ORGANISERS of the Eat:Festival market which comes to Wellington each year have received a slap in the face from local councillors.

The Eat:Festival market-stall holders rolled into the town centre last month and along with an array of food and drink traders, there was various entertainment as well to keep shoppers happy.

The festival has been held in Wellington for around ten years and it has usually gained the support of Wellington Town Council.

The market organisers had applied to the council’s policy and finance committee on October 14 for a £750 grant to go towards next year’s Eat:Festival to be held in September.

But councillors said “no” and told the organisers that they need to fund it themselves.

The application for grant funding from Eat:Festival said the Wellington market had attracted around 7,000 visitors into the town centre.

But the Mayor Cllr Janet Lloyd questioned that figure and said that other events in the town centre did not generate that many visitors.

“I would dispute that 7,000 figure,” she said. “I have always felt uncomfortable about this organisation and I’m not sure why this grant application has come to us now when it is asking for funding for an event which will be happening in the 2025-26 financial year.”

Cllr John Thorne said: “The figures are fanciful. The festival is nice and I go to it every year, but there were nowhere near 7,000 people there this time.

“It is a nice festival, but it is not local. The stall-holders come from all over the county and then they go from town to town.”

Councillors heard that it cost organisers around £5,000 to put on and the fees from the traders amounted to about £4,000.

Cllr Keith Wheatley said: “So without a contribution from the town council, this festival would be costing the organisers money.”

Cllr Justin Cole suggested that if the Eat:Festival organisers put a small increase on its pitch fees, it would be able to cover the costs of putting on the event.

Councillors agreed not to support the grant application and the decision came after an Eat:Festival spokesman had earlier told them the event was a big success for Wellington.

“This year’s festival was a lovely day and we had a lot of visitors,” said the spokesman. “We enjoyed the festival and had great feedback.

“We didn’t get everything right, but some of the businesses in the town told us they did really well on the day.

“This was the tenth year we have been doing this in Wellington and we are thrilled that we can do this.”

Councillors also said “no” to setting up a Service Level Agreement with the Eat:Festival group which would, if granted, mean the festival organisers would not have to apply for grant support from the town council on an annual basis.

The Eat:Festival events are held in other towns in the South West throughout the year including Taunton, Yeovil, Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-Mare, Dawlish, Tiverton, Axminster, Bideford and Bodmin.