Improvement works will close towpath all summer
Organisers devastated July event will have to be cancelled
A popular festival has been sunk for this year, a boaters group has announced.
The Maidstone River Festival has drawn thousands of people into the town and featured hundreds of boats mooring up along the River Medway.
But works on improving the bridge system have scuppered plans for the 2017 event.
Towpaths along the river are closed until the end of August while new paving, plants and stainless steel moorings are installed, leaving nowhere free for the July celebration.
Now the River Medway Boaters have taken to Facebook to express their devastation.
A spokesman said: “The dedicated committee is completely frustrated by the complete lack of any vision from Maidstone Borough Council .
It has a plan that highlights the use of the river to promote Maidstone, but this has been completely ignored.
“To all the companies and professional clubs and associations, the committee sincerely apologises, but thank you for your promise of financial support.
“Many hours of personal time have been committed, and we are devastated at this outcome.”
Mark Smurthwaite, chairman of the Medway River Users’ Association (MRUA), said: “MRUA has campaigned to get the river banks improved, and it was agreed money left over from the bridge works would be used to regenerate the riverside. We are obviously in favour of the works on the towpath, but the timing is awful.”
Mr Smurthwaite said the organisation only found out about the four-month towpath closure when one of the volunteers went down to the river to look at electrical outlets for festival stands.
“The contractor was there and told us that work was going on until the end of August.
“As it has already started, there’s nothing we can do at this point,” he said.
MRUA isn’t letting this affect future festivals however, and is already planning the 2018 one.
Mr Smurthwaite said: “We are in the process of submitting the events plan for next year, so hopefully there’s nothing else to hinder it.”