9 October (Part 1) - Danson Festival
The Danson
Festival was discussed in council committee last Thursday. Much of the agenda
was taken up with a list of the entertainments on offer, the record visitor
numbers and the amount of advertising needed to attract 70,000 plus visitors.
The agenda is rather reticent about the costs; it mentions that the advertising was
obtained at below normal rates and that Cory Environmental Trust’s sponsorship and
cost reduction measures together brought in £28,000 but that a shortfall of
£32,000 will have to be met from efficiencies elsewhere. It looks as though
the fun and games comes at a high price. Although the council’s agenda dodged the
issue it is known that the management company, Richmond Event Management, put in
a bill for £118,000. The local press at the time reported that the rubbish
clear up afterwards wasn’t all it might have been and the council committee
heard that 0·94 tonnes of paper and cardboard, 0·86 tonnes of plastics and
cans and 0·4 tonnes of glass was collected and sent for recycling; so a useful £63
will have been made from the litter left behind. (Using the council’s figures).