Letter to the editor

The Regent refurbishment and St Peter's Wharf

from Margaret Woolard

I read in our Newsletter and the Ipswich Star that the Regent [Theatre] is being refurbished. I wrote to the newspaper thus:

"I enjoy going to the theatre and although the Regent has a system for getting disabled people up to the circle, it is humiliating and takes time as it holds up others getting up the stairs. I often go to the New Wolsey Theatre and am very grateful that they have a proper modern lift. I am sure that this is one of the more important items for improvement of the Regent."

Since writing this I discovered that the Corn Exchange, which is a building run by the Council, has a lift so why not a lift for the Regent which holds so many shows now but doesn't care enough for the members of the public who cannot climb the several flights of stairs? And despite the large amount it costs to see a show they expect us to travel on the contraption to get to the circle.

My next comment is about the Waterfront article in the Star, 14 August. It seems that the Council are planning to develop the old Paul's burnt-out property. I noticed that John Norman [Chair of the Ipswich Society] has welcomed the development proposals. I do hope that somewhere in these will be a car park for the public, as this area - now used as a car park - is almost always full. It will be great for this area to look good, but we need people to be able to park their cars; and Ipswich is lacking in parking spaces.