Plea to save carnival faced with rising costs

The organisers of a free-of-charge family carnival say they can no longer continue running the event due to rising costs.

Great Dunmow Carnival in Essex has been volunteer-led for 75 years and attracts up to 7,000 people.

But committee co-chairwoman Nicola Insley explained that it would cost an extra £4,000 to meet the requirements of new anti-terror legislation coming into force.

She said an event management group needed to take over, adding: "It's just got to the point where basically a group of 10 volunteers can't take it forward."

The event usually hosts about 100 stalls of local businesses and charities, and is capped off with a firework display.

Speaking to presenter Ben Fryer on BBC Essex, Ms Insley said turnout was amazing for the "incredibly small little town".

But at their latest safety advisory group meeting with the local council, organisers were told there would a "substantial list of enhancements and upgrades" needed in order to remain compliant.

The requirements include adhering to The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn's Law, which was introduced in memory of Martyn Hett who was killed at the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

The legislation will be enacted in 2027 and it will require venues with a capacity of 200 or more to have a plan in place in the case of an attack.

In a statement, the carnival committee said "we fully support the law and understand how vital it is to keeping people safe".

But Ms Insley said additional security, stewarding and medical provision would be required.

"We've been very lucky in that all of our suppliers have kept their costs down," she explained.

"I would imagine that's going to change over the next couple of years because everyone's under pressure, aren't they?"

She also explained that the committee's numbers had declined and that they relied on family and friends to help with stewarding and road closures.

"It's incredibly sad," Ms Insley continued.

"You see all of the smiling faces and people genuinely do love it."

Ms Insley pointed out "so many" other events were ticketed and were "extortionate" for families.

"We basically are at the point where we need either a sort of event management company to come in and take it over, or a larger community organisation group that's got a lot of resources to take it forward."

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