The next phase in bringing back the Carnival to Midsomer Norton High Street moved a step closer on Monday evening, as Chair of the Midsomer Norton and District Carnival Association, Steve Collins, visited the monthly Midsomer Norton Town Council meeting to provide an update on plans to move the Carnival to a Monday evening as of November 2014.
He pointed out that the Association had been looking at Carnival in its current form in great detail over the last two-and-a-half years, and spoke about the public meeting that had been held and the ideas generated from it earlier in the year. Since then, a small working group has been set up, which meets every two weeks to discuss the logistics surrounding such a huge move. Mr Collins has also been meeting with Radstock Town Council and Westfield Parish Council, as the hope is to include all three locations in a new route – which would see floats parked up in the White Post roundabout area prior to Carnival and then disperse there after the event as well.
Fifteen new routes were put forward following the initial public meeting – the preferred route will be for floats to travel from the White Post, along Charlton Road and down into Silver Street. The procession would then move the wrong way up through the High Street, along Radstock and Somervale Roads, up the hill through Radstock and into Westfield. The route will not only include most of the big local areas, but it could also lengthen the procession, elevating it potentially to County status – such as the large carnivals of Bridgewater and Glastonbury.
Moving Carnival to a Monday evening, it is hoped, will also encourage the larger floats of Midsomer Norton Carnival's heyday to return. It means that there will be rest days on Sunday and Tuesday, whereas at the moment, many tend to 'skip' the local Carnival on Thursday and head straight to Wells for the Friday evening slot.
Although a traffic management plan is yet to be finalised, in principal, B&NES Council and the police seem happy with the proposals. The high street, however, will need to undergo some highway improvements to allow for floats to pass up through. A test run is due to take place next month, to test the route, particularly for the bend from Charlton Road onto Silver Street, to see if it is manageable.
The Town Council voted for a £5,000 discretionary fund to be released to support efforts to return Carnival to the full circuit. This will mainly be for publicity – as the Carnival Association will now need to win votes from other 'carnivalites' for this idea to come to fruition. The money will be spent on a new promotional website and leaflets and other materials to help spread the word. Speaking at the meeting, Paul Myers, Mayor of Midsomer Norton, said: "Bringing the carnival back so that it passes through Midsomer Norton will be a dream come true. Working with other local councils to bring back a County Carnival will have huge implications for our area, put Midsomer Norton back on the map, and have wider, knock-on effects like increased trade, as thousands of people come to visit our town as a result."
If the plans to move the Carnival come to fruition, it is likely the Town Council will have to put aside more money in future to help support such a move.
The meeting also saw votes for £10,000 each of already budgeted commissioning grants for the Midsomer Norton Christmas Fayre and next year's Fayre Day, which will celebrate 760 years of Midsomer Norton Fayre in 2014. The Town Council also agreed in principle to match an offer from B&NES Council of £4,000, to continue running community events, such as the Community Cinema, the Over-60s Social and the Paradis Palm Court Friday lunchtime concerts, which have proved popular.
The future of markets in the Town were also discussed, to allocate a £500 budget to help promote and relaunch the long-established West Clewes Thursday market – with the aim of achieving ten stalls on site by March next year. When the Farmers' Market is not present in the Hollies, the Council discussed the possibility of a 'Vintique' market (antique/vintage goods) – leaving a recommendation that a budget of £2,000 be agreed to help kick-start market initiatives in the town, the progress of which will be reviewed next April.