From: Bottleneck Blues [john_at_bottleneckblues_dot_com]
Sent:
24 May 2006 07:53
Subject: FW:
Planning Application
Importance: High
This is a
very important message & I & Ciaran (owner of The Soul Café & Mu Mu)
urgently need your help. The letter below is self explanatory & the
reality is this. If these flats are built behind Zaffa it will almost
certainly result in complaints from the new residents who will have the power to
stop any music taking place. This has happened to a friend of mine who had
a music pub in Canterbury & generally the council will side with the
residents regardless of how long the businesses have been in
existence.
Please email
Steve Clarke steveclarke_at_maidstone_dot_gov_dot_uk
with your concerns. This is a very real threat to The Bottleneck in
Maidstone, it could close us down......if you cherish your club please do what
you can to halt this development. It baffles me why anybody would want to
build residential units slap bang in the middle of town but here you have
it.
Thank you for
your help.
John.
Dear Mr
Clarke
It has come to my attention
that a planning application is being made to build a quantity of residential
units behind The Soul Café (Zaffa) in Week Street,
Maidstone.
I have run The Bottleneck
Blues Club in Rochester & Maidstone for nearly 11 yrs. The Bottleneck
is an internationally respected serious "Roots" music club... www.bottleneckblues.com I often
get mini bus loads of Belgian & French Blues/Roots fans from the continent
& visitors from across the UK all of whom are accommodated in local
B&Bs. I ONLY promote World Class music & regularly bring musicians
to the UK from the USA & Australia. My next major concert at this
venue is on 17th June & features one of the World's great guitarists ~ Geoff
Achison from Melbourne. We are sold out.
When I first came to the
Maidstone area back in 1990 I think its fair to say it was a cultural
void. I have helped change that & have worked closely with John Rice
(Cultural Officer for K.C.C) & Carl Madgity of Medway Council to stage some
exceptional concerts. The work I do at Zaffa's is central to this. I
also work closely with Paul Jones of Radio 2, Radio Kent, The World Service
& Jools Holland & The Arts Council. The point I make is the music
I present is not loud, featureless "Pub Blues" but music that many thousands of
people have enjoyed over the years & continue to do so.
I do not wish
to pre-empt your decision but my experience has shown that developments of
the type being considered will cause friction between the new residents &
existing businesses. A residential complex in a busy commercial area would
seem to be a most unwise concept.
Your comments would be much
appreciated & I hope you give this development serious consideration &
thought as it could jeopardise what I & the owner of Zaffa have taken so
many years to build.....a harmless, culturally enhancing centre of excellence
for music & the arts.
Yours
sincerely,
John Adams
MD
Powerhouse Productions UK
LTD.