Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Carnival’s future looking bright with funds boost
THE future of the UK’s oldest carnival is looking bright as councillors committed millions of pounds to provide it with a better long-term base.
Bridgwater is one of 101 towns across the UK – and one of only two in Somerset – which has received funding from the Government’s towns fund, with £22.6 million being provided for projects designed to enhance the town centre.
One of the 11 projects concerns safeguarding the future of the Bridgwater Carnival by upgrading its production and storage space off the A38 Bristol Road.
Sedgemoor District Council’s executive committee has now officially committed £3m from the town deal towards the project.
This will help create improved facilities delivered over a two-year period to guarantee the future of the carnival.
The base is on Carnival Lane, a brownfield site between St John’s Cemetery, the Bristol to Exeter railway line and the Crypton Technology Business Park.
The workshops are “in a very poor condition”, and their state is “acting as a barrier to sustaining and maintaining volunteer commitment”.
Under the project, five new carnival sheds will be delivered with heating, lighting and running water, allowing local clubs to work on their carts in safety.
It will “cement the carnival’s role in the community” and consolidate its existing partnership with Bridgwater and Taunton College through “a range of modern apprenticeship training and experiences”.
A total of £4.25m will be spent, with the £3m town deal funding topped up by grants approved by the Somerset Community Foundation.
Council leader Duncan McGinty praised the project when the council’s executive committee met in Bridgwater this week.
He said: “What they [the carnival clubs] were using before securing this site was even worse. Moving this forward now firmly puts them on the map for continued, successful carnivals for many, many years to come.”
The council will now submit the business case for the carnival project to the Department for Levelling
Up, Housing and Communities for final approval. Provided approval is granted by March 2023, contractors will be appointed by the summer of next year, with work beginning on the access road and sewerage improvements after the 2023 carnival.