Dear Editor

Basingstoke has long suffered from an image problem, something which the Council has attempted to improve with campaigns such as "A Place to be Proud Of". 

It therefore seems especially mystifying that they have now taken the decision to cut the funding to the Anvil by 50%.

In the Anvil we have a world class concert hall which attracts stars at the top of their respective fields, from classical musicians to pop stars to comedians. 

The often repeated comment from these people is that they love coming to the Anvil because of the excellent  acoustics. 

The Anvil is something we can be justifiably proud of, something that we have that marks us out from other towns, something that brings people into Basingstoke.   

I sat next to a lady there who lived not far from Basingstoke, she told me how impressed and surprised she was by her Anvil experience.   

She said that she had been travelling up to London to go to concerts, but had no idea that she had a top class concert hall on her door step!

It would appear that our Council has scant appreciation of the value of the Anvil to the town and the wider area. 

I would have expected support for such a wonderful asset to Basingstoke at this difficult time.   

So come on Basingstoke Council, do the right thing and support our concert hall!.

Julia Townsend-Rose

Cliddesden Rd