Where are allthese art visitors?

I suspect the reason was the content, in the DLWP management’s opinion, was too normal and conventional and didn’t quite fit their cock-eyed views of art.

Heaven forbid anything normal should contaminate the weirdly hallowed precincts of the main building.

And this doesn’t just apply to Bexhill Art Society, but all other clubs and groups tainted by the ghastly infection of normality.

The DLWP management has often sniffily reminded us the Pavilion is a world-class exhibition centre, bringing more than £16m to the local economy each year.

If, indeed, it is world-class, then why don’t we see the world arriving in fleets of coaches and clamouring to be let in? Once inside, they could be in for a rude cultural shock and wonder why the place has the deathly hush of a mausoleum.

Is this really the wordly vibrant attraction they were led to believe existed in Bexhill?

Has the £16m claim ever been audited, or is it the result of someone doodling on the back of a small envelope during a short taxi ride? I calculate that if this figure is to be believed, the DLWP attracts more than £1.3m a month or almost £308,000 a week.

Why, then don’t we see these world visitors flashing their cash in and around Bexhill?

Mr Rippingale points out that more than £500,000 of council taxpayers’ money is annually spent subsidising the DLWP and wonders why we, the taxpayers, shouldn’t be expecting more local use for our money.

I believe Arts Council England provides most of the Pavilion’s funding and so we can sympathise with its need to toe the council line to maintain its funding and the types of art exhibitions it can put on. But that doesn’t mean it cannot support local initiatives promoting local talents.

This is where our district council comes in. It has the financial clout with its, or should I say our, sizeable grant to demand the DLWP does significantly more to encourage the needs of local people. Acting like a benign uncle indulging a spoilt nephew isn’t likely to achieve anything.

Then, who knows, perhaps the Bexhill Art Society will be allowed to display the considerable talents of its members in the main building, where by rights they should be.

COLIN HILL

Wealden Way

Bexhill-on-Sea