A leading light in the regeneration of Morecambe has spoken about the importance of festivals to the town and says "we need to do everything we can to protect them".
Councillor Martin Bottoms said it's "unbelievable" how much money festivals bring in to the town's economy.
Councillor Bottoms, cabinet member for Morecambe regeneration and the local economy on Lancaster City Council, was speaking during an interview with Beyond Radio this week.
His comments came as Morecambe Music Festival pulled massive crowds into the town last weekend, with many pubs reporting record days of business.
They also came ahead of a busy upcoming weekend of entertainment in Morecambe and Heysham, including the 'Morecambe Rides Again' scooter weekend, the Heysham Viking Festival, and the Morecambe Kite Festival.
Councillor Bottoms (below), represents Bare as a Morecambe Bay Independent (MBI) on Lancaster City Council and Bare North on Morecambe Town Council.
You can hear the interview in full HERE - covering a range of topics including festivals, Eden, Frontierland and more
He said festivals "play a major part and it's sad to see over the years some of the festivals we've had that are no longer here - WOMAD, Light and Water, Morecambe Carnival".
"I worry for the future of festivals because they are so expensive to run, but they generate so much for the local economy - Vintage by the Sea...Baylight...
"(They are) essential for the guesthouses, the pubs, the cafes.
"It really is fundamental that we do everything we can to protect them.
"I think Morecambe Town Council need to step up and make sure these festivals do live a long life."
For 2025/6, the town council announced a £235,500 festivals and events budget - their biggest ever.
From this, £63,000 was made available for organisers to bid for grants and £63,000 was put towards the town council running its own events.
The rest covered equipment, staff and £25,000 as part of a three-year funding commitment to the Baylight 'illuminations' festival, which brought £1.3m into the town's economy in 2025.
This calendar year, the town council has announced grants including £1,500 to the Morecambe Maritime Festival, £4,500 for Morecambe Pride, £3,000 towards events in Bare village and £6,500 for the 'A Splendid Day Out' steampunk festival.
It was also a major sponsor of the Armed Forces Day celebrations in Morecambe.
The town council is running its own kite festival on Morecambe Promenade, for the first time ever, this Sunday (July 20).
This comes after More Music, the community music charity based in the West End who ran the 'Catch the Wind' kite festival in Morecambe for 23 years, announced last year that due to the "arts funding climate" it could no longer go ahead.
But Councillor Bottoms said: "I don't feel that Morecambe Town Council should be hosting events.
"The kite festival should have continued as 'Catch the Wind' and continued with More Music.
Below, kites flying over the Promenade at a 'Catch the Wind' festival.
"They have a wealth of experience and they need to be running the festivals."
He also said: "We need to streamline the funding process and make it a lot easier.
"What we did with Baylight, where we guaranteed them three years' funding, that's what these organisations need."
Read more: Three-year funding boost for popular Morecambe 'illuminations' festival - Beyond Radio
Councillor Bottoms also said he felt the town council "needed to build bridges" with other events organisers, such as the promoters of the annual Sleazy Live event - the longest running music festival in Morecambe.
The punk and ska music festival took place this year thanks to last-ditch funding from a sponsor.
Promoters of Sleazy Live - previously known as Nice 'N' Sleazy - have had well-publicised battles with Morecambe Town Council over many years, over funding issues.
Read more: Morecambe's longest-running music festival under threat in row over council grant - Beyond Radio
Below, punks at the Sleazy festival.
"The situation with Sleazy can't continue," said Councillor Bottoms.
"We have other events organisers who are not putting (funding) applications in to Morecambe Town Council, because they are finding us so difficult to deal with.
"The whole festivals and events system could break down badly if we don't look at solutions for it now.
"They are so important to the town. It's unbelievable how much money they bring in to the town.
"If a festival like Vintage doesn't go ahead, that leads to more complaints than anything Morecambe Town Council would receive."
Organisers of Vintage-by-the-Sea, one of Morecambe's biggest festivals, announced earlier this year that the 2025 event would not happen.
The celebration of all things vintage, which began in 2013, traditionally pulls tens of thousands of people to the town.
In 2024, the event generated an estimated £3.3m for the local economy.
Deco Publique, co-organisers, said the decision came after "careful consideration of multiple factors, including funding challenges and continued rising costs".
Festivals in Morecambe have also traditionally received funding through a number of different avenues, not just the town council.
These include private sponsorship, other local authorities such as Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County Council, Morecambe BID (Business Improvement District), and Arts Council England - the national development agency for creativity and culture.
