Festival dispute to be discussed tonight

The future Rochdale Feel Good Festival will be discussed at Rochdale Town Hall tonight.

The annual event is facing possible cancellation after councillor’s condemned admission costs for some of the events.

There is also a dispute over the proposed £100,000 out of the Rochdale Township budget.

The Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee will meet tonight to decide whether the decision should be sent back to township for another vote, which, if opposed, could lead to the festival not going ahead.

The Feel Good Festival is a large, eight-day event which provides an array of live music performances, creative art events, history tours and walks, and has previously been a success.

Chairman of Rochdale Township, Councillor William Hobhouse has been trying to organise the event for July this year, but councillors Pat Flynn and Barbara Todd, who are on the committee, arranged the ‘call in’.

Councillor Hobhouse said: “People say that Rochdale Town Centre is dying on its feet.

“This Festival will give us a chance to be proud of what we can achieve in Rochdale.

“Rochdale Township is funding this festival as part of its commitment to the Town Centre, to community cohesion and to feeling good about Rochdale.

“Nearly all festival events are free. The events at Back Door Music will have a charge, just like their normal Friday entry charge”.

Councillor Pat Flynn said: “We have been mislead and misguided about this whole situation.

“It’s turned into a big money making event and that is an insult to the people of Rochdale who are struggling for cash at this moment in time”.