Council ponders events fund gap

That’s according to Alderman Allan Ewart, Chairman of the Council’s Economic Development Committee.

Five of Lisburn’s leading events, including its flagship Hillsborough Oyster Festival, are potentially facing a cash crisis after the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment recently announced it was scrapping the Northern Ireland Tourist Board fund as a result of the “very difficult financial situation” facing the Stormont Executive.

Between them the local events benefited from some £57,0000 in funding - £24,000 for the Oyster Festival, £15,000 for the Northern Ireland Festival of Speed at Maze and £6,000 apiece for the Hilden Beer and Music Festival, Hillsborough’s Sunflowerfest and the Northern Ireland Countryside Festival, newly relocated from Moira Demesne to Balmoral Park, Maze.

The DETI announcement means the International Tourism Events Fund will not open to new applications and the one-year Tourism Events National Sponsorship Scheme will not operate for 2015/16, though the department did indicate the decision would not affect events with a NITB letter of offer extending into 2015/16.

Alderman Ewart said the local authority was awaiting word of future plans from local event organisers.

“Lisburn City Council is disappointed,” he said, “that the Northern Ireland Tourist Board will not be operating its NI Events Fund in the next financial year but I can understand why, as they have to live within their budget.

“This will affect some very popular events within the Lisburn area, which the Council also supports.

“Each event has its own budget that it must operate within and we await further developments as to plans from the individual event organisers.”

Looking ahead, Mr Ewart hoped the events concerned would continue to thrive.

“Tourism is important to the council,” he said, “and I hope that these annual events remain well attended.

“The council will have to consider providing additional funding to make up for this shortfall.”

Provincewide, cancellation of the one-year national events scheme could affect 65 organisations in all: between them they benefited this year from £1,133,000 of funding.