In January, a town council spokesperson said:
"Just last year we awarded the (vintage) festival a grant of £16,000 – the largest amount Morecambe Town Council had awarded Vintage By The Sea in recent years. Since 2014, Morecambe Town Council has awarded £143,900 in grants to Vintage By The Sea, making it one of the most well-supported events in our history.
"A funding application was not made to us for the 2025 event. However, subject to receipt of an acceptable application, we absolutely anticipated considering continuing our support for Vintage By The Sea this year."
The town council website says its "Festivals and Events committee meets to review all appropriate (grant) applications and accompanying documentation before deciding on awarding any potential funding.
"Grants are awarded up to a £10,000 limit, or subject to terms of reference agreed by the council."
Many of the events on the town's festivals calendar are free for the public to attend.
Beyond Radio asked Morecambe Town Council for a response to Councillor Bottoms' comments about their festivals policy.
Councillor Clark Kent (below), who is also a Morecambe Bay Independent and chair of the town council, and Councillor Lee Bradbury, chair of the festivals and events committee and also an MBI, replied jointly to say they "welcomed discussions about Morecambe's festivals scene" but were "surprised at some comments".
"Morecambe Town Council is proud to be a local stakeholder that both supports festival organisers and hosts its own events," they said.
"The notion that these are mutually exclusive roles suggests a misunderstanding of how thriving cultural economies are built - particularly in coastal towns like ours.
"What’s working elsewhere is a dual approach - strategic leadership from the public sector, coupled with support for grassroots organisations. This is evident in events such as Bristol Harbour Festival which is organised by Bristol City Council, attracts over 250,000 people across a weekend, and injects £15m+ into the local economy, supporting local musicians, artists and artisan food producers.
"Equally, there has been public outcry in towns like Bournemouth following council decisions to cut flagship public events such as their Air Festival - valued at over £30m to their economy.
"The town council has stepped up - not just in rhetoric, but in action - reversing the decline and investing directly in Morecambe’s creative and economic future.
"The town council has invested in town rangers to clean up the town, the return of a spring planting scheme to boost tourism, and increased arts and culture funding to reinvigorate the visitor economy.
"The town council believes that regeneration should not be used as a publicity exercise - it is the patient, consistent work of investment, trust-building, and local delivery, that matters most.
"Since revising our grant awarding processes, the town council has received a record number of applications, which suggests that funding is now accessible to the widest range of organisers - from small community groups to major event providers, and we would warn against comments that mislead or potentially discourage people from applying.
"To describe these as ‘barriers’ is not only misleading - it risks deterring the very groups we are trying to support. The data speaks for itself and we would encourage others to familiarise themselves with it before commenting.
"The town council would also urge the City Council to review its own processes as a matter of urgency.
"Opinions voiced in the absence of evidence risk undermining the future prosperity of the town and the town council will strongly defend the town's position, its funding, and its cultural calendar."
They have also called for an urgent meeting with Councillor Caroline Jackson, leader of Lancaster City Council.
They also criticised Lancaster City Council's "direction" and "processes" as regards festivals and events.
"Residents, businesses and community leaders alike are increasingly voicing concerns that our cultural calendar is being slowly dismantled - suffocated by bureaucratic obstruction, dwindling support, and opaque decisions that appear to divert promised funding away from Morecambe, not to it," they said.
"The people of Morecambe deserve transparency, consistency, and genuine investment."
Beyond Radio has approached the city council for a response.
More to come...
***
During the interview, Councillor Bottoms spoke at length about other topics connected to the regeneration and economy of Morecambe.
These included the long-awaited Eden Project Morecambe, plans to regenerate the Frontierland site, the controversy over motorhomes parking on the Promenade, the future of car parking in the town, and his views on a long-running row between Lancaster city councillor Roger Cleet and the town council.
He said Eden is "definitely going to happen" and that the town "will suffer until Frontierland is regenerated" as Lancaster City Council continues its tender process for finding a developer for the derelict former fairground site.
Councillor Bottoms also said that while he "loves my work" for Lancaster City Council, he would not be standing for Morecambe Town Council at the next election.
"I just don't enjoy it...it's very uncomfortable and it's because of unresolved issues that I feel haven't been handled well," he said.
Read more:
Morecambe's Baylight festival pulls almost 20K visitors and boosts economy by £1.3m - Beyond Radio
Developers invited to bid for Frontierland regeneration project in Morecambe - Beyond Radio
BREAKING NEWS: Vintage by the Sea festival not happening in 2025 - Beyond Radio
Longest running music festival in Morecambe saved thanks to key sponsor - Beyond Radio
Councillor hits back at Morecambe Town Council over "vendetta" claims - Beyond Radio
INTERVIEW: Why Morecambe Town Council is putting up Council tax this year - Beyond Radio
Note - this article has been updated since original publication.
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