Sweatbox Reviewed

Yesterday afternoon we had a meeting to discuss the management review of the Sweatbox. We had a number of interested parties around the table including officers from the council, police, street pastors, residents and young people from the Sweatbox Union. I chaired the meeting until the Cabinet member arrived, as she was held up in traffic.

There were 20 recommendations in the report - and we did agree to them all adding a few more. The gist will be that the Sweatbox is definitely re-opening as a music event on Friday evenings from May (final date is now planned for later in the month instead of 7th). In fact, it is hoped that it will be able to open during school holidays too.

What came out of the review was that the Grove venue had also closed and there are searches on to find an alternative. Apparently the adult education centre where it was held has been deemed 'not fit for purpose' and perhaps the Cornerstone cafe at Grovelands shopping centre could be an alternative.

The re-launch event will be ticket only, so that plans can be made to cater for around 250 young people attending. All bags will be searched and there will be no re-admission. There will be no breathalysers used until this has been looked at by the County Council. So a positive outcome and pleased that this looks like it is resolved for now, although obviously the situation will be monitored along the way.