Wellingborough Carnival cancelled after dispute with council

Wellingborough Carnival had not been held since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic

A carnival that was due to take place for the first time since the Covid lockdowns has been cancelled.

Wellingborough Carnival Association said the event would no longer be going ahead on 2 July.

The decision came after the association claimed North Northamptonshire Council would "keep all the money" for the event.

Jason Smithers, council leader, said it "does not directly fund any carnival parades across North Northamptonshire".

In a post on Facebook, the association said it previously had an agreement with the former Borough of Wellingborough authority for the carnival to run alongside the Party in the Park event, "which meant considerable saving in infrastructure compared with two separate events".

"The Carnival Association and the Borough of Wellingborough split the cost and income over the two days," the post said.

"We received an email from NNC [North Northamptonshire Council] at the end of April saying that they wanted it back as two events. They are going to keep all the money, and the Carnival Association will get nothing and be 'self-sufficient'."

The association said this left it no time to apply for grants, but it did find someone who was prepared to cover the costs.

"But the attitude of the NNC has resulted in the offer being withdrawn through lack of confidence in the NNC," the post said.

Leader of North Northamptonshire Council Jason Smithers said the authority was keen to support carnivals but could not fund them

North Northamptonshire Council said it was funding Wellingborough's Party in the Park event this year and from next year onwards Wellingborough Town Council would oversee it.

Mr Smithers said the authority would use "any revenue generated from the event to contribute towards the costs associated with running the event."

But he said the carnival's costs "are the responsibility of Wellingborough Carnival Association".

Conservative Mr Smithers said although the council was unable to provide any funding, it did offer to cover the costs of printed brochures and facilitate road closures.

He added the council had "made the Wellingborough Carnival Association aware" of alternative sources of funding.