I would like to thank the Gazette for bringing to my attention the funding of Colchester Carnival (May 14).
I was pleased to see the carnival return to Colchester last year. It is something I and many others supported.
Call me naive, but I simply had no idea this was a commercial venture, with just a donation to charity.
I was shocked to learn the money was paid into a private business account, and that no accounts of the people’s donations exists.
The money raised by this event should be fully disclosed to the last penny, with transparent accountancy.
I would like to ask if the council knew of this, because the vast majority of the 30,000 people who turned out, and I suspect many of the people collecting, certainly didn’t.
Traders are at loggerheads with the organiser of Colchester Carnival after the price of commercial floats was tripled.
All the fun of last year's carnival.
The cost for businesses entering last year’s revived carnival was £150.
But this year, commercial enterprises are to be charged £550 – or £646 including VAT.
Now traders and the Colchester Retail Business Association (Corba) have said they want no part of it.
Corba chairman Michelle Reynolds said: “Corba has decided we are not going to recommend our members entering the carnival.
All the fun of last year's carnival.
“It is a commercial operation and we also think the timing of it is wrong.
“It is due to be at 2.45pm, which means the roads around the town centre will be closed from 2pm at the latest.”
Colchester Carnival organiser Ian Goldsworthy said the decision to increase the price for commercial floats had been taken deliberately.
He said it would allow more community and charity floats to take part.
BUSINESSES have criticised a big increase in the cost of taking part in this year’s Colchester Carnival.
Event organisers are charging companies £550 to enter a float in the parade on September 4. This is nearly a fourfold increase on last year’s £150 fee.
Michelle Reynolds, chairman of Colchester Retail Business Association, said small companies were being priced out of the event, and wanted to know the cost of staging the carnival compared with how much it raised for charity.
Organiser Ian Goldsworthy admitted he was trying to “dissuade” businesses from entering to make space in the parade for community groups.
Community groups will pay a £50 deposit to enter, which is reimbursed when they turn up on the day.
Mr Goldsworthy could not provide accounts for last year’s event, but said he “lost money on the carnival in terms of what else I could have been doing with my time”.
Mrs Reynolds said: “We think the carnival is a great event for the town, but we have concerns about the finances.
“Last year, just over £4,000 was handed to charity after a parade with 49 floats, with a crowd estimated at 35,000.
“Doing figures off the top of our heads that didn’t match up, but when we asked for clarification of the finances, we got no response.
“We have come to the conclusion any future carnival run by Mr Goldsworthy is a commercial operation and we have advised our members it is a commercial decision for them whether to get involved.
“If it was a charitable event, as it always used to be, we would have actively promoted it.”
Paul Jackson, of Head Street party shop, Bags O’Fun, said: “Last year, Ian was quick to criticise businesses for not getting involved, whether by not putting a float in, or not staying open.
“What better way is there of making sure businesses don’t take part, than making it four times as expensive?
“I’m not knocking the event. We all had great fun last year and would want to be involved again, but simply can’t afford to.”
Mr Goldsworthy said entry charges and sponsorship from Waitrose covered the costs of staging the event, with all donations thrown into buckets going to charity.
He said: “I’ve not got a set of accounts for the carnival, and why should I?
“It all goes into the mix of running my business.
“It takes a lot of time and responsibility to put on an event this big. I run it as a commercial business because it gets it done, rather than as a charity and everything being done by committee and taking that much longer.”
Mr Goldsworthy said he would rather see a Scout group than a business entering a float.
A DATE has been fixed for Colchester Carnival.
Crowds exceeding 30,000 are expected to watch the spectacle on September 4.
And a number of charities are set to reap the rewards of the extravanga.
The carnival was resurrected last year after an absence of ten years.
Following its success, plans are now in place for another carnival to parade through Colchester town centre this year.