Council chiefs say they hope to see more events and festivals taking place across the whole district rather than just in Lichfield.
A new events policy has been drawn up by Lichfield District Council which will see organisers scored on a new matrix designed to assess their ability to run an event successfully.
Despite Lichfield developing a tag as a ‘city of festivals’, Cllr Iain Eadie, deputy leader of the local authority, said it was important the council looked to support events in other areas too.
“We have to serve areas such as Burntwood just as much as Lichfield.
“That’s why when Burntwood Town Council wanted to launch a market, Lichfield District Council was keen to lend support.
“It’s important that we encourage new events and we will stand behind organisers to help them bring forward any new events.
“As much as events organisers might veer towards Lichfield because of the cathedral, we also want to ensure support is there for events in Burntwood too.”
Cllr Iain Eadie, Lichfield District Council
Lichfield District Council says the policy is designed to simplify the process following consultation with organisers by removing things such as application windows.
But after recent issues with the Ibiza Proms in Beacon Park and a Winter Wonderland event in 2018, Cllr Eadie said the policy would also look to protect the council and visitors.
“We won’t just say yes to any event, but we have taken feedback from organisers who have said some things were restrictive.
“For the organisers of Ibiza Proms it was the first time they had run an event of that nature, but they have identified where it went wrong and we can use that knowledge to help others.
“Winter Wonderland was an event where we also learned about things we needed to do, so as a landowner we will now ask to be paid beforehand so that the council doesn’t end up footing the bill if things go wrong.”
Cllr Iain Eadie, Lichfield District Council
