A DECISION not to back Tavistock?s Music and Arts Festival has been slammed by a local artist. The organisers of the festival approached Tavistock Town Council for a grant of £1,800 towards the 2008 event. Artist Mary Gillett said she was ?dismayed? by the council?s lack of support for an event which was growing in popularity each year. She said: ?The decision is bewildering when considering the positive impact an event of this kind has on the community ? and the potential rewards. ?Arts festivals generate an enormous amount of enthusiasm and their appeal is widespread. ?I have been involved in numerous community visual arts activities and events and I know from personal experience they never fail to please a broad sector of the community.? Ms Gillett said people were drawn to the area because of the festival and they spent money in the town. It was also important to provide opportunities for artists in the area. She said: ?In recent years Tavistock has received publicity as one of the most desirable market towns to live. We cannot ride on the wave of that publicity alone. We need to encourage incentives that bring vigour and life to our community. ?We need to keep the momentum going to make Tavistock a place of opportunity and inspiration. If projects such as this are not supported wholeheartedly by local authorities what happens to that vision?? Ms Gillett said refusing support for the festival was premature and showed little respect for the goodwill and vision of those who had worked to make what was fast becoming one of Tavistock?s most important yearly events. Chairman of the music and arts festival Christopher Kirwin said he was very disappointed that the council had made this decision as it had been very supportive in the past. ?The council gave us £1,200 for this year?s event and although we were asking for a maximum of £1,800 for next year we would have accepted anything,? he said. ?The festival has a budget of £30,000 but we have had to lower that slightly without the council?s support. We requested more money this time because the event has been very successful and we were looking to add other events like a film festival.? More than 3,000 people attended the arts and music festival this year. The 2008 event is planned to run from April 26 to May 25. But Cllr Anne Johnson, the mayor of Tavistock, defended the decision by the council to apportion funds to other worthy local causes. She told the Times: ?Councillors very carefully and at length considered all the funding applications submitted this year. Having financially supported the music festival in the past it was decided after debate to support five new applicants this year and not the music festival again.? The new grants are £500 to the Tavistock and District Outdoor Education Forum, £100 to Tavistock Access, £350 to Tavistock Swimming Club, £80 to Dartmoor Gliding Society, £195 to the Festival of Dartmoor Literature and £700 to Tavistock Area Support Services. The town council also made a grant of £11,300 to Tavistock Museum, £4,305 to the town?s Tourist Information Centre, £475 to Whitchurch Church, £420 to the Bowls Club, £1,600 to the Citizens Advice Bureau, £3,500 to the Ring and Ride, £1,500 towards the Christmas lights and £5,000 for equipment for Tavistock College Athletics.
