Shortsighted

Published: 4:18 PM December 4, 2008 Updated: 3:51 AM February 23, 2021

SIR, — I read with a mixture of dismay and incredulity the letter from Richard Child (Herts Advertiser, November 27) explaining that St Albans District Council will not permit him to run the annual Bookfair in the Old Town Hall this year. This decision se

SIR, - I read with a mixture of dismay and incredulity the letter from Richard Child (Herts Advertiser, November 27) explaining that St Albans District Council will not permit him to run the annual Bookfair in the Old Town Hall this year. This decision seems to be totally at odds with the council's recent public statements.

The Portfolio Holder for Culture and Heritage states that the premises would only be used in future for "filming and educational purposes". Is not a Bookfair an event which fulfils educational purposes?

At the beginning of every agenda of every council meeting, there is a standard statement of the aims of the council which includes "the aim to ensure that the district is a desirable place to visit".

It is precisely an event like the annual Bookfair which makes St Albans a desirable place to visit. People who come to the Bookfair also spend money in the city's restaurants, pubs, coffee houses and shops.

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Many of us have spent time recently in council "brainstorming sessions" trying to put together a Vision of the Future of St Albans. If crass, shortsighted decisions such as this one continue to be handed down by the council, then there won't be a future for St Albans.

BARRIE MORT.