Ray Bridges
Ray Bridges, Chairman of the Trustees, 2000-2008, The Flavel Dartmouth
You are seen as one of the main driving forces that got the Flavel up and running. Did you expect to be so busy in retirement? Absolutely not, but it somehow took over my life for a few years.
What prompted the move to Dartmouth originally? Well, I had been working in London for many years with BBC Magazines, latterly as Advertisement Director across a wide ranging portfolio that included the Radio Times, Top Gear etc. In the years just prior to my retirement from there in 1993, I had helped the Radio Times successfully through the turbulent period of de-regulation of the TV listings market (which led to newspapers and other magazines being able to reproduce TV listings). Having done that, I thought that it was a good time to retire although I was keen to remain active. My wife’s mother was Vice Principal of the Sir Thomas More’s School for disadvantaged and emotionally damaged boys based in East Allington. We had both been trustees for a number of years and had visited the area frequently. I was asked to become Chairman so we decided to move to Dartmouth and bring our boat down from Poole. I was Chairman for three years to 1997 during which time we had to manage the closure of the school due to a change in government policy whereby such boys were to be looked after in mainstream schools.
How did the Flavel project arise? I had joined the Dartmouth & Kingswear Society and was appointed Chairman in 1997. The D&K had been asked by the Town Council to think of ways to mark the upcoming Millennium but it soon became apparent that there was little appetite in local government to do very much. We then learned that the Devon County Council were planning to sell the old fire station site next to the Flavel Church. It was clear that this would soon become yet another block of flats. Coincidentally, the recent Disabilities Act was forcing public buildings to provide proper access for the disabled for which the then public library was wholly unsuitable. But new public libraries were no longer being funded but there was a chance that we could incorporate these facilities into a new cultural and arts centre that could perhaps apply for Lottery funding – for which a recent change in strategy by the Lottery Commission now made possible. We had, however, to persuade the Flavel Church to donate or sell the land and building that it owned next door allowing us to pull the whole site together into something viable. With much energy and invention on the part of a large group of people, we were then able to raise funds from a variety of private and public resources, nearly £2m in total. It took us, however, more than 5 years. We broke ground in 2003 and the Flavel opened in February 2005.
Did the final outcome match your original concept and dream for the project? Pretty much so. We enjoyed a high degree of local support for the project and though it required a huge effort by many we were able to forge a path that, we now find, acts as a beacon for other towns interested in doing the same. For me personally, it became an all-consuming task – on social occasions, our wives would say “don’t mention the ‘F’ word!” – but then again I have always been project orientated.
Was it a proud moment when it was finished? Absolutely – I remember being stopped soon after by a lady in a wheel chair who said it had changed her life. That was what it was all about. The project continues to evolve. The energy of those who worked on it at the beginning has meant we have attracted higher profile events sooner than I anticipated. With 130,000 footfalls last year, it is clear it is well used and has had an important economic impact on the town – it is noticeable now that it helps to keep visitors in the town especially on wet summer days of which we had many this year. Previously, we would have lost many of these visitors to other local towns. I see that our estate agents now cite it as an important reason for moving here.
Is a cultural centre important for a town like Dartmouth? In my opinion, yes. We are hugely fortunate. There were some who thought that a town of our size would not be able to support such a venue but I think it has become an important reason to stay here or come here in the first place. I still sometimes miss the buzz of London but I now need only a few visits each year to get the additional ‘cultural fix’. Without the Flavel, Dartmouth is like a pretty girl, very attractive but you want a little more than that!
First Published December 2008 By The Dart