Eastbourne air show probed
- Published: 28 August 2008 08:01
- Last Updated: 28 August 2008 12:29
Eastbourne BC leader David Tutt (Lib Dem) has ordered an inquiry by officers after the town's annual air show turned into a financial disaster.
The council failed to find an event sponsor for the Airbourne event and decided to charge visitors £5 to enter an enclosed one-mile section of seafront.
Tickets gave access to trade stands, exhibitions and entertainments, but the charge caused local resentment and could be easily evaded by those willing to watch from elsewhere on the four-mile coastline.
Cllr Tutt said: "Airbourne is an extremely important event for Eastbourne. However, local council tax payers have sent us a clear message. They do not want to pay for Airbourne, either by increases in council tax or by charging.
"We will be investigating what went right, what went wrong and looking very seriously at ways of ensuring the event for future years."
The council said only 48,000 people paid to enter the charging zone - many of them on a two-for-one offer to advance purchasers - which was well below the worst-case projection given in a June cabinet report of 55,000.
It is still calculating the costs, but the worst-case projection had been for £234,000 in income, and the best £808,000.
"We approached more than 1,000 potential sponsors but could not get anyone," a council spokeswoman said.
