Caroline Corbin puts record straight after Salisbury Pride cancelled

It comes after it was announced on Saturday that Salisbury Pride 2023 will no longer go ahead due to the effort to save Progress Bar in Endless Street from closing last year, which led to a financial impact on the festival.

Progress Bar closed in February just months after opening without the correct planning permission. 

In a statement posted online, the organisers behind the event said: “We know this is incredibly disappointing and it is not a decision we've been able to make easily, but our duty is to ensure that all our events are run safely.

“2022 was, without doubt, our biggest Pride yet. This was thanks to the hard work of an incredibly small group of dedicated volunteers and massive support from our community.”

Since Pride was launched by Cllr Corbin in 2019, she estimates she has invested around £80,000 of her own money. 

This includes things like getting the Progress Bar up and running, and buying stock for all the events. 

Last year the festival received £5,000 from Salisbury City Council and Wiltshire Council combined, and £10,000 from the National Lottery, but it costs around £36,000 to put the event on, with the shortfall being made up by Councillor Caroline Corbin herself. 

This year she applied for £100,000 from the lottery for both Progress Bar and the Pride Event, but was unsuccessful in her applications.  

None were offered for Progress as it was only a short term lease, and none for Pride at all. 

Cllr Corbin says she can evidence the comings and goings of all the grant money, and insists the only money lost is funds she has invested herself. 

"I am an approachable person", she says. 

"If anyone wants to see the paperwork, I can show them". 

As for the future, the former Mayor says it is time to regroup before deciding on what happens next. 

The Progress Bar is unlikely to make a return, for now, and in the mean time Cllr Corbin will be taking some time to rest after "a hell of a few years".