Wilmslow Town Council has awarded a grant to enable volunteers to continue to hold the annual Wilmslow Show which has been running for at least 118 years.
Last year organisers applied for a grant of £7,500 but this year the amount has increased to £10,000.
Speaking at the Town Council meeting on Monday 12th November, Councillor Frank McCarthy, who is Chairman of the Wilmslow Show, said "We had a very difficult year for several reasons, firstly last year we actually brought forward the show to the first Sunday in July, rather than the second Sunday, to try and get more schools involved.
"We found that by the second Sunday a lot of schools were actually going on holiday so it was difficult for them to actually enter the competition so we wanted to try and help them and bring it forward a week.
"Sadly it made absolutely no difference whatsoever to the schools but it did harm us in that we discovered there were several other shows on the same day which took quite a lot of people away from us. It also took away people who might have come to the show and paid to be there with trade stands.
"Also the weather was extremely inclement, we are weather dependent totally. On that morning the weather forecast said we were going to have very heavy showers about 2 o'clock, as it turned out the weather held off until about half past three but we think that made a big difference to our attendance, which knocked it down quite considerably.
"Several other little things happened. A lot of people were getting in free, for example we had choirs and a lot of children coming in. Normally the children are of course welcome to come in for free but their parents would be expected to pay to come in. This year there was a lot of parents who actually said our children are here, we have been told we can get in for free and they were just getting through.
"The Lions who run the gate had a difficult time with them and so we're trying to do a great deal this time to tighten up on that to prevent this sort of ting from happening because it also affected our income probably by a couple of thousand pounds. so quite a serious thing."
He added "Also, because the committee has decided we really should try and provide free things to people when they come in, having paid a small nominal amount which we haven't raised for ten years to try and make sure people can come to it, but when they come in - particularly people with children - we try to give them things that are free. One of the things this year which cost £500 was that we had donkey rides. In the past we've had donkey rides and people had to pay to go on them."
Frank continued "It goes without saying unless we do get assistance the show itself is not viable but we do provide something which is probably the biggest event that take place annually for the people of Wilmslow, run by the people of Wilmslow. It not only brings things for people all round Wilmslow, not just people who are capable of walking or cycling to it because of the car parking we can do and the great facilities given to us by the school. This is a thing that draws in not only the people of Wilmslow but people from outside, people who stay overnight in hotels, people who shop in the town."
Cllr Bradley Russell said "I think it is the flagship event of Wilmslow and I've got friends and family who come from far and wide to come to it. It's a great event."
Cllr Christopher Dodson added "I represent the Council on the committee of this show and I think there's a tendency for those not directly involved with events like this to assume they happen automatically but from what I have seen at committee meetings it is very noticeable that there are a band of very dedicated volunteers who put a huge amount of work into this which is far and away the largest community event in Wilmslow for which there is paid admission.
"I would just like to point out what a wonderful job these volunteers do and I very strongly support this application."
Speaking about why they need the increase, Cllr Frank McCarthy said "We're at the stage now where unless we get an increase we might be in difficulty. There several things we have to pay which go up every year for example the actual infrastructure cost of putting things in. Every year there is an increase in costs, this year I think it was about £1500 extra we incurred and it's probably going to happen again this year.
"There are certain other things we've been trying to do but haven't been able to do, one of the weak spots is the public address system and that is not cheap to put in and do properly and the extra money would actually bring that in."
The application for a £10,000 grant was approved unanimously.
Wilmslow Town Council makes grants on a regular basis, their budget for this year is actually £80,000 and with the grants approved this month they have spent about £60,000 so far and they know there is at least one application coming in next month for a substantial amount.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
We award grants to a wide variety of causes and whilst I agree that in these times of austerity there is an increasing number of people in need who we need to help. On the same evening that the show was awarded its grant, we gave money to a food bank, an organisation that gives hampers to families who are struggling this Christmas and a charity that is taking some disadvantaged kids to a panto.
However, i think it's important to get a good balance and also support organisations that do things that benefit the whole of the community (everyone who pays the precept to fund the council - 20 quid for a band D property), events that attract people to the town to spend money in our businesses or people that just try to make Wilmslow a nice and vibrant place to live.
The Wilmslow show is one of the annual events that I think we need to support as it does attract people to the town and I think it is a really good event that the community appreciates (otherwise it wouldn't have been running for 118 years!).
Yes, this was a big chunk of our grants budget and we may not be able to support it as much in future years as we may need to tighten our belts a little in coming years. But this year I am very comfortable with my decision to support the application.