With the future of the Spa Pavilion still hanging in the balance, a ten-year-old girl from the area has decided to take action by launching her own group.
Emma Fawkes was devastated when she discovered the theatre could close and set about penning her thoughts in a poem and setting up her own group – the Spa Savers.
Emma, of Mill Lane, Trimley St Martin, is hopeful that her poem and group will prove to councillors the venue is a popular asset and will be sorely missed if it goes.
She said: “I decided to write the poem because I have been to the Spa and it was really fun.
“People will probably go there for family outings so if it closed they wouldn’t have anywhere else to go.
“I decided to make a badge to show that I was trying to save the Spa and then I decided to do a club to get support to save the Spa.
“If they want to join and if they don’t want the Spa to go, they can help save the Spa.”
Emma’s family have already taken up the youngster’s clarion call and pledged their support to the cause.
Emma’s dad, Roger Fawkes, who has seen a number of shows at the theatre, said: “When I saw Emma had taken the trouble to write the poem and do a badge I was impressed.
“If you try to get some support for it then it will help keep the momentum going. Once it’s gone it’s very difficult to get things like that back again so I think it’s a good starting point.”
Supporters are trying to put together a rescue package to keep the theatre as a live entertainment venue following the launch of the Ipswich Star’s Save Our Spa campaign after Suffolk Coastal announced that it was withdrawing its financial subsidy.
The council has since agreed to keep the theatre open until January – and is talking with the current operators Openwide Coastal to secure a deal.
Petitions to save the Spa are still available at the Felixstowe Star office in 172 Hamilton Road and also at the Spa Pavilion.
? Why do you want to save the Spa? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN, or e-mail starletters @archant.co.uk
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