What would you like to see at the old gas works???

I feel this was getting to long winded for the shoutbox......


In my humble opinion, what Penzance needs is indoor things to do, suitable for family's with children. If you ask the guys and girls at the Tourist Information Centre, this is what they are asked for most often for, and what a large percentage of negative comments are about. I remember a few years ago Penzance has a few places like these, e.g Jungle Jims (above the star), the Pirate Museum in chapel street, light house museum, geological museum, the pilchard words in Newlyn and all were fine for rainy summer days. Today there is the Cinema and Penlee house,

As for a music hall / outdoor performing area, Penzance all ready has a few places suitable for this. St. Johns hall is available for hire. The Acorn has had to add a £1 Booking fee to be able to stay open (arguably to cover the cost a falling ticket sales). And remember, the gas works backs onto a retirement / residential home, i don't thing a open air stage would get planning permission.

How should this be funded? With public money or should it be a private venture?

I think this debate may continue, but one thing I think we can all agree on is anything but another Art Gallery!!!!

While on the subject of unused land, what has/is happening to the old St. Claire swimming pool?

Anthony
 

treeve

Major Contributor
I quite agree wider discussion possible here, and I hope sincerely to hear more and wider points about anything to improve the lot for locals and for visitors. I agree something is needed .... I used to go to the Symphony concerts in St John's Hall - I am likely to be posting those programmes up in the gallery before long, as they have all been autographed by world-class musicians and singers; unfortunately the acoustics there have changed. I also went there to dances and Rock concerts in the 1960s. There were also exhibitions (I remember as a young lad there was one with aero history). We had the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra there once. I still say the Penzance does not have a real concert hall, or a real venue for top musicians and bands. I enjoyed the performance at The Acorn by Kneehigh of the King of Prussia, but it was all a bit noisy and unclear. Music in there in my opinion is rather lost and dead, when I compare it with venues like Ronnie Scott's.

I agree on the point about the retirement home and the proximity of an outdoor stage within the gas site, let alone the problems with traffic. We have the Promenade for outdoor performance and events - we used to have a Bandstand before the Ash Wednesday placed its mark of death on it. Oh - please ... not another art gallery !! I used to enjoy the first and oldest Geological Museum in the country, until someone decided that money was more important than history. I believe the space is now empty. The Flamingo at Pool was the place ... the roof nearly lifted in there when Acker Bilk came down there. The Pavilion in Penzance was a much better concert venue as well as for opera.

Private or Public? ... take a step back in time to when we had a word called service. It was provided by local authorities. Then someone started to call outrage at taxes and rates; and Nationalised Industries (the main core of Governmental Income) were sold off, and so the spiral of private subcontracts and Private industries were sent into a vortex, with local authority income cut to horrendous levels; and now we have the eternal cry that local authorities are not doing enough (and that includes me, despite the fact that I know and understand just why). Now there are two options, Private and Partnership, both depend largely upon injections of external funding, either from government coffers or European funds (despite the complaints about European controls, we do get money from them, especially considering the reduced membership input which was negotiated years ago, so maybe we are not getting that bad a deal?) ... so the fact of Local Authority provision of any venues are a matter of immense doubt. Any form of venue creation requires considerable clout and organisation to get through the financing of such a worthwhile project.

I thought the St Clare pool was eaten up by the new Sports Complex?
 

Halfhidden

Untouchable
Administrator
I'm pleading thick here if I may...but what attractions are there in Penzance. I'm not talking Newlyn, Hayle or St Ives! Penzance what do we really have here to attract holiday makers. And if we have very little, don't we have less to offer if it rains?
Penzance need to wake up and compete and be proud!!!!
 
On reflection I feel Housing is most likely, which is a good thing, especially if there is some affordable included.

Halfhidden said:
I'm pleading thick here if I may...but what attractions are there in Penzance.

Do we rally need an 'attraction'. Penzance, among tourists, is generally considered the base from which to visit Penwith and the attractions around it. How many people visited Penzance over the weekend, stayed in town, then went to Newlyn for the fish festival??

And anyway, Penzance is an attraction in itself. If you can look at the town with objective eyes, it would be a wonderful place to visit, with lots to see and do........as long as it doesn't rain!!!!
 

treeve

Major Contributor
Quite agree Paul, it is a massive struggle; but life is a massive struggle for most of us, and if we did not struggle or voice our opinions, absolutely nothing gets done, for anyone. I love this town, in case it has not been noticed. Whatever town I have been to, there has always been the problem of what to do when it rains; my wife and I took the kids out any weather (except if it was horizontal rain that is - just getting out there, suitably attired, was exhilerating. I simply feel that the one single thing that is missing here is a REAL venue for this time we are inhabiting. For me to enjoy and experience real music or real theatre, I have to go miles, and since I have very limited funds, that means that all I can do is to sit at home with a DVD or CD, as there is very little on TV in the way of good music or opera. It is a serious circle of fate. I guess also that housing is a necessity, as our housing stock for rent is sadly depleted; let's have more housing for rent, where is it written in stone that the only way to get a roof is to buy? Whatever it is to be ... do it soon, instead of the first view of Penzance being a car park and an open demolition site ....
 

tabtab13

Active Member
In an ideal world, I'd like to see a large granite fronted Museum there containing artifacts from the Penwith area. It's a bit grim down there, we've got a large car park (which unfortunately is a necessity) and I dislike the exterior of the Wharf side. Ok if it has to look like a mall on the inside I guess, but from the outside I personally think it's a bit of a blot on the landscape. Something where the gas works use to be with a more traditional look would fit in nicely as an extension of the Abbey Basin/harbour area. Costly though .....

Or perhaps a small scale Eden project. Or even just a green area (plants, trees etc) - perhaps some sort of community project?

Or an indoor market with stalls to rent selling local crafts, food and produce etc.
 
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