Wednesday 12 August 2009

Protect our Creative Communities!


This whole redevelopment nightmare has made me even more aware of the importance of protecting our culture and community from greedy developers, like those who have already ripped the heart out of hundreds of towns across the county, destroying the unique character of historic towns and breaking up the communities that allow us to care for, support and help one another.

Many of these redevelopment projects start as apparently well-meaning schemes that use words like "regeneration" but they are really about a small number of people making a quick profit at the expense of the community as a whole. They are essentially selfish in nature, and inevitably lead to a widening economic divide, the fragmentation of different cultures, and the eventual disintegration of society.

When we find a town where we've managed to keep a sense of community alive, it's vital that we protect it from these greedy and short-sighted interests. There are obvious parallels to the amazon rain forest, which apparently contains potential remedies for most diseases, but are instead cut down and made into farm land in order to satisfy short-term economic interests.

The St Michael's Trading Estate is now home to dozens of eclectic businesses that make the area feel vibrant and inspiring, and the area has now affectionately become known as the Artistic Quarter of Bridport. The creative industries have flourished here, and there are many businesses that use traditional skills including upholsterers, carpenters, sculptors, masons, designers, illustrators, sign-writers, architects and artists.

But the great thing about the trading estate is that alongside the artists and artisans, many other types of businesses are thriving. Clipper Teas and Top Gear, two nationally recognised businesses started here, alongside an indoor bike park, a waste-management centre, a recycling and bio-diesel centre, a local food centre that provides food for local schools, a discount wood store, a glass and tile shop, a wine shop, an electrical goods centre, a window-blinds shop, and dozens of other small businesses.

The St Michael's Studio complex now provides studios for over 25 artists, and many of us rely on our quarterly Open Studio events for our income. To take away our studios also means taking away our gallery space, so even if our studios are relocated, we would lose the use of a high profile venue that we've devoted ten years to develop.

We also know what immense value we bring to the area, because of the direct feedback we receive from hundreds of visitors to our Open events. Many of our visitors simply can't believe a venue like ours still exists, since government legislation and bureaucracy make it very hard for these genuinely authentic creative havens to survive.

There's still time to help! Please submit your objections to the redevelopment proposals at this website. Simply select 'Submit Comment' and let your voice be heard. Because the louder the public shout, the more the councillors will have to listen, and if they know this is an unpopular project then they are less likely to put their names to it.

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Please support the artists









Well, Bridport Open Studios is upon us very soon, in fact under two weeks, so all the artists here are busy getting ready. The worrying thing is that the West Dorset District Council meeting to decide whether the studio gets 'redeveloped' happens next Thursday, 20th August. So at the time when we should all be focused on showing off this brilliant venue, instead we're concerned whether we actually have a future, and distracted from continuing to develop something that has become a huge asset to the town.

We've now got the full support of Bridport Town Council, of the majority of the public, and key local figures, but the final decision still lies with the planning committee of the Dorchester based District Council. The problem is that people in Dorchester have the power to decide Bridport's fate, and yet that town is very different from Bridport.

While Bridport is rapidly growing a national reputation as a vibrant creative town with a unique bohemian atmosphere created by its diverse and eclectic community, Dorchester has now got very little to show for itself, apart from Prince Charles's widely derided 'Poundbury' housing estate on the outskirts.

The fact is that Bridport has grown mainly because it HASN'T had the interference of government, and hasn't yet been victim to those greedy 'redevelopment' and 'regeneration' projects that have ripped the heart out of most of our towns.

Bridport has become an example to the country through the initiative, imagination and enterprise of courageous individuals, rather than government guidelines and rhetoric. In fact, it's time for government to listen to the people once again, rather than attempt to push through another short-sighted building project that benefits a small group of people while destroying a bustling local economy and its supportive community.

I ask all those Councillors who have the power to decide Bridport's fate to visit the St Michael's Trading Estate, to come and meet the businesses, traders and artists. Come and look round our studio complex that provides affordable studios for 25 artists and delights hundreds of visitors at events throughout the year. Visit the designers and architects, the sign-writers, masons, carpenters, upholsterers, the sculptors, painters and illustrators. Visit the antique shops and 2nd hand stores, the local food centre that provides the local school meals, the recycling centre, the bio-diesel centre, the discount furniture centre, the indoor bike park, and the dozens of other businesses that have made this historic rope-making estate into the heart of Bridport.

I want to be an artist again, we all do, rather than having to fight to save our studios. Please show your support for our campaign by attending the Emergency Public Meeting at which the planning decision will be made. The meeting will be held at 2:15pm on Thursday the 20th August at the United Church Hall in Bridport. We would appreciate your presence. Thank you.

Monday 10 August 2009

Save the studios!


The St Michael's Studios complex is threatened by a massive redevelopment project on the historic trading estate on which we're based. We won't let this happen. We now provide studios for over 25 artists, and we've become an important cultural destination in the South West of England.

I started the studios exactly 10 years ago in 1999, when all I had was a bikers bar next door, and a discount furniture store at the other end of the building. Gradually more artists began to arrive, until we've now taken over the entire 1st and 2nd floors of this beautiful Edwardian, former rope-making building.

We now do quarterly Open Studio events that attract hundreds of people - the next one is this coming August Bank Holiday weekend - and we've realised from the feedback we receive that we're offering a really wonderful and rare experience. People simply aren't used to the sense of community and casual creativity that they experience here. It's obvious that our 'bean-counting' society is gradually weeding out the genuine creative outlets, destroying them with legislation and bureaucracy.

It's important that we do something about this now. We must 'draw a line in the sand' and put the quality of our communities above the greed of developers. I've already lost two studios to developers (in London). Help us to stop yet another developer ripping the heart out of one of the few 'genuine' towns we have left.

Please go to this page and click on 'submit a comment' and express your objection to the current redevelopment proposal.