Champions for Stratford-upon-Avon yesterday hit back at Germaine Greer's stinging attack on their town as "inaccurate" and "misleading".
Professor Greer complained that the approach to Stratford consisted of drearily familiar high street chainstores, and the disappointing arrival into the town was compounded by a lack of parking, eating and hotel facilities.
She made her comments at The Big Debate on regional arts hosted by The Birmingham Post and the NEC Group at the ICC, adding that "there hasn't been a tree planted in Stratford for years" and that the RSC had not ever done anything "really significant" with the town.
More needed to be done, she insisted, to strengthen links between the local council and the community and the arts, in order to reduce reliance on faltering national funding.
Councillor Les Topham, leader of Stratford-upon-Avon District Council and chairman of the World Class Stratford strategy group, said: "To claim that there is nowhere to eat, stay or park in the town is clearly nonsense. Stratford has many quality eateries, dozens of accommodation options as well as ample parking."
He said Stratford was currently in the early stages of a major multi-million pound programme of redevelopment and refurbishment under its World Class Stratford enterprise.
Coun Topham added: "Stratford is already a superb destination for many cultural, historic and social reasons, and this will be further enhanced by the exciting ambition and vision contained in the World Class Stratford proposals.
"I would like to think that Ms Greer will think again before criticising the town if she took the trouble to acquaint herself with the proposals put forward by World Class Stratford."
Prof Greer called the London-based English National Opera, the Royal Opera and the National Theatre "monsters" which sucked all the arts funding away from the regions.
The RSC, which refused to comment on Prof Greer's comments, is undergoing a #100 million redevelopment. With a full-time staff of 500, its out-of-London location brings more than one thousand full-time equivalent jobs and #58 million each year to the West Midlands economy.
Once the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre has re-opened in 2010, the Company will generate a further 57 full-time jobs and an additional #22 million each year for the region.
The redevelopment of the RSC will include a new 1,000-seat "thrust stage" auditorium, a rooftop cafe, increased foyer space and improved backstage facilities.
