On 20th March 2024 the public was given notice that the Watermans Arts Centre would be closing on 11th April. This was 22 days' notice.
Laura Blumenthal supports the Save Our Watermans campaign, a collective of local people, artists and business owners who want the Watermans to continue and find ways to better commercialise the centre to keep it afloat. Laura took part in the Save Our Watermans demo on 11th April, the day it closed. Please sign the petition to save Watermans (petition closes 3rd May 2024): ePetition - Save the Brentford Watermans | London Borough of Hounslow
The future of Watermans is unsure but Laura doesn't want the public to be given such late notice of closure of a Hounslow Council owned building again. Hounslow Labour sit on the Board of Trustees of Hounslow Arts Trust, which ran the Watermans, so would have had full knowledge of the situation and closure plans. This is why Laura called on the Labour Group to sign the Residents Transparency Charter to ensure the public can get more notice in future and to ensure the community has the chance of saving an important public asset.
The full wording of the Residents Transparency Charter:
Hounslow Borough Council recognises the importance of transparency to residents and stands committed to giving them as much notice as possible to closure of public buildings and ending of services. Officers and councillors pledge to champion a culture of high standards in this area and promise to give at least three months’ notice to residents before terminating public services and shutting council owned buildings. It is reasonable to acknowledge that this will not always be possible under unforeseeable situations.
Labour refused, which says it all. They either weren't on the ball or didn't think it was important to inform the public sooner, and still don't. At the end of February, when maxing out how much they could increase Council tax by without a referendum, Labour promised no local service cuts. Then weeks later the Watermans shuts, owned and financially backed by the Council, with Labour on the Board of Trustees.
Laura will continue to support the Save Our Watermans campaign and fight for more transparency and higher standards for residents.
