Medway Council have revealed that the Castle Concerts have made a loss of approximately £1.6m over the ten years it has been running.

Cllr Andy Stamp, Medway Labour & Co-operative Shadow Cabinet Member for Regeneration & Culture said, ‘We’ve been raising the issue of Castle Concerts viability and calling for a review for a few years now, but a loss of £1.6m is much worse than we anticipated and raises serious questions about why the Castle Concerts have been allowed to continue at such a substantial loss for so long.

‘I have consistently urged the Conservatives to seek more sponsorship deals and secure better funding for the event, but these suggestions have always fallen on deaf ears.

‘The Castle Concerts are a well-established annual fixture in Medway’s events calendar and will undoubtedly be a cornerstone of the City of Culture Bid. This is an opportunity for the council to reassess their top-down approach to council-organised cultural events. The Concerts have not engaged with the local music scene, but organising a similar event with a focus on home-grown talent would make the event an actual showcase of Medway’s cultural offer whilst saving taxpayers’ money.’

Cllr Alex Paterson, Medway Labour & Co-operative Councillor for Rochester West said: “It’s now clear that the losses sustained last year and over the summer were just the tip of the iceberg. Instead of joining me and opposition colleagues in asking searching questions, Tory councillors have been defensive, obstructive and ultimately obedient.

‘Because they have been in denial for so long, we may never know the full story about how such an astronomical sum has been wasted over the past decade. Taxpayers have been the losers, but someone has made money out of this fiasco and I believe the people of Rochester are owed a comprehensive explanation of who and why. It’s inconceivable that senior councillors did not know what was going on. If they failed to ask or chose to ignore the information they were given, that is an astonishing dereliction of duty.

‘In a climate of cuts to vital services what has gone on is frankly disgusting. At any other council this would be a resigning matter for the portfolio holder, but it is more likely that, much like the CCTV scandal, the Conservatives will brazenly protect their own before they protect the interests of residents.’

Cllr Vince Maple, Leader of the Labour & Co-operative Group on Medway Council said, ‘For the Council to make a £1.6m loss on the Castle Concerts over the last decade shows a shocking disregard for the public services the council should be delivering with this money.

‘Council budgets are currently at breaking point; with 60p in every £1 of council funding being cut, Medway Council’s budget reserves are dangerously low. This has had a devastating impact on frontline services, with cuts to Sure Start centres, highways maintenance, and community wardens being just some of the casualties.

‘It is absolutely unjustifiable that the council has not been honest about the Castle Concerts operating at a loss for nine out the ten years it has been running. I look forward to holding the Conservative administration to account on this, and hope that immediate appropriate action is taken to ensure that precious council funds can never be misspent like this in future.’

Read the report here: https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=123&MId=4505