Two long-running Kent festivals are set to be axed as cash runs out
The festival is a highlight of the year
Two popular festivals in Kent might not be going ahead this year after the local council has announced it has to make savings. The long-running events are attended by thousands of visitors every year.
But the English Festival and the Summer Dickens Festival will not go ahead in 2024 under Medway Council’s plans, as it attempts to make huge savings to balance its books. As well as cancelling the two events, it is also planning to make cuts to museums, close a visitor centre and increase parking charges.
Clare Tierney, vice chair of Rochester City Centre Forum, says businesses recognise the tough financial situation for the authority and want to collaborate to find the best solution. She does not want Medway’s events programme to stretch itself too thin and sacrifice quality, saying it should focus on events the community loves instead.
Mrs Tierney said: “If you don’t have that much in your budget you would obviously look to cut or reduce things that don’t work so well, and certainly those two events aren’t as successful as the Sweeps Festival and the Christmas Dickens Festival. We can’t afford to spread ourselves too thin and I think it’s really important that we ringfence our successes.
“I’m really pleased that the council are being upfront and honest about the situation. They’re telling us there’s a problem this year and they’re looking at how to explore other solutions which is exactly what the forum wants to do.”
Mrs Tierney said the events that could be cancelled bring nowhere near as many visitors as the Sweeps Festival and Christmas Dickens and wouldn’t represent such a significant loss to traders. The English Festival has been running since it first started in 2009 and the Dickens Festival has taken place every year since 1978.
She said the silver lining of the cancellation would be a re-evaluation of what the community wanted from its events and a closer partnership with the council. She continued: “Collaboration between the businesses, the community and the council is the only way forward when you are faced with the kind of restrictions the council is facing.
“I think this is actually quite a positive exercise where some of the control comes back to the businesses, to the community and they help to mould and design the festivals that they enjoy.” Documents published ahead of the cabinet meeting next week show the regeneration, culture, and environment department would make £9.2 million in savings next year.
The currently free to visit Guildhall Museum in Rochester would have a new £5 entrance fee and Upnor Castle and Eastgate House would see reduced opening hours. Additionally, the Visitor Information Centre, with Rochester Art Gallery inside, would be closed, saving just under £200,000.
However the council has confirmed the Huguenot Museum on the first floor and the cash machine – which is the only free-to-use ATM on the High Street – would be unaffected. Rochester City Centre Forum chair Sarah Tranter says the authority didn’t speak with businesses about the impacts of the plans, but wants to discuss ways attractions can stay open with community involvement.
Commenting on the Visitor Information Centre, she said: “Nobody wants to see cuts like that, but maybe there are alternative ways of keeping things open. It would be a real loss to Rochester. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could get local people to actually run it themselves as a going concern?”
She also suggested an electronic donation system would be a better solution than a new entry charge for the Guildhall Museum, which she says would cause visitor numbers to drop. Mrs Tranter also said the changes would have knock-on effects for businesses as the visitor centre provided a route from Rochester railway station directly onto the High Street and attractions brought money to local shops.
Both Mrs Tranter and Mrs Tierney said the 60p increase in parking fees would certainly have an effect, but the more significant problem was there were no short-stay car parks near Rochester High Street. They say the change of Blue Boar Lane car park to 24 hours means commuters fill the spaces in the morning, holding them all day, depriving shoppers of a place to park which is impacting businesses.
At the regeneration, culture, and environment committee meeting last month, Rochester’s multi-storey car park was mentioned as always being full to capacity with commuters and other nearby car parks being full too. Medway Council was contacted for comment on the proposal to cut the two events but did not respond in time for publication.
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