YP Letters: Why there was no future for the Futurist in Scarborough

CONGRATULATIONS to the councillors of Scarborough on their decision on the ‘Futurist’ Theatre. On television, one lady described herself as ‘literally shell-shocked’; I believe the only shells in Scarborough are sea shells.

The clue is in the name – it’s not called the ‘Nostalgist’ Theatre. Its original function is incompatible with the needs of this century, leaving it in the category of neither use nor ornament.

In Bradford, the council took a poor decision over the former Odeon cinema. Under pressure from influential groups, these groups have had plenty of ideas but never any money to put where their mouth is.

Meanwhile, it has cost a fortune to shore up and mothball the place – standing as a crumbling eyesore over the ‘City Park’ which represents at best an attempt to go ahead.

Bradford’s sadness stems from a lack of civic engagement, the type of which might generate sufficient footfall to sustain a major new function for the Odeon. Its only role, from my perspective, is to stand as an icon of a city of social disfunction and as a monolith to woolly-minded sentimentality.