1 July (Part 1) - Artful management
Note: This is a modified version of the blog placed here earlier today which alleged that Rose Bruford College had been given
a particularly good deal by Bexley Council while taking over the Sidcup Youth Centre.
The blog was based on information I thought was supplied by an identifiable
insider within Bexley Council but I may have been mistaken/misled, or he was misinformed.
Further reports received today are that the College has been granted a 25 year lease and cannot build
on the site. The same report claimed that every Sidcup resident will be £240
better off as a result of the deal. The 2021 Census said that the population of
Sidcup was 15,421 which suggests that Rose Bruford is paying Bexley Council
nearly £4 million. There is no confirmation of that figure but one can be sure
that no Sidcup resident will be suddenly better off.
Fortunately Bexley Council has this morning
clarified what it is doing.
There is no defence of its failure to consult, but it confirms the 25 year lease
and no likelihood of new building.
The
Rose Bruford College is a fairly prestigious drama and arts college in Sidcup;
maybe not quite as prestigious as The Italia Conti which my daughter attended on
a scholarship - remember them? - but that doesn’t count any more as they went bust about four years ago.
And that is pretty much as far as my interest in Arts Colleges goes apart from
noting that Bexley Council, not unreasonably, looks upon Rose Bruford favourably; maybe too favourably.
When Colin Campbell and Donald Massey were in charge of Bexley Council’s
finances they were both on the board (Governors) of the Rose Bruford College too which managed
to take the derelict Lamorbey swimming pool and one time cinema off of the
Council's hands
at a knockdown price after promising to turn it into student accommodation.
They did no such thing and instead
sold it for three times the price. Didn’t
they do well for themselves?
An insider alleges that the cash is beginning to run out but not so much that there was not enough
to wine and dine the Council Leader and award her an honorary title.
Now Bexley Council has handed a Youth Centre to the college on a 25 year lease
after consulting no one at all and the College has allegedly promised to spend £2 million on refurbishing it.
History suggests that Rose Bruford are much better negotiators than Bexley Council
and the information currently available does not reveal how taxpayers’ interests are being served.
Note: With thanks to the readers who were quick to correct the error.