Question mark over the future of Grantham's Gravity Fields Festival as South Kesteven District Council could axe funding – and for Stamford Georgian Festival and Deepings Literary Festival
Festivals funded by a council could be axed as part of plans to cut costs.
The new budget will be put to South Kesteven District Council's cabinet today (Tuesday), which includes plans to stop funding festivals.
This would affect the future of the biennial Gravity Fields Festival, which celebrates science and the arts, and honours Grantham son Sir Isaac Newton.
Also potentially for the chop is the Stamford Georgian Festival, which celebrates the town's 18th Century heritage, and the Deepings Literary Festival.
The report states that cancelling the festivals would save £80,000 a year.
Following the 2016 event, SKDC said Gravity Fields had injected around £1 million into the local economy.
The last Gravity Fields Festival, held every two years, was in 2018 with the 2020 event cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Instead, a 'Gravity Fields Online Day' of science-based online activities was held.
In the days before the 2018 Gravity Fields, festival patron Professor Valerie Gibson told the launch at Woolsthorpe Manor that since the biennial event was first staged in 2012, Gravity has grown from “Grantham’s special, secret festival to something that’s becoming internationally-renowned".
“It’s the UK’s best arts and science festival,” she added.
Highlights included an ‘auction’ for eight seedlings that were grown in space, using seeds taken from Sir Isaac Newton’s apple tree at the manor.
The seeds were collected in 2014 and sent to the Millennium seed bank before spending six months in space with British astronaut Tim Peake.
The seedlings then returned to the UK and became healthy, young trees.
Talks were given by TV presenter and physicist Brian Cox, presenter Dallas Campbell and Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman, while a giant moon hung in St Wulfram's Church.
And on the Saturday evening Grantham town centre was closed for a finale featuring a parade, performers, acrobatics displays, music, exhibitions and more.
The budget, which includes the proposal to axe festival funding, will be discussed at South Kesteven District Council's cabinet today at 2pm. The meeting will be live-streamed.
Full report to follow.