ORGANISERS of a 132-year-old festival say next year’s celebration will be radically cut back after a council refused to review a funding decision.

The Barnard Castle Meet has run in the County Durham town since 1879 and organisers had asked the town council for £5,000 to ensure it could go ahead as usual next June.

But the council, who organisers claimed used out-of-date figures, rejected the request to pay the money of the current budget last month, and now an attempt to have the decision reviewed using correct information has been refused.

Councillor Newton Wood requested an extraordinary meeting, along with councillor John Yarker, to allow the Meet representatives to have their say.

According to council rules however, councillors are unable to review or discuss a decision within six months of it being made.

Five councillors called for that rule, known as Standing Order 35, to be suspended to allow the Meet representatives to address the council with the correct information.

Five others voted to uphold the order and were supported by Mayor Tony Cooke, ending any discussion.

After the meeting, a spokeswoman for the council said the Meet’s request will still be considered but will be as part of the budget review for next year.

Coun Wood said: “It’s not that we wouldn’t give the money but that we wouldn’t even let the Meet representatives speak to us that seems so wrong.

“It is undemocratic and should not be allowed.”

Angela Grady, treasurer of the Barnard Castle Meet, said she was shocked at the way the event was being treated by the council.

She said: “We want to give them the correct figures audited by a professional and well-respected accountant, but time and again we have been knocked back. It will now be too late. Without this funding there will be no parade, no shows, and businesses will lose thousands of pounds.”

Coun Cooke accused the Meet organisers of “moving the goalposts three times”

with their financial information and said the request would be looked at as part of the budget next month.

He said: “We cannot give money out that we haven’t got.

“If they have a concern about money they should do some positive fundraising.

They cannot come to us with a request bigger than our budget and expect us to hand it over.”