Copyright expressandstar
Earlier this year a decision was made to move the event to Statfold Country Park and charge residents £12 to attend the event. It has been claimed that the annual event cost upwards of £70,000, however claims that the event costs much less have been made. The council claims that new safety requirements under Martyn’s Law and rising costs have prompted the change. However earlier this month the council cancelled the event following reaction from the community. During the extraordinary council meeting this week Councillor Martin Summers proposed that the attempts be made to hold the event in the castle grounds this year instead of cancelling the event. He said: “I’m quite surprised to be quite honest that we’re kind of accepted the fact that we’re not having any fireworks this year. I would actually argue that if we tried hard enough we could have the fireworks this year and make it happen and I think we should at least try” However, portfolio holder for housing, homelessness and planning, Ben Clarke attempted to shut down the motion claiming it would have forced the council to spend money. This was overruled by the council’s top lawyer who said the event would not have been a key decision over £100,000 and money was in the budget. Councillor Ben Clarke said both the public and councillors were consulted on the decision which were part of attempts to save £650,000 in expenditure. He added: “Every year we ask residents how they want us to prioritise spending for three years in a row. The answer has been consistent – focus resources on essential services and make savings on things like arts, assembly rooms and outdoor events.” Opposition councillors claimed that using Martyn’s Law as a reason to move the event was unfounded, as the law only requires more risk assessments and does not come into force for a further two years to allow time for changes to be made. It was also said that the event was about civic pride and safety which will be lost due to the cancellation of the event. Councillor Lewis Smith, portfolio holder for people services, engagement, leisure and heritage, said: “The fireworks in the castle grounds have become a victim of its own success. It had 24,000 people attending and while this is positive it is causing an issue for public safety and more than anything else the safety of the public comes first. “Other events in the town such as the St Georges Day and Christmas lights are nowhere near the same scale and therefore do not present the dangers and we’ve mentioned they are still going to be going ahead. The cost of the fireworks is around £70,000 not the £27,000 that has been reported on social media, that figure has no truth and could be found nowhere in the budget. “The council were being asked to make savings of £650,000 in a world where all services that are not legally required to cut we would be completely irresponsible to increase the already bloated events budget which stood at £308,000. For comparison Lichfield had a budget of £20,000 for their events and out under the opposition was 15 times higher than that.” Councillors were told that the event only makes £5,850 in income. £20,000 is just spent on the fireworks alone, with the rest of the budget being spent on security, toilets, signage, fencing and staff time amongst other things. It was estimated that cost would exceed £100,000 to make the event compliant with Martyn’s Law. Councillor Richard Kingstone, who proposed the debate, ended by saying: “This isn’t necessarily about the fireworks, this is about a controlling group that is demonstrating arrogance and doesn’t consult properly with the public, with fellow councillors and with businesses.” Ultimately the motion which called on the Labour administration to produce a detailed report on the consultation process and risk assessment; reconsider the location of the event; and ensure proper consultation on events going forward was defeated. With all Labour councillors voting against.
