DISCUSSIONS over the future of Fordingbridge Summer Festival are continuing.

A group has been looking into holding the event after the Rotary Club of Fordingbridge, who have run the festival for nine years, said it could no longer continue with it.

Fordingbridge Town Council was asked about the possibility of giving funding at its finance and policy committee meeting on January 3 but said it was unable to financially support the event at this time.

The mayor, Cllr Malcolm Connolly, said: “We definitely want the summer festival to continue. The new group is not properly constituted yet which would not enable us to do any funding and we have just set the budget.”

Businessman Ian Newman, who is part of the group hoping to continue the festival in the town, said funding of about £5,000 would be needed for the event and money would also be needed for a secretariat. He said money made on the gate would be given back to the town council but council officers raised concerns that the financial return could not be guaranteed.

Mr Newman said it was a “shame” the council was unable to give funding for a festival event after the success of Christmas in Fordingbridge which he said had engendered a “great deal of community spirit”. He also spoke of the need for an events committee to bring together public events, similar to what had been set up in Ringwood.

Mr Newman said: “We have no budget whatsoever. We come to the town council first of all to see if that was a possibility and we have been told no.

“We are going to have to think about it and see if there is somebody who will fund it.”

Cllr Connolly said: “I am sure if you get set up properly with rules of understanding then I’m quite sure the council would discuss and find a way around it.”

Cllr Paul Ansty questioned where this money would be found from the budget.

He added: “If it doesn’t work this year at least we have the grounding to sit down and talk about it early so perhaps if it doesn’t happen this August we can have something in place where we can guarantee it returns the August afterwards.

“If we got it off the ground a couple of months earlier perhaps the council could have sat down and negotiated. It is just too quick but we will help as much as we can.”

Mr Newman told the Journal a meeting was due to take place next week to consider how the event can be taken forward.