I WAS delighted to read the lead story in your newspaper two weeks ago that Cllr Fred Brown is wholeheartedly behind your Keep It Local campaign, which, of course, includes the reintroduction of an arts provision at either Babylon Bridge or at The Malting

I WAS delighted to read the lead story in your newspaper two weeks ago that Cllr Fred Brown is wholeheartedly behind your Keep It Local campaign, which, of course, includes the reintroduction of an arts provision at either Babylon Bridge or at The Maltings.

I hope this means that the district council will be announcing soon that ADeC (yes, why is it taking so long to decide?) has won the contract for The Maltings, to run as an arts centre, or be ready to discuss ways of reopening the gallery at Babylon Bridge.

Cllr Brown is absolutely right, why go into Cambridge when we have a superb gallery of our own? As well as being one of our few leisure and educational facilities, is also supports local businesses by encouraging lots of tourists to keep returning to their city, with its ever changing exhibitions.

I very much hope the council will take up my suggestions of having an open forum soon, to see how we can reinstate the visual arts in Ely. After all, central government have 'think-tanks' and Green Papers before they make important decisions, so I would have thought that at this level, we should all be working together to make things happen in a positive way.

As the new leader of the council, I hope Cllr Brown will look at this in a fresh way and that the people of Ely will let him know that he has their full support in this matter, by backing your Keep It Local campaign.

TED CONEY

Waterside

Ely