100 signatures reached
To: Worthing Borough Council
HOOTAM (Hands Off Our Theatres and Museum)
We the undersigned call on Worthing Borough Council to Pause the Outsourcing of our Theatres and Museum to a Trust until full and thorough consultation with the Public of Worthing has taken place.
Our reasons are:
1a. Worthing Museum and Theatres (Culture) will be outsourced to a company that does not yet exist.
b. On terms that have not yet been agreed.
c. It will not be publicly owned or run.
2a. Financially Culture is doing well yet we are agreeing to pay more to create an unknown Independent Trust.
b. The Council will be handing over at least 37.8m of public money for a contract for 25 years.
c. More public information is required before a decision is made because the Council are using a technicality to hide the facts.
Why is this important?
We are concerned that the people of Worthing will no longer have control of what happens to our Theatres and Museum. To ensure they stay in safe hands, we are calling for pause in the process to gather all the information and a cross party working group that includes Local Arts Groups, Theatre and Museum Users and Staff Trade Union Representatives.
