IN YOUR NEWS...

Sheffield International Venues, which runs Scarborough Spa and Whitby Pavilion, has announced redundancies.

It is not the first theatre operator to cut jobs and it will not be the last. Never has our cultural life been in such a precarious position. Sheffield International Venues confirmed ‘categorically that there is no permanent plan to close the Spa or Pavilion’.

That is such a frightening prospect – economically and culturally. Both venues employ scores of people, and offer entertainment of all kinds – comedy, music and cinema . They host festivals and conferences. Then there is the Spa Orchestra. What would happen to England’s last surviving seaside orchestra if the Spa closed? There is so much to lose if the worst was to happen.