Bring back Weymouth Carnival floats say tourist trade (From Thisisdorset)

Bring back Weymouth Carnival floats say tourist trade

9:10am Tuesday 24th November 2009 in

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TOURIST businesses have joined the call to bring back lorry-based carnival floats.

Business leaders in Weymouth have been offering their help to the current carnival committee to help organise the traditional floats for next year’s procession after two years without them.

And now a group of beach traders and an association of the resort’s hoteliers have joined the call for their return – also offering to help bring them back.

Dave Price, chairman of the Weymouth Hotel and Guesthouse Leaseholders Association said tourists and hoteliers want them back.

He said: “I’m sick and tired of the volunteer group stating they wish the precession to remain ‘green’.

“They would gain much more credibility if they simply came out and said it was down to the cost of insurance instead of hiding behind the ‘green’ bandwagon.

“The air displays are hardly green and we would not want to lose the Red Arrows.

“Bearing in mind 2008 was their first stab at organising the carnival they didn’t do a bad job. However 2009 was a let-down and seemingly on a slippery slope downwards despite the better weather we had.

“The carnival is a great opportunity to bring the community together not separate it – which is what’s happening at the moment over the procession issue.”

The Weymouth Community Volunteers took over the running of the carnival when Weymouth Round Table stepped down after 50 years, following the 2007 carnival.

Mr Price, who owns the Molyneux guesthouse in Waterloo Place, said he wanted to help by selling programmes through the 34 hoteliers in the association. He added: “We were ready to help a couple of years ago but the committee seemed to take the attitude that they wanted to do it on their own.

“I sadly gave up my efforts as unappreciated and unwanted.

“It appears that the carnival either gets done their way or not at all.

“We still take part to collect money for charity and it’s the charities that are losing at the moment.”

The Weymouth Beach Group, which includes some of the traders who run the kiosks on the beach, organised the seafront stalls in the volunteers’ first year in 2008, raising £27,000. Spokesman Darren Deadman said the beach group wanted the floats to be upgraded and retained alongside walkers.

Mr Deadman said: “We would be quite happy to get back involved with it but we would want it to have floats.

“Floats in carnivals go with traditional seaside towns and we wanted the quality of the floats to be raised.

“We didn’t want them removed and we want them back.”

Mr Deadman said the group would be happy to organise the stalls once again if business leaders organise a lorry-based procession.

He added: “Public feedback after the first year was so negative.

“It was better this year but the reason was that it was such a beautiful day. Visitors said the procession was still a let-down.

“And if you’ve not got a procession you’ve not got a carnival.”

Sue Follan, who is chairman of the Weymouth Community Volunteers, has so far resisted repeated calls to bring back the floats.

She said that the carnival committee would decide whether there would be any changes to next year’s format at a meeting in January.