LIVERPOOLMembers will hardly need reminding that Liverpool has other problems besides the future use of St George's Hall and its Willis organ to consider. BIOS has, however, continued to maintain contact with various of the interested and concerned parties, and a brief report follows. It will be recalled that the Hall has been closed since the middle of 1984, and that BIOS and other enquirers were assured that - despite this - care would be taken to ensure that the levels of humidity within the Hall were kept under control, and that the maintenance contract for the organ would continue. In the early part of 1985 there were rumours that all was not well in the Hall, and that the organ might actually be suffering damage as a result of the closure. We wrote then to the Chief Executive, and were assured that all was well. However, a proposal that we might be permitted to visit the instrument and see for ourselves was turned down. One of our members continued to press the City on this matter, and also consulted David Alton, MP. When Mr Alton wrote to the City, urging that BIOS be allowed to visit the instrument, he received a reply from the Estates Surveyor stating that he had no objection to the visit 'with the proviso of course that no expenditure is incurred as a charge on the Local Authority'. When we followed this welcome news with a letter attempting to suggest arrangements for the (agreed) visit it turned out that there had been a misunderstanding.' The Estates Surveyor was instructed by the Chairman of the Committee responsible for the Hall to tell us that they did not wish an inspection to take place after all. Since then (August, 1985) David Alton has continued to press our case for admittance to the Hall, and the City has continued to refuse permission. Mr Alton has been most assiduous, both in putting pressure on the City, and in trying to involve the DoE. A recent letter from the Secretary of BIOS to Mr Alton sums up the situation in its concluding paragraph: We are still left with the absurd situation that the Liverpool Council wants us to believe that there is nothing wrong with the organ, yet will not allow a reputable conservation body access to the Hall to ascertain that this is indeed so. Nor will they give a reason for their refusal. This instrument was one of the landmarks of European organ building in the nineteenth century; it is one of the most famous concert organs in the world, and Liverpool is fortunate to possess it. Its replacement value must be at least £1m. We find it very strange, if the Council is really concerned about the organ and its future, that they are not seizing so obvious an opportunity as a visit by BIOS would offer, to reassure public opinion about the manner in which they are discharging their trust. Finally, the fate of another Lancashire civic organ hangs in the balance with the announcement that Lancashire County Council is applying for listed building consent to demolish most of Preston Public Hall, in order to make way for a by-pass extension. The proposal is to retain a small part of the present building (that dating from the 1820's) but to demolish the main hall which houses the important Wilkinson organ (see Dr Gerald Sumner's article in BIOS Journal 1). This represents a slight modification of the proposals which were turned down by the Secretary of State in 1979. BIOS has again objected to the scheme (on the grounds that no provision is made for the preservation of the organ) and will await the inevitable Public Enquiry. |