TIME is running out for people to apply for a road closure to hold a street party to celebrate the royal wedding – but Worcester residents are divided over whether taxpayers should contribute to the bill for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big day.

The deadline for applications for street closures in Worcester for the Saturday May 19 royal wedding is this Sunday (April 8). Currently, only one has been submitted.

Although many people were disappointed that there won’t be an extra bank holiday this year for the royal wedding, the city council hopes that Worcester residents will still hold street parties to celebrate the big day.

A spokesman for Worcester City Council said: “The clock is ticking for anyone hoping to apply for street closures for a street party on the royal wedding day. Please get your applications for street closures to us as soon as possible.”

Alice Davey, head of community services at the city council, encouraged people to make a fuss on the big day.

“A street party is a fantastic opportunity for busy neighbours to meet up and for children to play together in a traffic-free area,” she said.

“I’m sure many Worcester residents will want to get together to celebrate Harry and Megan’s big day.”

Holding street parties to celebrate national occasions is a long standing British tradition dating back to 1919, when ‘peace teas’ were held to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War.

For Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, over one million people across the UK were estimated to have attended street parties.

There is no charge to residents in Worcester for road closures for a street party. To download an application form, go to worcester.gov.uk/road-closures.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will tie the knot on May 19 at 12pm in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Around 1,200 members of the public will be allowed into the castle grounds to witness the arrivals and departures of the royal couple and their guests and huge crowds are expected to form in the area, with the processional route of the carriage predicted to draw 100,000 spectators.

However, not everyone is excited for the big day. A petition on the campaign site Republic demanding that the royal wedding receives no taxpayer funding has over 28,000 signatures.

The petition also calls for the government to publish a report of all the wedding’s costs to taxpayers. It claims that details of the funding for royal weddings are unavailable to the public and that it is unclear who will be paying for what.

The page says that the royal family should pay for all of the costs, but claims that local councils and the taxpayer will likely end up paying for road closures and policing.

Details of the huge scale of the security operation for the wedding have been released. There will be airport-style security scanners and bag searches. Nearly every Thames Valley police officer will be on duty.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding is estimated to have cost the public around £20million, for the thousands of police officers needed.