Empty Woolies store could house glass collection (From Stourbridge News)
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Empty Woolies store could house glass collection
3:17pm Friday 24th July 2009 in News
THE vacant Woolworths unit in Stourbridge town centre could be a suitable alternative site for the area’s glass collection and archives, according to one town artist.
Meriel Harris, vice-chairman of Stourbridge Decorative and Fine Arts Society, told last night’s joint meeting of Brierley Hill and Stourbridge Area Commitees the empty three-storey shop in the Ryemarket could be just the site to accommodate the Stourbridge glass collection - which is currently part based at Broadfield and part stashed away at Himley Hall.
She told the meeting at Wordsley Community Centre: “The Stourbridge one is big enough; it’s there in town and waiting.”
Himley Hall - where much of the borough’s glass collection is in storage - was also suggested as an alternative venue for a world class glass centre.
However - councillor Les Jones said: “Himley Hall has a great deal of value to this borough as it stands - and it’s a very well used facility.
“The council will not be looking at it in this current feasibility study.”
Stourbridge resident Barbara Sykes’ idea to create a purpose-built tourist attraction utilising the canals by the Red House Glass Cone was welcomed - as was a pledge by Friends of Broadfield House chairman Barbara Beadman to rally the glass community to work with the council to help create a “national, international and world standard museum” to put the borough’s history on the map.
Meeting chairman - councillor Patrick Harley - told the audience all relevant suggestions put forward would be noted and considered as part of the feasibility study.
Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho later told the News: “The meeting showed the love and strength of feeling that local people have for the glass collection and Broadfield House. “And it demonstrated the fear that people have about these council decisions.”
Comments(12)
voice_of_reasons
says...
4:56pm Fri 24 Jul 09
neil53 wrote:And town centre security if theyre planning to stick the glass collection in Woolies.
Woolies sounds like the cheaper option. Sorted! Now, can councillors stop spending other peoples' money on fripperies and concentrate on picking up street litter and dog poo?
So the Elite Friends of BH prefer Woolies over the Glass Cone? Haha, what do they have against that place?!
The Villan
says...
5:01pm Fri 24 Jul 09
A collection of this quality deserves either a state-of-the-art facility or a period property sympathetic to it.
Himley Hall would be a good idea, only it's not near Stourbridge. What about the buildings in Mary Stevens Park? Now there is an opportunity if I ever saw one!
neil53
says...
8:32am Sat 25 Jul 09
Councillors need to prioritize social care, litter control, road safety and policing.
neil53
says...
8:39am Sat 25 Jul 09
How many police persons do we have in Stourbridge exactly and what do they do already about anti-social bebaviour? Not a lot.
It ( police standards) could ALL do with improvement.
When were their figures last published? Do councillors care? Like hell, they do. So where are the councillors when you need them?
Pontificating about glass, that's where.
The Villan
says...
9:56am Sat 25 Jul 09
However, selling the heritage of the town (the glass) is not one of your better comments.
neil53
says...
11:08am Sat 25 Jul 09
There are just a few places to put the glass which is, of, course, precious.
Broadfield House is too expensive apparently.( A delightfully quiet visit with never a great many visitors)
So where DO you put the collection?
Meriel Harris, presumably better-informed than most, has suggested Woolies.
It is up to the council to arrange security.
What IS annoying is that The "expert" Dudley councillors are taking so long( and spending a lot of Taxpayers cash) on consultants when a quick decision could be made in the borough. The entire issue should be FULLY thought out locally by councillors and local glass enthusiasts TOGETHER with council officers which seems not to have been done in a particularly decisive manner until now.
To keep information secret from the public ( and especially info about THEIR money) is indefensible.
And so is treating Dudley Glass as the Priority of all Priorities.
neil53
says...
11:30am Sat 25 Jul 09
Broadfield House was to close for want of £120,000. Dudley spent over £84,000 on chauffeuring the mayor around in 2007/8.Dudley glass is a bettter example of civic pride than a cosseted mayor.
The Villan
says...
2:54pm Sat 25 Jul 09
I do agree with your comment regarding the Mayor and chauffeuring. If ever there was a way to placate the public here is the opportunity for the Mayor's office to do their bit.
neil53
says...
4:27pm Sat 25 Jul 09
Do tell! People are very unhappy with all this council-instigated uncertainty!
neil53
says...
6:25pm Sat 25 Jul 09
Mary Stevens Park.
Do they have the same grandeur as the beloved georgian house?
What would be the costs of transforming these buildings, the staff, the heating, the security ( Mary Stevens Park has had a bit of a battle with vandals in the past).
The Cone is going to cost a fair bit as well with all the add-ons that have been discussed.
Does the glass collection HAVE to be shown in its entirety? How could more pieces of the collection be shown to the public more economically? Mobile exhibitions? Displays in libraries and museums locally and nationally of the lesser seen articles?
Cycling through the current holdings to be on display in the current building?
Why move at all if costs are only going to be increased?
Does the council want to spend more or less money on the collection?
It doesn't seem too clear or too well-planned to me....
neil53
says...
7:14am Sun 26 Jul 09
neil53 says...
4:39pm Fri 24 Jul 09
Sorted! Now, can councillors stop spending other peoples' money on fripperies and concentrate on picking up street litter and dog poo?