This committee reviews and reports to the main Council on leisure and environment aspects of the town which as you would expect includes St Peter’s/Sudbury Arts Centre. A number of issues had been raised with the Town Council regarding St Peter’s and this committee was tasked with reviewing them in more depth. The issues raised included the lack of posters advertising events in Sudbury Arts Centre on the railings around St Peter’s, the hire cost of Sudbury Arts Centre, the new name for the activities in St Peter’s plus how things were going generally since the venue had re-opened.

I, Hilary Spivey, was invited to attend this meeting and while there is some debate as to whether this was as a member of the public, as a representive of Sudbury Symphony Orchestra or as chairman of the Friends of St Peter’s it probably does not really matter. Councillors asked a number of questions on the issues brought to their attention relating to Sudbury Arts Centre and these were duly answered. It would be true to say that the meeting ranged over a fair number of issues, some more relevant than others.

Clearly it would have been helpful for representatives of the Bridge Project, who run Sudbury Arts Centre, to have been at this meeting. We are hopeful that in future there will be regular meetings between the Town Council and the Bridge Project to discuss progress being made by Sudbury Arts Centre and for issues to be raised and dealt with in a pro-active and constructive manner.

Our annual general meeting will be on Monday 18th March at 7:30 in the Sudbury Arts Centre. Both members and volunteers are welcome, as are people just wanting to find out what we do. After your welcome drink, Hilary Spivey as chairman will welcome you all and we will then go on to the formal part of the meeting, appointment of trustees and the accounts. Hilary will then give a summary of where the Friends and St Peter’s are, highlighting the current issues and asking for feedback including any other issues that we have not yet identified. Everyone is invited to contribute to this part of the evening.

At the end of the feedback session, Alli Burke, manager of Sudbury Arts Centre, will give a tour of the building showcasing the extensive works that were done and telling us about the discoveries they made during the renovation works.

This will be our first meeting in St Peter’s or Sudbury Arts Centre as it likes to be known and I am sure we will all be very grateful for the comfy chairs, the heating, the toilets and finally the bar!

Please note that after the first drink it will be a pay bar.