Stardard piece of PR in response to letters to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.
One interesting and telling piece of info. The national take-up rate of PELs is 5%. This borough's take-up figure is 30%!!!

RE: Weymouth Folk Festival 2003

Thank you for your correspondence concerning the Weymouth Folk Festival.

I have overall responsibility for organising the Folk Festival and the
Chief Executive has asked me to respond to the several emails and
letters he has received on the subject. I apologise for the slight delay in my response, but I had a few additional days of leave after the New Year bank holiday.

The 2003 Festival is planned to take place between 9th and 11th May and is organised by the Borough Council in conjunction with the Weymouth Folk Club. Folk artists already appearing at the Festival include Oysterband, The Yetties and Martin Simpson and will include workshops, Ceilidh, Morris Dancing, late night sessions and pub sessions.

The Festival has expanded this year to include more 'pub sessions'
around the Borough with several public houses participating in the
Festival. The Festival is not just about the shows, trade stands and
workshops at the Theatre as we are actively encouraging other venues to participate with the intention of the Festival to be truly Borough wide in the future. All of the public houses participating hold public
entertainments licences and we anticipate the number of venues growing
in the future.

The Borough does sympathise with the effects of the current public
entertainment legislation (Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act 1982 - Schedule 1) but strict conditions apply regarding licensing
standards that must be adhered to if the venue is holding an event which involves music, singing, dancing and is open to the general public. It must be stressed that the local Weymouth Folk Club members are actively supporting this Festival and do a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes encouraging more local venues to participate and Folk artists to attend.

The Borough Council has a very strong partnership with the Folk Club.
Both parties are aware of and concerned about the negative effect of
some of the recent statements being made about the Festival relating to the public entertainments licence. We can assure you that the Festival will continue and we will strive to make it one of the best in the country in future years through this partnership whilst complying with legislation requirements.

Weymouth and Portland has for many years hosted over 150 festivals and
events including international level sports championships, fetes, fairs, and celebrations, often including significant live entertainment and music. The Borough Council has been actively organising and supporting numerous music based festivals and events including recent major spectacles such as the Millennium Festival (16 days of live entertainment with 180 acts watched by over 200,000 people) the Queens Jubilee Festival, Rock & Pop Festival, Great Days of Summer, Country & Western Festival and the Wednesday Night Live Talent Show.
The Borough Council also promotes and encourages the use of several sites along Weymouth Seafront Esplanade for Morris Dancing, Music and fund raising.

The 2003 events programme will actively support over 30 major music
events which will take place not only in the Pavilion Complex, but also in numerous licensed venues throughout the Borough in conjunction with the local radio station, Wessex FM, and the Dorset Echo Good Gig Guide.

I hope this letter clarifies the position of the Folk Festival and that the Borough Council is making an effort to support and organise music events within the confines of the current legislation. Our aim is not to 'ban' such activities but to encourage more of this type of
entertainment and social activity through positive partnerships but
within the boundaries of legal and safety requirements.

Of course, the Council also has to discharge its regulatory responsibilities, and tries to do so in an even handed way. You may be interested to know that around 100 - (30% of all) licensed venues in the Borough hold public entertainment licenses and help demonstrate the vibrant live music scene in the Borough.

Finally I hope that you will consider coming to our Folk Festival and
supporting the local clubs involved.

Should you wish to contact me you can do so via email
simonking AT weymouth.gov.uk or telephone 01305 838559.

Yours faithfully

Simon King
Tourism and Entertainment Manager
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council