A ROW has broken out over emails which are being sent to borough council leader Mike Goodman as part of a petition to save Weymouth Pavilion.

The leader of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council says hundreds of emails sent to him from an internet petition to keep the theatre running for another year have caused him to ‘lose sympathy’ for theatre campaigners.

Councillor Goodman said they have ‘clogged up’ his inbox and blocked important emails he is trying to send for council business.

Some 533 theatre supporters have already signed the petition – sending a notification to Coun Goodman each time someone signs.

Coun Goodman said: “It’s caused an enormous amount of inconvenience and inefficiency.

“I spent a disproportionate amount of time yesterday trying to keep space in my inbox to deal with stuff I have got to deal with.

“My inbox keeps clogging up, I keep having to delete 20, 30 or 40 emails at a time.

“It’s going to keep going until the end of February. I’ve got three days’ away for Local Government Association work.

“If I come back and my email system is completely jammed up I’m going to be furious if this means that issues for constituents and other things have gone wrong.”

Coun Goodman added: “Where I had sympathy for the campaigners before I’m starting to lose that sympathy.

“People who are signing up might think they are being helpful but they are aggravating us.”

Figures revealed in 2011 showed that the council-owned Pavilion was costing £1.6million over two years.

Councillors said late last year it would have to be flattened and turned into a car park unless there is a viable rescue plan.

Local actress Jane McKell provided Coun Goodman’s email address on the change.org petition website as the person to be petitioned for saving the Weymouth theatre.

Mrs McKell said she set up the petition as ‘a back-up plan’ to the Save the Pavilion rescue plan.

She said: “It is ridiculous to be given just five weeks’ public notice to close and demolish a theatre if no-one suitable comes forward to take it off our council’s hands.

“The emails are not spam. Before computers were invented councillors would have received letters through the post.

“The petition asked me to put someone’s name on it and it turns out they get sent it when someone signs it online. I have apologised to Mike Goodman for the emails but I’m not apologising for the petition.

“I feel that the whole point of a councillor is someone who can talk to you and listen.”

Mrs McKell, an artistic director, producer and performer at AsOne Theatre Company, said she originally added email addresses of all members of the council’s management committee but removed them all – except for Coun Goodman’s address – when she became aware of the volumes being sent by the website.

She said: “If people feel passionate about something they are going to jam inboxes up and they are going to write to councillors.

“I don’t take kindly to being told that I did not endear myself to Mike Goodman with this petition.”

The petition can be found at change.org by searching for ‘Weymouth and Portland.’

‘THEIR HEARTS ARE IN RIGHT PLACE’

PHIL Say, who is fronting the Save the Pavilion campaign alongside Louise Domoney, said he is still on course to submit a financial plan for saving the theatre to the council by January 16.

He said: “There’s no issue with preparing this on time.

“This petition has come from a supporter of Save the Pavilion. I think they decided it would be a good idea. I think everyone’s heart is in the right place. Everyone is trying to do what they can.

“I’m getting more and more positive reaction to the rescue plan every day and if that’s the case I’m not sure asking the council to spend £500,000 of tax payers’ money supporting the Pavilion with an extension is a good idea.”