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Council chiefs to fill beer festival gap
Reporter: RICHARD HOOTON
Date online: 29 December 2009
OLDHAM Council is helping to organise a fund-raising event for the Mayor’s charities to make up for the loss of the Oldham Beer Festival.
As revealed in the Chronicle, a funding wrangle means the 24th festival won’t be able to take place in March, 2010, after the council removed its concessionary status. It’s not yet known if the festival will be brought back in the future.
But Oldham Mayor, Councillor Jim McArdle, is now set for talks with council chiefs and local charities for a new event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall to form the centrepiece of his final fund-raising activities for the Mayoral Year 2009/ 2010.
Beer festival organisers CAMRA were dismayed that the council backed a budget option that saw the event as a commercial venture and meant it would be charged rent for the use of the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Following negotiations with CAMRA and the Mayor, council officials offered a reduction in costs of more than £3,500 to the organisers, but CAMRA said the charge would still swallow up all the money that goes to charity.
Deputy council leader Jackie Stanton said: “Last year, the beer festival made around £6,000 for the Mayor’s Appeal.
“However, it cost Oldham Council around £12,000 to actually put the event on. We simply cannot sanction providing a subsidy of several thousand pounds to the event again.
“It would be simpler just to transfer money directly into the Mayor’s appeal fund. We are genuinely disappointed to have lost the beer festival booking, however, and want to place on record our thanks to CAMRA, and their volunteers, for their efforts in the past.
“We do sincerely hope to host this event again in the future.”
Comments
Another success for our baffle brained council, getting rid of another annual event, I hope they feel pleased with themselves depriving charities with much needed funds....I don't suppose these lame brains will make up the money out of their own pockets? mind you if they did it would probably come from the annual public trough they all dip into, to the tune of three quaters of a million pounds!!
Council chiefs to fill beer festival gap - I would settle for Council chiefs and their indians to fill some grit boxes.
“Last year, the beer festival made around £6,000 for the Mayor’s Appeal, However, it cost Oldham Council around £12,000 to actually put the event on"
So to break even and raise the same amount of Money the planned event will have to raise in the region of £18,000 - who's going to be hosting it Ant and Dec !!!!!!!
I would like to know where Jackie Stanton gets her over inflated figures from.
£12,000! for doing what?
£12,000 to put the event on! A bit hard to swallow that one Cllr Stanton. If true it shows why Oldham has the highest council tax. But I'll bet the figures are fiddled. Instead of just accounting for heating and lighting and that sort of thing, I bet they are piling in all the overheads that have to be paid whether the hall is hired or not.
Oh dear, As if it was not bad enough reading the garbage Oldham-Scotland spouts about the Latics, He is now poking his nose into Council matters. I thought you lived in Scotland? have you moved back and are paying your tax's down here, If not I would suggest you save the nonsense you pour out for the councillors of Scotland and stop irritating me and the majority of Oldhamers with your constant whingeing and drivel.
Pendle walker would love to honour your request, but erm, seeing as I have no interest in what you think of me and my views enjoy!.
Oldham-Scotland. You did not have the courtesy to say whether you lived in Scotland or not, If it is the former what gives you the right to have a go at our council/councillors, stick to annoying people in your own neck of the woods.
Have Your Say
What we would like to see after this fiasco is the total profit & loss, and not the usual unsupported PR blurb from the council...
By Keith @ 29/12/2009 13:07:17