THE council has not ruled out bringing in new entry fees for the city’s free festivals to ease its budget problems.

Worcester City Council had wanted to introduce a £2 entry fee to the annual Worcester Show, which attracts more than 10,000 visitors, but when the money-saving measure was put to councillors to vote it was scrapped in favour of a voluntary donation.

Council bosses say they are still looking at where money could be saved, and entry fees might still be introduced for other free festivals despite the snub by councillors.

The council’s managing director David Blake hinted the council might start charging for other festivals it has a hand in running.

READ MORE: Controversial move to introduce £2 charge for Worcester Show scrapped

But bosses have already ruled out bringing in an entry fee for probably the city’s most popular event, the Victorian Christmas Fayre, which regularly attracts tens of thousands of people throughout the festive period.

“In terms of the other events, there may be opportunities for some of the other things we do, where we look to introduce a fee of some type,” he said at the place and economic development committee meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (June 5).

“Some of the events that you have mentioned, such as the Christmas Fayre and the lights switch-on, we have already given some thought to those, and we believe they sit outside the scope of any potential charging policy.”

Mr Blake said the council would be putting any potential savings plans to councillors “as and when they arose” so staff could prepare as early as possible and that staff would be “bringing recommendations” to committees on some of the city’s other festivals, which councillors will be expected to vote on.

The managing director said the council had already ruled out introducing a charge for the Christmas Victorian Fayre as it would be difficult to ‘shut off’ the whole city centre to ensure every visitor paid the correct fee.

The city council has already revealed its worrying budget problems and was facing a £1.7m gap in its books this year – which it has already been agreed will be filled by using reserves – and expects the gap to grow to nearly £4m in the next five years.