain acceptable regeneration design options and sourcing funding for the renovation. This all takes a lot of time and can be a slow process waiting for results of meetings of various committees and funding bodies. In the end M&HEDG ran out of time for that particular funding window and funders were not happy with the fact that once renovated, the Palladium may not be financially viable with enough user support from the community and withdrew funding.

They will not give £1.8m to a project not supported by the community to enable it to pay for itself in future years.

The Palladium can indeed be a credit to Millom, Mr Cummings, however, unless the local community supports the Palladium to make it viable, it could be lost forever. Use it or lose it!

For family reasons Mr Thakker has resigned and will be moving to the Midlands. This does not affect the work of the M&HEDG, which, as a limited company and registered non-profit-making charity, will continue with a large variety of projects in the area.

Indeed, it is under discussion for the M&HEDG possibly to broaden out to become a South Copeland Regeneration Group, possibly under the umbrella of the newly-established South Copeland Partnership – a group constituted with representatives of local parish and town councils, Copeland and county councils, and such other co-opted members as appropriate. Such a new representative group will have the ability to attract much larger funding to South Copeland in general so that we will be able to compete more with other parts of the county, if not the country.

I am at a total loss as to Mr Cummings’ statement that “it has recently come to light that a member of the newly-formed committee to spearhead the Palladium Project was summarily dismissed in March from the regeneration office”. As already stated, the new Palladium Management Committee was only established last month with me as chairman. No one from this committee has been dismissed.

Indeed, the M&HEDG is comprised of volunteers and by its constitution does not employ anyone. The M&HEDG does purchase the services of self-employed consultants for design of projects, marketing and website design and maintenance out of funded project income, but none of these are employed with the M&HEDG and therefore cannot be dismissed. Of course, once a project ends or funding runs out, these consultants are not required and their services terminated.

So, Mr Cummings, I do not know who your “informants” are as a source of your letters to the Mail, all I suggest is that you check to see if what you are told is correct.

I do so look forward to reading a letter in the Mail from you saying something nice about Millom instead of being so critical of those who give up their valuable free time to actually do something for the community. However, I won’t hold my breath.

BRIAN CRAWFORD

M&HEDG volunteer

Lancashire Road, Millom