Thatcham councillors support introduction of entry fees to community events

Thatcham town councillors have supported the notion of introducing small fees for community events.

In a recent events working party meeting, councillors discussed the prospect of introducing a “small administration charge” for community entertainments.

Events manager John Sackett said: “We are wanting to create a small administration charge of £1 in some cases.

“And for the Cold Ash Brass event a £3 fee.”

He said: “Our reasons for that is that in previous years in some years, including last year, when the events have been free, some people have not been turning up.

“Therefore we suffer in terms of other people arriving, sometimes on the night, and we are still holding spaces for other people.”

Mr Sackett said despite the Thatcham Festival being a free event, he still believes that they will be “fulfilling the objective” of Thatcham Festival while charging a fee.

According to councillor Mike Cole (Lib Dem, Thatcham North East), the attendance rates at events increase when a small fee is introduced – which is something he saw at a recent library talk.

Mr Cole said: “It is a tricky one, the whole concept of the festival was that it was free at the point of delivery.”

However he said: “Last year was extremely popular, the talk in the library, we were turning people away and we had quite a lot of no shows.

“It is amazing how much attendance goes up if you charge a few pounds for an event despite the original aim.”