I AM sure the organisers behind the AIR Festival must be feeling they have the Sword of Damocles hanging over them having announced the concerts will now be free.

Presumably, the reason for this decision is poor ticket sales.

I appreciate there will be considerable financial implications from this ambitious venture and no doubt Redditch council taxpayers will be required to shoulder some of the costs.

But it would be short-sighted to condemn the organisers as the long-term benefits to our town will be enormous.

I have no doubt there are those who will be lurking around the corners of the council chambers waiting to deliver the final blow and pull down the curtain on what is, in my opinion, the best thing to have happened to Redditch for many decades.

I believe Redditch is emerging from a long sleep in which successive generations have had to endure a town without vision.

The AIR Festival can start the long but much needed rejuvenation of a town that has no cultural identity and has abandoned its residents to look elsewhere for quality entertainment.

I have read Councillor Rebecca Blake is the driving force behind the festival. I hope she and the council do not see the lack of ticket sales as an indication that future concerts are not wanted. On the contrary, I believe the reason for slow sales is more to do with a lack of confidence from townsfolk who believe great events don't happen in Redditch.

The festival has the potential to breathe new life back into Redditch.

We should all embrace it.

Keith Enston

Church Road

Astwood Bank