Lincoln Steampunk festival move yet to be approved

The festival - which started in 2009 - usually takes place in Lincoln's historic quarter

A decision on holding a major festival will depend on its plan to deal with Covid concerns, a council has said.

Last week, organisers of the Asylum steampunk event said it would move to Newark, Nottinghamshire after Lincoln City Council raised concerns about safety and crowd management.

The festival attracts up to 100,000 people each year and is believed to be worth about £2.2m to the local economy.

Newark Council said permission to hold the event had not yet been given.

David Lloyd, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council said giving the three-day festival the go-ahead would depend on the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) approving the organisers' Covid safety plan.

'Untenable position'

He said the local authority was "supportive of any event coming to Newark which would help with social and economic recovery" but SAG would consider all the information before making a decision.

It would then be constantly reviewed in case local or national Covid guidance changed, he said.

The festival is said to be worth more than £2m to the local economy

Festival director John Naylor said last week he hoped to hold the event in Newark over the August bank holiday weekend after organisers were told by officials in Lincoln they would be responsible for managing anyone attending the festival in public areas.

"Steampunk is a very attractive and welcoming scene, but this brings with it an audience over which we have no direct control," he said.

"As a volunteer-based arts organisation this left us in an untenable position."