What further desecration is Leicester City Council going to inflict on the arts in Leicester?

Is there one member of the council even modestly aware of the history, importance and influence Leicester musical, theatre, dance and visual arts have played in our city, not to mention in the arts of the UK?

Is there any awareness even of the name of Eric Pinkett, under whose guidance the arts from the 1950s through to the 1970s flourished within the school system of Leicestershire, so much so that school authorities throughout the UK were basing their music curriculum on his methods and achievements.

What of the Haymarket Theatre, an acoustically perfect, state-of-the-art theatre barely 35 years old and now sitting dark? Under Robin Midgley's inspired direction this theatre changed the face of regional theatre throughout the country.

As a result, following the Haymarket's nationally recognised productions of superbly-crafted musicals, London's West End reached out to regional theatre to mount productions prior to their London premieres.

No less a theatre producer of eminence than Cameron Macintosh built his reputation on shows which he mounted at the Haymarket Theatre prior to their West End runs. The first of several productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat mounted at the Haymarket, the first large- scale productions following a less than successful run of Joseph in the London's West End, produced the seeds which bloomed to become the Joseph mania that has followed this remarkable stage work ever since.

Further desecration by the council to the arts of Leicester now involves its attempt to ban both the Leicester Symphony Orchestra and the Bardi Orchestra from using De Montfort Hall for their concert seasons.

Let it be clear that these orchestras are not given performing dates at the hall gratis; they both pay rental fees. The council is in search of increased revenue at the hall, which they believe they can achieve by renting to the latest craze rock groups whose high-priced ticket sales will produce larger commissions at the box office.

So the council's brief is simply that higher commissions are more important than community-based cultural activities of quality.

The most recent concert of the Leicester Symphony was a superbly mounted family concert conducted by a very talented young British conductor. The concert involved about 150 performers, about 60 of whom were students of dance, aged eight years through teen age, all trained by the doyenne of dance in Leicester, Ann Oliver.

This was a community happening at its best. As for its appeal, the audience was a balanced mixture of adults and young persons representing a wide age range. One of these young persons was the 14-year-old grandson of a dear friend who was attending with me. It was his very first concert. At the end of the evening, his enthusiasm bubbling over, he asked if he could attend the Bardi Orchestra concert taking place at the end of November. Is that single request not a wake-up call to the council to get their priorities in order.

The Curve Theatre is not an answer. It was built on a whim of megalomania. Its history so far is of a £62 million overspend, continued losses and mixed reviews, many unfavourable, unlike the original Haymarket which enjoyed during my six-year tenure unending praise from the local and national press and, most important of all, the people of Leicester.

Leicester City Council should stop meddling in the arts. Its history of doing so has been a disaster. Encouraging local arts of such distinguished accomplishment as can be accredited to the Leicester Symphony and the Bardi Orchestra should and must be its priority.

Robert Mandell, Leicester (executive music director, Haymarket Theatre 1973-79; music director, Concerts for the Family, 1968-2004; music director, The Melachrino Orchestra, 1975-2010).