Latest news with #GeorgeDuggins
BBC News
01-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Coventry's Godiva Festival needs review, says council Tory group
A group of Coventry councillors want a review of the city's annual Godiva Festival, which they think should cover its own costs. The opposition Conservative group said the council-run event was "over-inflated" at a meeting this proposed to axe a £330,000 cash injection from the council to cover a shortfall for this year's show. But the council's leader said the authority reviewed the event every year and hit back at the group's criticism of the music festival. The cash boost was agreed as part of the ruling Labour group's budget at the meeting on Tuesday. It comes after last year's concert saw a drop in ticket sales, causing a £200,000 overspend by the cash-strapped at Tuesday's meeting, deputy Conservative group leader Peter Male labelled the cash boost a "bailout" and called for a review. "The Conservative group has decided that now is the time to review the future of the Godiva Festival and propose to direct this bailout elsewhere," he said."What started as a community event promoting local talent, has morphed into a larger event with spiralling costs and declining ticket sales."Why should council taxpayers pick up the tab?"Council leader George Duggins said he did not think the group's plans were "coherent or cogent"."After each year we sit down and number crunch, so the review of Godiva Festival is certainly ongoing so I don't think there's anything that we wouldn't agree with there," he said."It's constantly reviewed, it's like everything else that we do."This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Coventry: Godiva festival to get £330k council cash boost
A music festival is set to get a £330,000 council cash injection, despite its annual funding being cut last said they wanted to ensure the popular Coventry City Council-run Godiva Festival is affordable and keeps money is due to be approved on Tuesday, and is part of a one-off £400,000 boost for city events, put forward by the authority in its final investment has been made possible through a boost in government funding for the council. The council overspent on last year's festival, with a £200,000 deficit blamed on lower ticket sales and soaring last year's event, councillors agreed to axe a yearly £300,000 council subsidy for it, which was die to start in the 2025-26 financial year, as part of a £30m savings plan. Labour councillor Richard Brown, cabinet member for finance, said the festival's total cost was more than £1m, and the council had gradually reduced its input over the years."If the question is: 'Will we continue to look for sponsorship to eat into that £300k?', yes we will," he said."But I am conscious that I think it's something like 60-70% of people that go to the Godiva [festival] are from Coventry." He added the authority would like to keep the festival going and would continue to see if they could drive costs down. 'We're not decimating library service' The authority defended its plans to continue running the festival, despite plans to move four libraries into other buildings, as part of efforts to save £3m per signed petitions calling for the libraries to be saved. The council's Labour leader, George Duggins said it was about "balancing things" and the council did not want to see Godiva festival not take said the plans for libraries were about using resources in the best way and stressed that they would be moved, not closed. "We're not decimating the library service, that's not fair to say. We are moving libraries and communities have had their say on that.""In some instances that's not popular, but we have to make the best use of resources that we can."We've always said that it's not about buildings, it's about service delivery, and that is what those proposals are." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
17-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Coventry City Council cuts reversed amid government cash boost
Plans for unpopular cuts to public services have been ditched by councillors after an outcry from residents and a boost in government funding to Coventry City parking at the city's War Memorial Park would continue, and charity-run adult services, which include Grapevine's support for people with learning disabilities, would not lose funding, budget papers cleaning budgets would not be slashed by 10%, avoiding a feared rise in said they had listened to the public, and extra money from Westminster allowed them to make changes. Overall, the council's final budget, which goes to a vote on 25 February, has axed a dozen service cuts worth about £ had organised petitions and staged authority also plans to spend an extra £2m on services in cash will go on road improvements, tackling fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour, and hosting events, which include the Godiva showed the authority would get £10.5m more from the government this year than it predicted. Councillor Richard Brown, cabinet member for finance, said: "I think the fact that we've got a little bit of financial headroom and what we're doing now shows that we do listen to what people say."Leader of the Labour-run council George Duggins said a "far more generous" settlement by the Labour government enabled them to avoid the said: "We will still have talks with national colleagues about our financial situation. But at least there is a case of listening and recognising that somewhere like Coventry needed more resources."Papers shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service stated councils nationally got extra money worth £ papers also revealed the council's annual costs had increased by about £8m compared to original forecasts, including a rise in employers' National Insurance contributions. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
