CARADON District Council has waived the fee to allow entertainment on the streets of Callington, following pressure from the town band and hard work by the town council. The move has delighted the band, which faced paying £21 for a Temporary Events Notice (TENS) every time it wanted to perform on the street, as highlighted in the Times in the summer. Callington Town Council stepped in with a solution to avoid small groups and performers having to pay for a TENS each time by licensing large parts of the town for the year so events could take place, but this licence fee has now been waived by Caradon. Licensing officer for Caradon Michelle Brooking said it was a way of promoting Cornish culture and encouraging towns and parishes to have community events. She said: 'Callington Town Council is the first town to licence a large area like this. 'The event has to be purely entertainment and the town or parish council has to apply to hold it.' Town clerk of Callington Lynda Small said not only were all town council properties licensed but so too were places like St Mary's Close, where the town band will play for the switching on of the Christmas lights tomorrow (Friday) and many of the roads that might be used for fairs, markets and even a carnival in the future. 'We have had quite a few hoops to jump through — and it has taken over three days to do all the paperwork,' she said. 'The result is that Callington can now have fairs, music and performances on its streets and public places without people having to spend £21 every time. They just need to contact the town council to use the town council "premises".' Press officer for Callington Town Band Shirley Morse praised the town council. 'It is really good news and we are grateful to the support from the Times which was the first to publicise our campaign. It just proves you have to keep the pressure on and sometimes you can get a good result.'
