Lib Dem Cabinet statement on Northampton Balloon Festival
February 12, 2009 12:00 AM
Cabinet is expected to recommend to Full Council at its meeting of 26th February to end the Balloon Festival.
By critical consensus, this year has been the toughest twelve months for local councils in a generation. In the current climate, Cabinet considers it irresponsible to recommend the continuation of the Balloon Festival as part of a balanced budget package.
The Balloon Festival was an important public event in its day. However, it is clear that:
1. The cost of setting up a show ground cannot be achieved for less than £350,000 without compromising minimum Health & Safety requirements. Such a figure could not be recovered by charging higher fees either for visitors or traders.
2. The recession has massively reduced the possibility of securing sponsorship sufficient to keep the Balloon Festival alive.
3. Changing fashions in corporate sponsorship also mean that shaped balloons, once such an attraction to visitors, are today too costly to run as part of a corporate 'day out'. This has adversely affected the character of the festival.
4. The Festival has been criticised over many years for the predominance of trade stands. Despite the council's generous funding of voluntary and community groups, it would be impossible to redress the commercial-voluntary mix without incurring even higher running costs.
5. The Balloon Festival is highly weather dependent. At a time, when council budgets are being stretched across the country, it would be imprudent of Cabinet to recommend the continuation of the festival and risk running another huge loss.
In 2008, the Balloon Festival cost each Council Tax payer in Northampton £3, on top of entry fees. Council officers estimate that 60% of visitors to the Balloon Festival come from outside the town. Cabinet also considers it unfair that Northampton's taxpayers should subsidise visitors beyond the Borough boundaries for entertainment purposes in the teeth of a recession.
Cabinet is determined that the spirit of the Balloon Festival as an accessible public event enjoyed by residents and visitors be kept alive.
Cabinet has therefore instructed officers to organise, in collaboration with local and national organisations, a succession of events in our parks and on the Market Square throughout the summer months. As such, residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a variety of concerts, funfairs and artistic events almost every weekend, without relying solely on the great British climate.
Cabinet's aim is to have more things happening over a longer period, appealing to a wider audience and providing better value-for-money for the town's taxpayers.
Cabinet encourages residents and visitors to keep an eye out for further announcements on these exciting events.
Tony Woods, Leader of the Council
Brendan Glynane, Deputy Leader
Malcolm Mildren, Finance
Trini Crake, Environment
Brian Hoare, Performance
Sally Beardsworth, Housing
Richard Church, Regeneration
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