Sevenoaks Town Council's Stag Theatre dream stays alive
SEVENOAKS Town Council has cleared a major hurdle in its bid to take control of the troubled Stag Theatre.
District councillors last night paved the way for the town council to operate the arts complex by dismissing Kent County Council's rival proposal.
The Stag closed on July 7 when previous operator Kino Holdings abandoned its 25-year lease after just nine months.
The town council wants to set up a charitable trust to reopen the building, complete with both cinemas, the theatre, studio and bars, and run it as a community amenity from January.
Kent County Council had wanted to shut one of the two cinemas and carry out major internal changes - including removing the iconic central staircase - to turn the Stag into a theatre and cinema with a 'one stop shop' of various council services.
But district council officers identified a string of failings in the county council's bid and councillors immediately rejected the proposal last night, with one member saying elements of it were "almost insulting".
During the ensuing 1hr 45min debate, the town council bid was put under intense scrutiny amid repeated calls for the district council to cash in on the Stag building.
"We should be considering the possibility of selling this site," said Cllr Emma Moore.
But the council's proposal survived to be looked at again twice more by the district council, ahead of a final decision scheduled to be made at a special meeting on October 30.
Afterwards town councillor Andrew Eyre said: "We are pleased we passed the first hurdle - we knew there would be questions."
See tomorrow's Chronicle for full story and reaction.
2 Comments
by Linda Larter, Sevenoaks
Monday, March 09 2009, 11:27AM
“The Stag cinemas are fitted with a Dolby Digital sound system which, if set at too high a level, can sound extremely harsh, especially in small auditoria such as the Stag. While a good quality sound system should enhance the cinema-going experience, this does not mean that louder is necessarily better. Sevenoaks Town Council, which has been managing the cinemas for just over a month, is keen to ensure that every aspect of the Stag operations complies with health and safety regulations and is aware that excessive sound levels have been the cause of much controversy in UK cinemas. The recommended noise level for a feature film is 82 decibels and the accepted danger level is 85 decibels. This compares with an average 80 decibels generated by shouting and 90 decibels for a motorbike. The council must ensure that sound levels are within the guidelines and has ordered a sound level check at both of the Stag's auditoria. It is also looking into the viability of installing sound meters for regular monitoring. The council is very sorry to learn of Mr Aikman's experience, but is grateful to him for bringing this issue to the council's attention. If it is found that sound levels are operating above the recommended levels, the council will ensure that they are brought within acceptable limits and hope this will then enable Mr Aikman to give the Stag another chance.
Linda Larter,
Chief Executive/Town Clerk
Sevenoaks Town Council”
by John Aikman, Sevenoaks
Monday, March 09 2009, 8:44AM
“Stag Cinema.
My wife and I live 15 minutes walk from the Stag and having given up visiting the Odeon in Tunbridge Wells due to the excessive noise levels.
At TW the loudest noise is normally the advertisements. It is so loud it is uncomfortable.
When we heard the Stag is back, we were very pleased to be able to go to a cinema much nearer to us. Last Saturday we went to the Stag to see Slumdog Millionaire. The film was excellent, but the noise levels during the film as well as the advertisements were so loud that my wife and I had to cover our ears to minimise the discomfort. It is relevant here to mention that this week I have to go to have a hearing aid fitted as I had an accident and have become fairly deaf. My thoughts are that if it is too loud for me, how loud is it to people with normal hearing?
I am convinced that the noise levels at the Stag are very, very high and on the night we went to see the film I would imagine were above the legal limit. A noise level this high is bound to damage the ear.
In short, my wife and I are very disappointed that the nearest cinema is somewhere else we are unable to go, due to some deaf person being allowed to run the show at 500 decibels.
We, as Sevenoaks residents are very annoyed that our cinema, which I first visited in 1949 is now, even with modern technology, yet another place we do not want to go do again.
John Aikman”