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Festival feels the love...with £50,000 boost
A POPULAR annual arts festival which faced an uncertain future will carry on beyond 2009 after a £50,000 funding boost.
The I Love West Leeds festival has become a major highlight of the city's calendar since it began in 2005.
The 2008 event attracted more than 15,000 people over three weeks of vibrant events and activities, with numbers up 300 per cent since its inaugural year.
Organisers had feared the economic downturn could spell the end of the festival.
However local councillors have now rubber-stamped 50,000 of funding which ensures the 2009 event will go ahead as planned, and the groundwork for the 2010 event can start to be laid.
Supporting the funding approval, Armley Labour councillor Alison Lowe said: "The festival holds a special place both in our hearts and in our budgets.
"It also says West Leeds is a great place to be."
Her colleague Neil Taggart (Lab, Bramley) added the festival was "one of the best new things that has happened in this part of Leeds".
"It's really great for boosting confidence in the community," he said.
Festival director Jane Earnshaw said the cash backing of 25,000 each from the Inner and Outer West Leeds area committees would give much-needed stability for the festival.
In total, the festival will cost about 100,000 to put on. The remainder of the cash will come from grants from funding organisations..
Ms Earnshaw said she has currently placed bids with seven different organisations. The total cost of the four festivals so far has been almost 400,000.
Speaking of the area commitee funding, Ms Earnshaw said she had not expected to be funded to the same level as before but any significant reduction would have meant the festival would
be under-resourced in 2009, and could not realistically continue beyond this year.
The 2008 event was the busiest ever with almost 40 activities held across the area, with 3,000 people turning up to the main festival day at Armley Mills despite appalling weather.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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