City criticised for not being gay friendly

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Local Government

A historic cathedral city is being investigated over allegations that it is not gay-friendly enough.

Canterbury in Kent is a "cultural wilderness" and one of the only cities in the country without any gay bars, according to Canterbury Pride spokesman Andrew Brettell.

He said the city fails to welcome members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and he has made an official complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, which is investigating.

Mr Brettell criticised Canterbury City Council for "ticking the boxes" but failing to do anything to attract gay people to the area.

"What we need is for the council to send signals that it's OK to be gay and that they are welcoming gays to the city," he said.

Mr Brettell described the gay community of Canterbury as "closeted".

A Gay Pride event was held in the city in 2005 and again in 2006, but none has been held since.

Canterbury Pride is calling for the council to fund a community drop-in centre for the LGBT community, and to make more reference to gay people in its culture.

They also want a gay bar to be opened. Mr Brettell added that the council could currently be missing out on substantial revenue.

"The LGBT community would be good for the city because of the pink pound, especially in these credit crunch times," he said.

Colin Carmichael, chief executive of Canterbury City Council, insisted that the authority does already make efforts to welcome the gay community.

He said: "The council strongly refutes any suggestion by Pride in Canterbury that we do not want to engage with the LGBT community, and we are very disappointed that they have referred this to the Ombudsman.

"The council has provided Pride in Canterbury with funding of more than GBP4,000 since 2005/06 through our grants system, to help them identify the needs of the LGBT community and promote their concerns.

"Last year we held a gay open day at the council offices, which was widely advertised, including in the gay press, well attended by more than 40 people and received very good feedback from those present.

"We believe that through regular correspondence with Pride in Canterbury over many years, we have thoroughly addressed their concerns and shown ourselves to be a council that has taken action to address the needs and priorities of the LGBT community."