Town Council Turns Down Windmill

But rumours that the Windmill had been put on the market this week were rejected by its owners, Arun District Council, as "having no validity at all".

News of the town council's decision comes as drama and music societies in the town who use the entertainment complex are being invited to a public meeting, to discuss setting up a campaign to ensure its future.

Tuesday's meeting follows moves by Arun to look at other ways of running the loss-making venue.

It receives a subsidy of more than 100,000 a year, and needs up to 500,000 spending on modernising and essential repairs.

Arun approached the town council about the possibility of the Windmill changing hands, but town clerk John Bagshaw has written to the district council, saying that while his members accepted the need for a community theatre, they felt it was Arun's responsibility to maintain and improve the facility.

Mr Bagshaw stressed to the Gazette, however, that the door was not being completely shut on the town council's possible involvement in providing community theatre facilities in the future.

Tuesday's meeting at the Dairy Community Centre, Church Street, Littlehampton, at 7pm, has been organised by Jackie Mallinson, of Littlehampton Musical Comedy Society.

Representatives of other theatre, music and dance groups are welcome to attend, along with anyone else concerned about the future of the Windmill.

Mrs Mallinson said the meeting would help to establish how much support there was for any campaign to save the Windmill and would present a united front to Arun over the matter.

"The focus will be on how to conduct the campaign. We will make sure we get ourselves heard.

"Arun said there would be a meeting for Windmill users, but we have heard nothing from them at all."

She underlined the Windmill's value to the community as a theatre, especially for groups which involved children, some of them from more deprived areas of the town.

"I have various ideas for what could be done with the Windmill, but we need to hear from other people and get some enthusiasm going," said Mrs Mallinson.

Arun services director Colin Rogers, commenting on the Windmill sell-off rumours, said the council's policy was to investigate alternative methods of managing the Windmill.

Following the town council's decision not to take over the complex, the next step for Arun will be for Mr Rogers and head of leisure services John Stride to draw up a report spelling out appropriate uses for the Windmill by any organisation running it in the future.

The report, to a meeting of Arun's cabinet next month or in June, would also look at covenants on the Windmill site restricting what it was used for and what could and could not be sold there.

Mr Rogers said there could well be direct approaches to organisations who might be interested in running the Windmill, including community theatre groups, commercial cinema companies and leisure and tourism concerns.