Councillor Liz Green described the Rose Theatre as “a jewel in the crown of Kingston town centre”. 

I wonder how many residents of the borough realise how much that jewel is costing.

Each year, from our council tax, £600,000 is pumped into the running, and the university adds another £300,000.

The Comet in the past highlighted the fact that only twice had the theatre made a profit – the second time only because of the funding.

Right from the start, the theatre has been a financial burden – because of a design error, the seating had to be changed to meet health and safety standards.

This financial dinosaur has not added to the wealth of the borough, that only budgets for 40 roads and 20 pavements to be renewed yearly and, in the event of snow, despite residents paying for the service, only the main roads would be cleared.

One does get the feeling that the council needs to look at the way it spends our money and provides services.

The theatre certainly needs a drastic shake-up to get it to run efficiently and if that happened all of the potholes in our roads might be rectified.

Neither the theatre, the council, nor the Guildhall are jewels of true worth – just very costly items.

Kenneth Hedge; Surbiton

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TODAY'S HEADLINES IN KINGSTON UPON THAMES