Nine hundred and thirty people have signed the Kent and Sussex Courier's petition to save the bandstand in Calverley Grounds in Tunbridge Wells.

Signatures continue to come in thick and fast as word spreads of the borough council's plans to demolish the landmark.

See the Kent and Sussex Courier's Tunbridge Wells edition out tomorrow to read an interview with council leader Cllr Roy Bullock, who is adamant the structure must go.

On this website, Cllr Bullock, who lives in Lamberhurst, said: “It may or may not be a focal point in Calverley Grounds but it does not serve any useful purpose, yet it incurs annual costs for its maintenance without any revenue income to offset those costs.

“I contend that we have to move into the 21st century and not be frozen into the past glories of a bygone age.

“The brutal fact is that, if in Calverley Grounds, we as a council or a private benefactor wish to put on a show for example the Mela, it is far cheaper to hire in for the day a temporary bandstand than it is to maintain a monolithic monstrosity which is time-expired.”

But one of the many readers who did not accept the council's reasons, was Graham Baker. He said: ”I wholeheartedly disagree with Roy Bullock. Is he really a councillor elected to represent the people?

“I used to live and work in Tunbridge Wells and spent many a lunchtime at the cafe in Calverley Grounds overlooking the bandstand.

“To destroy this historic structure would, to my mind, be the lazy solution, and disrespectful to the ground’s history.

“So, to the council, please don’t try to justify taking the lazy approach with irrelevant reasons, and start listening to the town’s people who you are employed to work for!”

If you want to see the landmark preserved in the short-term and restored in the longer term to an inspiring structure of which the town can be proud, add your name now to our Save the Bandstand petition on http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/bandstandpetition.html

Other towns across the country have invested money and returned their bandstands to their former glory, creating a focal point for their communities and boosting civic pride.

In Calverley Grounds on Friday, people of all ages, from youngsters in school uniform sitting on the grass to pensioners enjoying the early spring weather by the cafe, expressed their outrage at the possible loss of the bandstand.

Although it currently looks in poor repair, they were adamant a bandstand should remain. They said it should be repaired for now and then replaced and more should be done to ensure it provided pleasure and entertainment for those who lived and worked in the town and for those who visited Tunbridge Wells.

Three weeks ago the Courier exclusively revealed the council's cabinet had voted to flatten out the area, subject to planning permission. The authority said it would not be "cost effective" to restore the bandstand and to replace it would cost £100,000.

But the move goes against a national trend to preserve bandstands across the country where local authorities are injecting thousands into restoring parks and their bandstands. Research shows life is returning to the neglected performance platforms up and down the land.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has paid for the restoration of more than 75 bandstands as part of a wider parks projects, injecting £125m since 1994.

In London, Regent's Park has been fully restored and hosts concerts almost every Sunday in July and August while seaside bandstands are returning to their former glory in droves. Brighton, Bexhill, Eastbourne, Gorleston in Norfolk, Folkestone, and South Shields in Tyneside have all seen their bandstands recently restored or rebuilt.