A MAJOR festival to recognise the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Evesham has been handed a £20,000 cash boost.
Members of Evesham Town Council agreed to provide the cash injection for next year’s festival at a meeting on Monday (November 10).
The money, which will be drawn from the council’s cash reserves, will go towards the event to be held in Evesham on August 8 and 9 2015.
It will mark the battle on August 4 1265 between Simon De Montfort and Prince Edward during the Barons War.
De Montfort sought to limit the power of the King and paid with his life but not before he established the first recognisable form of parliament in British history.
A number of councillors expressed their support for the project but raised concern about the amount of cash being put forward.
Coun Andy Dyke said: “I have some concerns over those budgets.
“I am quite happy to support it but this is the town’s money, the public’s money and we can’t just give it away.
“We need some assurance that this is going to go ahead.”
But a frustrated Coun Gerry O’Donnell spoke out in support of the project and urged his fellow members to demonstrate the town council was supporting Evesham.
“One of the reasons I am not standing for town council next year is because this town council has bypassed opportunities to do something big, something people would recognise.” he said
“We have missed some major opportunities over the last four years to spend a little bit of money to make a big difference.
“I have been preaching this that the reserves are there for a rainy day and frankly it’s been piddling down for the last four years,” he added.
Councillors agreed the money would be provided as long as a town councillor attended board meetings about the event.
Anyone interested in supporting the event can contact Antonia Coles on 07712 433978 or [email protected] for more information.
