Council addresses comments over cancelled event

A council in Nottinghamshire has addressed "hurtful" social media comments claiming the authority does not care about veteran events.

Mansfield District Council has received "hurtful, divisive, and frankly unacceptable language" on its Facebook posts since cancelling Armed Forces Day celebrations in March, a spokesperson said.

The authority explained its events budget has reduced from £86,000 to £4,000, which "just covers traffic management for Remembrance Sunday".

The council said the decision doesn't "devalue" veterans and that the event was cancelled as the organiser, the Mansfield Business Improvement District (BID), had to make "tough financial decisions, too".

On social media, "hurtful" comments were highlighting the fact that Mansfield Carnival was going ahead and Armed Forces Day celebrations were not.

In response, the council said Mansfield Carnival is grant-funded, primarily through Arts Council England.

On a social media post, the council said: "Cultural celebration is not a threat, it's a strength.

"Whether someone's heritage is Caribbean, African, Asian, Eastern European or from right here in Nottinghamshire, we're all part of this town. We all belong here.

"To those who keep asking 'why aren't we doing more for our own people?', ask yourself, who exactly do you mean? Because the people celebrating at the Carnival are Mansfield people.

"Different cultures, yes, but the same town, the same community. Let's stop drawing lines between 'us' and 'them'."

Jay Rowlinson, chief executive of Mansfield BID, said the council is "right in what is stated" but that there were a number of reasons behind the cancellation of the event.

Issues had included costs, safety measures and Martyns Law enforcement, which places the responsibility on those managing events to assess terrorism risks and put appropriate security measures in place.

"As an ex serving officer of 33 years in the British Army it was with huge regret that we cancelled Armed Forces Day," said Mr Rowlinson.

He added: "The safety responsibility of the event sits solely with the event organiser, with councils and police forces more and more reluctant to support the risks involved, which is understandable when money is so tight for both organisations."

The council said "something is coming" for the armed forces community on 26 and 27 July.

"We still have a few years left of grant funding and we'll use it to bring even more culture, connection and joy to Mansfield," the council statement added.

"Let's come together and enjoy what we can do, not tear each other apart over what we can't."

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