Penrith Lions have issued a statement today following a number of social media posts over the past 24 hours with what the Lions have said is “misinformation”.
Social media posts made by an individual claimed that “during the carnival a representative of W&F council was seen with a chap wandering round with sound monitoring equipment visiting all the various activities.
“When questioned by a member of lions the answer was "oh we just have to do this sort of thing"
“Yesterday Penrith Lions received a bill for £1,200.00 from W&F council for the costs of sound monitoring the event.”
Penrith Lions have today spoken out on the claims made about the costs made by individuals on Thursday and said “It is true that the May Day Carnival has incurred some additional costs this year. The first of these was a fee of £777 paid to Westmorland and Furness Council for the road closure orders. This is a charge that is line with their standard charges for processing such orders.”
“The second area of additional cost has arisen from the requirement of Westmorland and Furness Council that the Carnival comply with environmental health standards relating to noise and that we undertake professional monitoring of sound levels in order to ensure that this is the case.”
“In order to comply, Penrith Lions Club commissioned a local company to provide sound equipment for Devonshire Street and Cornmarket. This company has highly sophisticated equipment that monitors sound levels on an ongoing basis, adjusts it as required and gathers monitoring data for the purpose of reporting to the Council.”
“The operators were able to do this during the course of the event and to satisfy Council representatives that all legal requirements were being met. This was a far more sophisticated sound system than has been used at May Day in the past and it is the case that the cost from the company ( NOT Westmorland and Furness Council ) reflected that sophistication.”
“There was a third cost that was much higher than has previously been the case. This was Lions District 105CN insurance. Previously the standard Lions cover has been regarded as sufficient. However, the Lions District has changed insurance brokers and, on this occasion, we had to pay an additional £779 to put in place the level of cover that was considered necessary by the Lions Club's insurers.”
The Penrith Lions spokesperson added “We are particularly fortunate that the financial support from Penrith Town Council and Penrith BID has enabled us to manage those added costs.”
“The Town Council has provided a £5000 grant to enable the event to go ahead together with a great deal of staff time to help Lions negotiate the increasingly complex regulatory environment. Without the Town Council's support the event would not have taken place.”
“Penrith BID has also been very supportive in particular by providing a further £5000 to help us meet the costs of the event.”
“Westmorland and Furness helped by permitting the use of Great Dockray and Sandgate Car Parks for the siting of the Funfair and by providing market stalls, additional waste bins and cleaning up after the event, all free of charge.”
Then select "Add to Home Screen"
