THE long-term future of a popular free music festival was secured on Monday.

The Stanley Blues Festival almost folded this year, when Derwentside District Council withdrew funding and administrative support. But the authority backtracked after public outcry.

The event is organised by Consett-based music co-operative, Northern Recording.

A report before the council's ruling executive recommended that it stopped underwriting the festival on a year-to-year basis.

Instead, it will give Northern Recording a one-off legacy payment of around £85,000. This will make the group independent and place it on a sound financial footing, which means it can expect to attract funding from outside bodies.

Council leader Alex Watson said: "This guarantees the future of a key event for Stanley and Derwentside. Not only will it be a better blues festival, but it won't be costing the tax payer in the long term."

The council initially cut its festivals budget this year as it looked to make £1m in savings, in order to keep an election promise of a 2.5 per cent council tax rise.

Coun Watson said: "It has not been an ideal situation for Northern Recording, as they have had to wait until we set the budget each year before they could do anything. Also, we cannot attract outside funding in the same way as an independent charitable organisation."

The festival has been running over the August Bank Holiday weekend for 11 years, and last year attracted more than 12,000 people. It brings about £500,000 a year into the local economy.

The district council's executive voted on the proposal at a meeting in Consett Civic Centre on Monday. It also agreed to keep funding the Big Bang in Blackhill and Consett Park. The inaugural event took place this year, as a replacement for the doomed Allensford Festival.

Paul Green, head of Northern Recording, said: "Stanley is now recognised everywhere as the home of the blues festival.

"It is an extremely popular event and is supported by thousands of local people.

"We are continuing to work with Derwentside District Council and other partners to actively secure the event's long-term future, and welcome any positive steps towards this."