The cost of Penrith Town Council’s decision to take over the Penrith May Day event is continuing to spiral out of control, with the bill now nearing £35,000—more than double the council’s original budget of £15,000.
The future of the event had been put into doubt last year following the Penrith Lions Club who have delivered an exceptional May Day Carnival for 40 years making the decision to bow out from taking the lead in organising the event.
On Monday 15 July 2024, Cllr Charlie Shepherd, LibDem Councillor for Penrith East Ward, brought a motion before Penrith Town Council to take the lead in providing the May Day Event. Members of the town council agreed to take on the event and set a £15,000 budget using council funds raised from the precept paid by Penrith households.
Despite early warnings and limited experience in event management, the council pressed ahead with organising the May Day event,
Council reports and spending records now paint a picture of disorganisation, poor planning, and a disregard for financial prudence.
It emerged the council had failed to book any acts or entertainment until days before the start of the New Year, leaving council clerk to scrambling to book performers and acts without any competitive tendering processes — a move that contributed to the spiralling costs now facing the town council.
The council prioritised “avoiding reputational damage” to the council over best value for public money a report put before the council’s finance committee confirmed.
The town council has said that it received £5,000 from Penrith BID and £2,000 from Westmorland & Furness Council to support the Mayday event in Penrith, Town ouncil documents have revealed that in the same month the BiD gave £5000, the town council made £4,500 in payments back to Penrith BID for an App and a Marmalade Festival event in Penrith.
Among the growing list of bills landing on the town council for the May day event include a £3,234 bill for a land train, £1,200 to a local paper for advertising, £4,242 for traffic management and £11,502 to a company from Preston for providing some of the entertainment stalls on the day.
The current total Mayday event bill for the town council as of the 28th May 2025 stands at £34,033.00 more than double the original budgeted cost the town council had agreed.
Local residents, whose council tax precept underpins the town council budget and spending, will be looking for explanations of how and why such a costly overrun was allowed to happen and what lessons, if any, the council will take from it.
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