ONE of the organisers of the popular Bands in the Park programme has said the late cancellation of events was due to “austerity measures” and has caused a lot of trouble.

But the city council has blamed a third party agent and said the cancellations have been forced due to clashes. So far the first two events of the season, which had been planned for Cripplegate Park and scheduled for May 5 with Tenbury Teme Valley Band and Shipston Town Band on May 19, have both been cancelled. Last Sunday’s event with Alcester Victoria Silver Band went ahead but this Sunday’s event, Celebration Reed & Brass Band at Cripplegate Park, is off.

On the bandsinthepark.org.uk website the rest of the season includes messages for many of the events ‘saying to be confirmed’, and ‘venue changed and awaiting confirmation’. There is also a message: “Owing to austerity measures and limited funding this programme is under review. Please check for any changes.”

Derek Wells, the bandmaster of Celebration Reed, who is involved with the organisation of Bands in the Park, said: “We had the full programme and dates set in November.

“On the Wednesday before (Tenbury Teme’s) was cancelled. We were told the next one was definitely going ahead. But on the Wednesday before that, that one was cancelled. We were told it was due to austerity measures.

“It is too short notice. We have had a lot of trouble.We had trouble getting hold of bandmasters who were on holiday, and band members to notify them. Some of the events are now listed as ‘to be confirmed’ - the bands are not happy. They are holding those dates, and if they are not needed they could play somewhere else. (The short notice cancellations) is due to a misunderstanding on the council’s part.”

A city council spokesman said: “The concerts have been an important part of the programme of events in Worcester’s premier parks and will continue to be. The council uses a third party agent to book the concerts and strives to work closely with them to agree the line-up for each year. This year, the agent has booked several concerts without communicating details to the council until very late in the day. Unfortunately the council had to take the decision to cancel a small number of these concerts because they clashed with other events that had already been booked in the parks or because it was too short notice to staff and promote the events.”

• The Ukelele Band's scheduled appearance will be going ahead this Sunday, June 2. 

The band will be appearing at Cripplegate Park Bandstand from 2.30pm.

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