“All these idea's to market the place better are good and fine, but where exactly do you think the money is going to come from to have a marketing department and advertising budget!? the tax payer again, this bail out is not for marketing so I presume there is no money in the pot for increasing the awareness of the place, hence they will need some more of our tax money to market it.....this damn building is a curse and it will continue to Haemorrhage our money till someone has the guts to shut the place down and stop throwing good money after bad....this ridiculous Labour council wouldn't know what a white elephant was unless it hit them square in the face and they are too arrogant to admit the building is in the wrong place and was never given a fair push to start with....and i'm sorry I know there are lots of people who comment on how fabulous it is and how its not situated in the middle of the 'Beirut' of Leicester but the fact is it constantly needs bailing out and consistantly runs at a loss which would suggest there are far more people who would rather not have it and spend their tax monies on it then there are who would, get over it and shut the blessed thing down before it needs another 'X' amount of tax monies spending on it again next year and the year after and so on and so on.....and when its closed we can stop reading about it and discussing it..WIN”

“Ventured to Phoenix Sq for lunch to see what all the fuss was about. Wholeheartedly agree that the area is unwelcoming to the point of being a bit scary even in broad daylight. Lunch was, however, tasty and inexpensive, and set in a pleasant room.

What was lacking for me was signposts/maps to get me back from whence I came (my sense of direction being as appalling as it is!) - a map of the city centre would be great just outside the Phoenix entrance!

I used to frequent the old Phoenix because it was close to my place of work, had a lovely little cafe and hosted lots of things other than films (music events (Albion Band, anyone?) plays, dance etc..) Not quite sure if the new Phoenix has this range of events and certainly haven't seen any publicity brochures.

The beauty of the old Phoenix, and, indeed, the Haymarket Theatre, was its proximity to the centre of town. They were both virtually in the centre and if you went shopping you would very likely fall over them by accident. Not so the new Phoenix or the Curve.

While the notion of a "cultural quarter" sounds all fine and dandy, if it is stuck outside of the hub of the city, with little or no kerb appeal then it will only ever serve the dedicated few. Compare this to Nottingham's Royal Centre/Theatre Royal/Multiplex cinema area and the vibrant cafe culture that exists there. Isn't this what we want of a "cultural quarter"?

On a different note, I'm glad to read that Loughborough publicises itself well, has lots to see and do and doesn't charge the earth!”

“I am in total agreement with Martin, Leicester¿s comments. It is not the film programmer or the education officer who have lead the Phoenix into its current predicament. It is the CEO and the failure of the Chair and the board to hold the management to account, coupled with some very unrealistic expectations and poor accountancy.

The simple fact that the CEO and the board have made the film programmer and the education officer redundant amply demonstrates the reasons they are not competent to continue. They cannot fully understand Phoenix Square, its purpose and potential, to lose these two key positions.

Phoenix Square has been let down by poor appointments in key senior roles. The people, creative businesses and community of Leicester deserve to have dynamic and competent managers, who have a real interest in film, film culture, education and working in partnership.

Phoenix Square has incredible potential, not only to pay its way, but to also act as a focus for digital consumption and production. However it needs competent and dynamic managers to make this a reality.”

“In response to the vice-chair of the Phoenix Square Board's comments ("Senior staff are among those who have been made redundant."), the only 'senior' member of staff to be made redundant was the temporary, part-time Creative Director, who appeared to know nothing about cinema or film at all. This comment by the vice-chair of the Board is disingenuous and is an attempt to mask over the fact that front-line cinema staff - primarily, the film programmer and film education officer - have been scapegoated for the failings of the CEO and the Phoenix Board.

How can the Phoenix Square Board justify simply 'adding new members' to the Board as a response to this critical situation. A new Chair is surely required given that the current one has appointed two CEOs and an Artistic Director in 3 years, all of whom have either 'left' or have led the organization to this financial crisis. The Chair of the Board has to be directly responsible for the current situation. It is clear that new Board leadership is needed with expertise in cultural cinema and knowledge of the film industry,

I agree that part of the Cabinet bail-out should be used to reinstate the film programmer and film education officer. Without an educational remit - for adults, schools, special needs, and the like - the Phoenix is in danger of losing its charitable status. No doubt there will be some cover-up operation to suggest that film education is still alive at the Phoenix, but without someone to design, organise and run education events this core element of operation will disappear or will wither away.

Don't believe the statements from the Board - they are just covering their own backs and trying to justify very poor redundancy decisions.”

“"If you like ¿fringe¿ films then DVD is the answer. It costs less than 21 million."

Wonderful. What a helpful suggestion. And all we should watch in the cinema is whatever Fox/Sony decide we should watch right? Some people want quality independent cinema, and from these threads it seems that more people would go to PS if they knew what was going on... So...

- Get a stand in the Highcross by the Curve stand.
- Advertise on empty shop fronts including a map and instructions on how to get there.
- Advertise on the big screen outside M&S, with film names and times for that day.
- Aggressively market the place with posters, flyers and brochures all over the city.

And finally, I walked to the Phoenix from the Town Hall today. It took less than ten minutes, in fact it took longer to walk from Highcross to Market Street. All in my lunchbreak. People should give it a go.”

“I had to park in the Lee Circle car park recently and on my way back to it I stumbled upon the "cultural quarter". It's a bit of a dump really. Not sure what that says about Leicester in general. Who decided it would go there? Ah, I assume it would have been a recommendation in a "consultant's" report. A consultant who probably lives in the south-east and knows nothing about Leicester. City council officers and politicians ALWAYS believe consultants don't they !”

“I have said this before ¿ Phoenix Square is a new name created by the developers/ council so not many people will know it, indeed the ordnance survey maps and guides including streetmap.co.uk do not yet have it listed.
If they advertised it as being on the corner of Midland street and Morledge Street then more people might be able to find it.”

“If you like ¿fringe¿ films then DVD is the answer. It costs less than 21 million.”

“I know exactly where the centre is, but only as a result of driving past on the ring road. Until reading this article, I had absolutely no knowledge about what went on inside. I had no idea there was a cinema. I visit the cinema at Highcross often and would class myself as someone quite familiar with Leicester City. I'm quite shocked I've never heard about it.”

“Well I know where Loughborough is....
I'm going to watch a Pink Floyd tribute band there tomorrow night...

I know where it is,
Car parking is easy,
access is easy,
prices are good...

errrrrrm... what IS the Phoenix ?”