DONATION OF £2000 TO TOWN HALL

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29388, 15 December 1960, Page 16

DONATION OF £2000 TO TOWN HALL

Club Member Deplores Site Dispute

A donation of £2OOO to the town hall fund was received by Town Hall Promotion yesterday from a member of the Canterbury Club, Mr Jack Ferrier, and his wife.

In an accompanying letter Mr Ferrier deplores the arguments over the site and expresses the hope that Canterbury Club members will accept, for the good of the city, such sacrifice as might be involved in going to new premises.

Mr Ferrier’s letter to the secretary of Town Hall Promotion reads:

“We have been privileged to travel widely the world over and to see what provision has been made in progressive places for such amenities as town halls. In some cases very large and costly buildings have, been demolished to provide civic centres. Halls we have seen are the centres of civic spirit and the homes of culture, and we have been greatly impressed by, their worth and beauty. “A Special Grief” ‘‘lt is a special grief to us to find that—as in the case of the Art Gallery years ago—the same disturbing arguments have arisen here over the site. It appears to us that as the City Fathers naturally used an expert committee to examine and report upon possible sites and have confirmed the Canterbury Club site, we should now get on with the job. “The club and the buildings of the one other owner concerned here are old. The site is a beautiful one, very cheap to get compared with the Latimer square site, and would be obtained with less disturbance of owners. With an elevated town hall well set back it could be a thing of beauty and a joy for ever. As no-one has given a site for the town hall, it has to be bought by agreement or taken.

“We hope that the spirit of the pioneers is not dead and that Canterbury Club members will accept such sacrifice, if any, as a few hours weekly spent elsewhere but in more modern premises, entails. And for the rest of the citizens, we hope that soon—and for long—they will enjoy the delights of an attractive, modern town hall, with concert, cultural, assembly, recreational, and other civic facilities overlooking a spacious forecourt on to the banks of our lovely Avon. “Our gift has no tags to it. Had it not been that we hope it may assist to settle differences we would have remained anonymous. We will be still prouder of our city when this hall is built.” President’s Appreciation Mr J. L. Hay, president of Town Hall promotion, expressed his appreciation of the gift last evening. “It was indeed a pleasant sur-

prise when Mr Ferrier called on me today to hand me his cheque for £2OOO as a donation to Town Hall Promotion from himself and his wife, together with his letter which sets out the motive which actuated the gift,” said Mr Hay. “It was particularly pleasing to have this donation from a wellknown citizen and long standing member of the Canterbury Club. “With Mr Ferrier’s donation, together with the proceeds of the mystery envelope appeal, it looks as if the target of £100,600 will now be reached, assuming that the outstanding promises will be fully realised. Town Hail Promotion intends to keep its subscription list open for a further period and it could be that Mr Ferrier’s fine gesture may stimulate other public-minded citizens to do likewise, especially at this season of the year with the spirit of goodwill uppermost in our minds.”