About the Bandstand

Background

In March 2021, a local musician, Stephen Williams, had three ideas: how to honour the NHS, key workers and volunteers who have helped us through the Pandemic and how to remember those who had lost their lives; and how to create a much needed, new, open air performing venue in the heart of Dorking.

Joined by two friends, Nick Wright and Tony Earnshaw and with the support of several councillors, the group formed a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to realise this vision.

Location and nature of the venue

The agreed site for the venue is in Meadowbank Park, in the centre of Dorking, where there is good access with parking and facilities nearby. This will also provide a further focus to the park, which has seen a number of new developments by Mole Valley District Council (MVDC) in recent years, including a new playground, a skate park and a café.

Even “conventional” bandstands come in many shapes, sizes and configurations and are increasingly used for a wide variety of purposes, as the research has shown. The pandemic has also seen their use increase dramatically as people seek outside but protected spaces in which to perform and hold their activities.

Dorking had its own Edwardian bandstand until it was demolished in the early 1960s.  We propose to re-create this in a similar style, but incorporating modern technology and features to enable the wider uses to which bandstands are now being put, from music to drama; sports to promotion and beyond.

Plans for “Music in Meadowbank”

One of the main uses of the bandstand will be for a series of free, Sunday afternoon concerts which we intend to stage over the summer months, from May to September. These will mainly be acoustic performances – jazz, brass ensembles, small orchestras, folk singers, choirs etc – designed for a wide audience including families with children.

The bandstand will be available for other events during the week, and for a limited number of larger, full scale commercial performances.

Since March 2021, the team have:

• formed the Dorking Pandemic Community Bandstand CIO (Community Incorporated Organisation);
• commissioned and created this website and developed a social media presence;
• expanded to include construction, legal, project management, finance and events experts;
• consulted with a range of likely users to inform design decisions and necessary key features;
• achieved planning permission for the project (September 2022) and permission to lease the necessary land from the council.

We have also identified a preferred supplier for the bandstand and are in discussions with potential contractors for the groundworks.

Next steps

Our work going forward will be to:

• further expand the team to give us more capacity and the necessary expertise to manage the work and in particular the construction phase and operations in 2026
• appoint a contractor to carry out the ground works and construct the plinth
• continue to seek donations from local businesses and individuals to help complete our funding of the build
• develop our summer 2026 programme for Music in Meadowbank.

Costs and Timescale

It is estimated that the project will need around £250,000 – £260,000 in total to build the plinth, buy and erect the structure and provide for running and maintenance costs in the early years while a programme of events is developed. We have already received grants of £20,000 from MVDC and just under £210,000 from Your Fund Surrey. It is our aim to have the venue completed and open for the summer season in 2026.