THE Village Green Festival is back in Chalkwell Park for a seventh year in July. The festival, organised by arts group Metal used to be free, but last year a £10 ticket fee was introduced for adults.

Given that organisers receive large sums of money from both the Arts Council and Southend Council – is the ticket price needed?

YES

Colette Bailey - chief executive of Metal

“METAL introduced a nominal charge for Village Green in 2014 to help to safeguard the popular event for the future.

“The reasons were two-fold: firstly, as the event grew – from an audience of 8,000 in 2008 to 31,500 in 2013 – it became more costly to produce.

“Secondly, we realised if it remained free there was no guarantee audience numbers would not exceed what is comfortable and safe for the park.

We wanted to keep it local, not move it to an out of town location.

So, introducing a small charge for adults and an even smaller one for teenagers and keeping under ten-year-olds free, helps us to keep the event going and ensure a safe and pleasant festival.

“This year the Early Bird tickets, available until April 1, provide the opportunity to save on these prices. We are also offering 500 free tickets to families on low income.

“Village Green is just one of the events Metal works hard to fundraise for, and run, each year in Southend.

“There is some misunderstanding in Southend about the level of funding Metal receives from Arts Council England.

“We have three sites, with multiple events in Liverpool, Peterborough and Southend.

“Our funding from Arts Council England is shared between these sites and the amount allocated to Southend helps us to attract further funds to enable the many events we organise, to continue.”

NO

John Bulley - Creative director of the free Estuary Fringe Festival

“TEN pounds to get into Village Green? You’re having a laugh?

“The maths is simple. Metal says it gets 20,000 people to attend, that equals £200,000, which to the best of my knowledge is match-funded, thereby equalling £400, 000. That’s a lot of money to put on a local, one-day music festival.

“Admittedly it has to hire some tents and sound systems, but that’s pretty much the only  capital outlay. It schmoozes a whole load of students into being volunteers to do the rest.

“Village Green started out as a really good idea, a nice day out for local families with some music and culture thrown in. But Metal got greedy.

“The apologists will say £10 for a whole day’s festival is cheap, and it sounds very reasonable, but that is deliberately missing the point.

“Metal is a registered charity and claims huge amounts from the Arts Council and Southend Council.

“We live in a deprived area. There are plenty of families in this town who won’t be able to afford the day out despite Metal’s offer of a limited number of free tickets to those on a low income.

“In its year-end accounts it says somebody at Metal is paid £70,000 a year – I could run an amazing festival on that alone.”