Broadfield House to Close

[Anne]

Hmmm wonder why not Pamela? It's worth noting here that the image verification letters are case sensitive - perhaps that's why it's failing for you?

[aa]

Having emailed a number of councillors this afternoon, I am hoping that those who were unaware of the proposed closure will be visiting this thread to inform themselves what has been going on, and possibly even to comment. I am sure that everyone will agree that they should be made very welcome here and that their presence can only enhance the debate and take us forward to a resolution. I have already heard back from one opposition councillor who had been completely unaware of the proposals and expressed concern.

[Patrick]

I have already heard back from one opposition councillor who had been completely unaware of the proposals and expressed concern.

Hi Adam,

I wonder how many of them have heard of the 10 Million they have just spent as highlighted by Marcus in an earlier post..............

quote;-
"Oh well, there are obviously two sides to culture.....

Industrial heritage..... (or how the working classes struggled...)"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/7848798.stm

Regards , Patrick.

[David E]

David, just having tried to upload my BHM pics of last November - obviously too large - shall try again

Thanks Pamela - if you are trying to send them direct to me, my mailbox has a limit of 10MB, so 4 images at a time should be fine.

Worth noting that Broadfield House normally have no objections to photos being published, inside or outside, but they do ask for a courtesy note. e.g:

Photographs courtesy of Broadfield House Glass Museum

[Carolyn Preston]

I signed the petition, had no problems accepting signatures from Canada. Not sure that they will listen to Canadians though. It may be that given the decision is being made by a local government they will not care (which does not seem to be high on their skill sets) if the foreign people want a glass museum or not.

It occurred to me that given the possible cost of moving/refurbishing compared to running it, maybe the powers that be want that building for something else.

Carolyn

[David E]

It's more than likely they simply want to sell Broadfield House - naturally, this is great timing given the property market slump...

[aa]

Not sure that they will listen to Canadians though. It may be that given the decision is being made by a local government they will not care (which does not seem to be high on their skill sets) if the foreign people want a glass museum or not.
Carolyn

Please sign, whatever country you live in. Stourbridge needs tourism. Dudley council needs to know that people come to Broadfield House from abroad, stay in local hotels and B & B's, use local restaurants, taxis, amenities and patronise local businesses. If Broadfield House were to close, Dudley will lose that substantial and vital income for local businesses. Tourism income will most likely drop by much more than the £120,000 they are trying to save.

[David Hier]

............this is great timing given the property market slump...

Not really. The construction sector has been hit badly by the current economic situation and property developers aren't buying land.

[David Hier]

tried to sign at least six or seven times - was not accepted 

Presuming that you weren't trying to create multiple signatures, I would suggest that you try again with cookies enabled.

Moderator: Edited after an objection

[Anne]

............this is great timing given the property market slump...

Not really. The construction sector has been hit badly by the current economic situation and property developers aren't buying land.

David, I think I noted more than a hint of cynicism/sarcasm/etc in David E's comment! 

[David E]

... with an extra dollop of irony...

[yelooc]

I spoke to a Dudley councillor last night who told me that they are receiving emails from all over the world. He said "if you all keep this going the council will have to listen".

So .. let's show them what we're made of!

We need everyone you know to hear about this disgraceful proposal. Please send out a link to the petition on your email distribution lists and encourage your friends to read this board, and to send emails and letters to the contacts provided earlier.

A big push could turn this crazy decision around.

Graham

[tropdevin]

Much as I would hate to see Broadfield House close, do we know how many people attend over the course of a year, and how many of these are not local - ie how much does BH really bring to the local economy? Whenever I have dropped in when passing it has been deserted - the only numbers have been for special events.

Having dealt with local government finance as my last job, I doubt that somewhere such as BH is going to be seen as high priority for expenditure compared to schools, education, social services and child protection......etc.  Councils and councillors can get some quite bad press when children are beaten to death because the LA decided to spend money on other services - they may have that at the back of their minds when making decisions on the future of BH.

What we need is a philanthropist who likes glass with at least £5 million going free to buy the place and keep it running - if that is the best solution. Maybe developing the Red Cone site would be better?

Alan

[David E]

I think Nigel posted earlier that visitors had risen from 11,000 per annum to 15,000. Given that it is open six days a week, this represents about 48 people through the doors a day, on average. Naturally some days are quieter, but I always find a few people buzzing about.

[aa]

As the campaign is gaining momentum it would be a great help if everyone could copy emails to Barbara Beadman, the Chairman of the Friends of Broadfield House, as she is talking to councillors and press regularly.

The email address she has asked us to use is

sales at sign plowden-thompson.com

Don't forget to change the red portion to @