WHY is The Witham closed on Sundays and Mondays?
That was the question put to the centre’s board of trustees during last week’s annual meeting.
The point was made that the centre could be missing out on visitors, especially on Sundays. Shelagh Avery, chairwoman of trustees, said it was a well made point.
She added: “One of the things we need to consider is how can we open on those days within the limited resources we have available to us?”
She said one possible solution could be to open on those days during the busier visitor season.
“We do have a really small staff, but we have it on the agenda. It is a really important point.”
Unveiling this year’s autumn programme, marketing officer Sarah Gent said previous one-off events on a Sunday had proved successful and some Sunday shows had been listed for the coming months.
These include Pellingmans’ Saraband, on September 29, the Aquarius String Quartet, on October 20, the Pitmen Poets, on November 3, and a piano recital by Stephen Raine, on December 8.
Cafe revamp ‘remains longterm objective’
RECONFIGURING the The Witham’s cafe elsewhere in the building remains a longterm ambition of trustees.
The centre’s annual meeting was told staff had gone about as far as they could to maximise the cafe’s offer in its current location to the rear of the building.
During the £30k in 30 Days public appeal, officials stressed the importance of increasing the amount of revenue generated by the cafe.
Shelagh Avery, chairwoman of trustees, said much had been done since then.
Removing the sofas and taking delivery of tables and chairs from Costa during its refit had increased the number of covers in the cafe, she said.
“Adjustments to the menu have been really important, along with careful costings, stock taking and stock control,” she said.
“We need to be thinking about an evening offer at certain times, either through our own cafe or a mobile contractor.”
However, she added: “The physical limitation of the cafe continues to exist.”
In its current location, the cafe does not have a full working kitchen or a bar capable of offering drinks on draught.
“In the longer term [beyond 2020] we need to be able to reconfigure the cafe in order to deliver more to more people,” said Ms Avery.
