Fate of Alix Goolden hall is civic abandonment

Having conducted many concerts at the beautiful Alix Goolden, I am distressed to see it gradually falling toward disuse as a concert hall.

There are now established encampments attached to the temporary construction-type fencing that was thrown up in a desperate attempt to keep people off the building itself. The state of disarray and disorder gets worse by the day. Temporary is turning out to be a very long time.

When the fence was put up several years ago, the police department offered protection at the front entrance to allow opening the fence directly in front of the main entrance to permit patrons to enter, and to serve as a fire exit during concerts.

However, that police protection was subsequently discontinued due to budget restraints. As a result, the Conservatory has had to impose severe limits, to about 50 per cent capacity.

No balcony seating was allowed at my last Singalong Messiah concert three months ago, because there are now insufficient fire exits.

As well, many groups’ customary patrons no longer feel safe even approaching the beautiful heritage building. The site has become less and less viable as a performance venue and leaves many would-be users searching for alternatives.

Having such an important performance venue so compromised represents a huge loss to the community, the performing arts and the Conservatory. The city appears to have abandoned its responsibility here, as there is no plan to either moderate or correct this situation.

Purchasing Herman’s Jazz club, as laudable as that might be, does nothing to counter-balance this serious civic abandonment.

Hilary Sandford (Coupland) Victoria