Times
All the news that matters
Local, National and International
OU GH OR
USE
SC
NURSERY & PRE-PREP OPEN MORNING
HO
M A R LB
OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS
S , DE EA: OOKN SI ITDM OT E INNRISS NIGBHRUIRDEG -33 I L R 0 CH ORTA NABT S 3 PC E E iSn TFO AG P
Wednesday March 2 | 2022
HOOL
Thursday 17th March | 9.30am | registrar@marlboroughhouseschool.co.uk
ENJOYING TODAY EDUCATING FOR TOMORROW Discover more at marlboroughhouseschool.co.uk
NURSERY, PRE-PREP & PREP | BOYS & GIRLS 2.5-13 YEARS | DAY & FLEXI BOARDING
Opera company rebrands in wake of Ukraine invasion NAME CHANGE Madama Butterfly is set to play Tunbridge Wells
By Robert Forrester AN OPERA company based in Kent has had to rebrand its forthcoming show at the Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells due to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. The March 17 performance of Madama Butterfly had been described as being produced by the ‘Russian State Opera’. However, the production is being produced and performed by English company, Amande Concerts, who are not affiliated or connected with the Russian state in any way and had adopted the title as a brand name before the crisis began.
Cancelled
Town Hall passes its budget which means another rise in Council Tax By Richard Williams TUNBRIDGE Wells Borough Council (TWBC) has had its budget approved, despite fears the financial plan could be voted down. At a Full Council meeting last week (Wednesday, February 23), councillors overwhelmingly voted to pass the £62million budget that had been presented by the Conservative cabinet. The Tories have been running the authority as a minority party after it fell into No Overall Control in May 2021. The party also lost two members to resignations earlier this year and lost last autumn’s Speldhurst & Bidborough
by-election, which means the ruling party has just 21 councillors in the Town Hall compared to the opposition’s combined 26.
‘Council Tax has risen but it is below the present rate of inflation’ There had been fears the budget, which included the using of reserves to shore up of a £2million black hole in the Council’s finances due to plummeting fees such as from car parks, could be voted down.
There is also £2million outlined in the budget for capital spending, which includes upgrades to the Assembly Hall Theatre as well as new lifts to be installed in the theatre, town hall and Camden Centre. Cllr Hugo Pound, the Labour leader at Town Hall, told the chamber last week that his party could not vote for the Council’s budget because it was at ‘odds’ with the party’s policy positions. He said: “Residents across the borough are telling us what’s important to them; bin collections; a clean environment, a healthy, safe place to
See more on page 2
The company has now removed any reference to Russia from its marketing but has said the show later this month may possibly now be cancelled due to the current crisis. In a statement, Amande Concerts, which are based in Canterbury, said: “Russian State Opera is a brand name established by a UK company, Amande Concerts. “This brand acts as an umbrella for the presentation of artists of many different nationalities that have graduated from artistic institutions in Russia and countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. “We understand the potential for confusion this name causes, but there is no link between Amande Concerts to the Russian ‘state’ as a political entity.” It continued: “In light of the current situation, Amande Concerts has removed the brand name Russian State Opera’ from all media and replaced with Amande Concerts.” The company is also set to bring a performance of Sleeping Beauty set to the music of Russian composer Tchaikovsky to the Assembly Hall in
Continued on page 2