Chart-toppers to headline town festival

Chart-topping indie-pop group Scouting For Girls will headline this summer’s Newark Music Festival.

The booking was confirmed last night after the Advertiser went to press.

Going for a high-profile act means the cost of the weekend festival has doubled to £100,000.

Newark Town Council has set aside £50,000 so income must be found from the event.

Tickets for the big Saturday night concert would be £20 with a £5 discount for Newark residents.

A total of 4,000 tickets would need to be sold, taking into account the lower price, to balance the budget.

The festival will be over the August Bank Holiday weekend, from Friday 24, on the Riverside Park.

The town clerk, Mr Alan Mellor, said while there was a financial risk he was happy to recommend it was at an acceptable level.

He said Scouting For Girls would expect to attract 5,000 to 8,000 people.

“Even taking a pessimistic view of ticket sales I would anticipate that the festival can be delivered within the approved budget figure,” he said.

The leader of the opposition Conservative group, Mr David Lloyd, proposed that tickets should be free to Newark residents but that was defeated.

He said taxpayers’ money was being used for the festival and it was unfair to ask them to pay twice.

He said they had wanted a smaller festival this year and a bigger one next.

“We are concerned about the timescale and the large undertaking for the council,” Mr Lloyd said.

Mrs Irene Brown said when the council had run festivals in the past some of the events were charged for and the public was happy to pay.

Mr Dennis Jones said there would be plenty of free entertainment over the festival weekend.

He said it was not cheap to book a headline act and they had to find money from somewhere.

“The cost of tickets is reasonable and I think people will be prepared to pay that price,” he said.

Mr Mellor said they were working with Newark and Sherwood District Council to stage a wine and food festival in the Market Place area on the Saturday.

There will be jazz in the town on Friday and free entertainment at the Riverside Park on the Sunday, finishing with a brass band performance and fireworks.

The council leader, Mrs Gill Dawn, who has been pushing for a return of the festival, said a lot of market research had been done by Newark-based Liz Hobbs Group, over the best act to book.

She said they were as anxious as the town council that the festival was a success.

“I hope that when we sit in council in September we will be congratulating each other on the success of the festival,” she said.

Mr Max Cope, who asked for the matter to be discussed by the full council, said the cost of the festival was too high in the current economic climate.

He said he supported the idea of a festival but not at that price.

Scouting For Girls are three childhood friends — singer Roy Stride, bassist Greg Churchouse and drummer Peter Ellard.

Their hit singles include She’s So Lovely, Elvis Ain’t Dead and This Ain’t A Love Song.