Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Mystery over gay festival ‘snub’
Council bosses say Kent’s gay pride festival is welcome in Canterbury – despite accusations the authority gave organisers the cold shoulder.
Pride boss Vikki Childs says the city would have been first choice for next month’s colourful parade, but claims she was told it is “not an event Canterbury would be interested in”.
She also claims she was told that Canterbury City Council did “not have the budget” for the event – even though Kent Pride is self-funded.
Her concerns have been echoed by a fellow organiser, who says he was given short shrift when he informally approached two city councillors.
But the city council denies all knowledge of any contact with Ms Childs or her colleagues – and says grants may have been available to help fund the festival.
The popular event, expected to draw crowds of 20,000, will now be held in Margate on August 29.
Ms Childs told the Gazette: “It really felt like Canterbury council is stuck in the past.
“I rang the [city council’s] events team and a man told me straight away that Kent Pride was not an event Canterbury would be interested in.
“That was that. He didn’t even take my details. I rang again a fortnight later and was told ‘we do not have the budget’.
“I think the real reason is it’s a Conservative council with old fashioned views.”
Kent Pride was last staged in Canterbury in 2006, generating cash for city centre businesses.
Ms Childs says she had approached the local authority with a view to holding it in the city this year.
“Canterbury’s meant to be this multi-cultural place and we thought they’d welcome us with open arms,” she said.
“It costs around £42,000 to stage and we’ve raised £17,500 so far. It wouldn’t cost the council a penny. It would bring all these visitors to the city who may not normally come.”
Tony Butcher, landlord of Limes Bar in Rosemary Lane, is working on the event with Ms Childs, who chairs the organising committee.
Mr Butcher has previously told the Gazette that the authority showed no interest in helping the LGBT community.
He said: “To be honest, I spoke to a couple of city councillors and got the impression that Canterbury would not be interested in putting on an event like Kent Pride, so we approached Thanet instead,” he said.
Canterbury City Council strongly denies the claims.
Assistant director of services Larissa Reed said: “We have no record of Ms Child or any other representative from Kent Pride contacting the council to discuss future events in the Canterbury district.
“The allegation that we would say this is not a Canterburytype event is very disappointing, because we are not in the business of turning events away.
“In fact, through schemes like our small grants fund and area member panel opportunities fund, there may even be some financial help available.
“If Kent Pride is still interested in coming to Canterbury in the future, they should get in touch with us to discuss it.”
To support the festival visit www.gofundme.com/kentpride
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