• From January 20, 2006

A SMALL job advert, buried in the Guardian newspaper, inadvertently let slip the bombshell that Kingston’s Rose Theatre would not open until at least 2007 – more than a year after originally planned.

The advert stated Kingston Theatre Trust was looking for a senior fundraiser at a salary of £40,000 “for this remarkable new theatre scheduled to open in Kingston in early 2007”.

The postponement, the latest in a series of delays, was a blow to all those who believed the theatre was on course to open imminently.

Kingston’s ruling Liberal Democrat administration had also taken the controversial decision to commit £3 million to ensure the theatre opened as soon as possible.

Both the Lib Dems and the theatre trust stood accused of failing to keep the public informed on a key issue.

A council spokesman said delays had pushed up the cost of the project but the amount had yet to be calculated.

Mary Reid, Lib Dem councillor and trustee of Kingston Theatre Trust, said: “Ours will be the cheapest new theatre in the country, about half that of the Manchester Royal Exchange, for example. I am fully confident that not long from now we will be watching that first performance.”

But Cllr Kevin Davis said he was “deeply concerned” about the overspend and the delay.

He said: “Now the Lib Dems have committed the council, it is very worrying that the other partners have not given the money they promised six months ago. We were told then that there was a desperate need for funding. Yet, with none provided, there are great concerns that the Lib Dems now intend to give even more council money to the project.”

For some time there had been widespread dissatisfaction with the trust’s failure to communicate in an effective and timely way about the Rose project.

When the Comet finally managed to contact the trust it was told no-one would be available to comment until the chief executive, Sue Higginson, returned from holiday abroad.

Under further pressure, the trust first tried to get the council to respond on its behalf before issuing a brief statement.

A spokesman said: “The opening schedule for the theatre depends on the availability of funds which will allow the trust to begin works to complete the fit-out of the theatre. The final phase of development is expected to take approximately one year once completion work begins.”

  • 10 YEARS AGO: January 19, 2006

Kingston police released figures showing almost half the motorists they breathalysed over the festive season had been charged with drink driving. During December police set up road blocks to randomly breathalyse motorists. Of the 76 drivers who were breath tested in Kingston, 31 people were arrested and charged with being over the limit. 

 

  • 25 YEARS AGO: January 18, 1991 

A disabled man was shocked by a stack of bills amounting to £1,000 arriving through his door from Kingston Council. John Pollard, of New Malden, was in a “complete panic” when the council claimed to have overpaid his benefits. The bills turned out to be an administrative error by the housing department and Mr Pollard was issued an apology. 

 

  • 50 YEARS AGO: January 19, 1966

Kingston Police were involved in a dramatic car chase into central London when two men made off with a red Mini Cooper. The car was stolen from Brunswick Road at about 11.30pm, sparking the chase through Wandsworth and into Southwark. The thieves lost Kingston officers somewhere in the back streets of Blackfriars just after midnight.