'GET BEHIND OUR BEER FESTIVAL', Spalding landlord tells county highways team
A Spalding landlord has told the people responsible for Lincolnshire's road to "put potholes before posters" and back this weekend's Beer and Music Festival.
Charlie Rawlings, who runs The Prior's Oven in Sheep Market, branded county highways workers "laughable" for taking down posters on the A16 between Spalding and Sutterton to promote the festival.
The landlord told Lincolnshire County Council to concentrate instead on fixing potholes on South Holland's roads, including one on the A151 Bourne Road near to where another poster advertising the festival was taken down last week.
Mr Rawlings said: "The county's highways department has always been restrictive about what you're allowed to put up along the roads.
"But the little banners advertising the Spalding Beer and Music Festival weren't as dangerous as the potholes that can take your wheel off.
"Potholes are a lot more of a distraction along the road than a poster and it's laughable that most of those put up on the A16 and in Pode Hole last week were taken down within 24 hours.
"There's so much effort that goes into putting on the festival and we need both Spalding and the authorities to support us.
"I just think it's a shame that the county council is looking at the festival posters, but not the potholes."
The third annual Spalding Beer and Music Festival takes place at the town's Castle Sports Complex in Albion Street from tomorrow (Friday) until Sunday.
More than 100 different real ales and ciders will be on sale at the three-day event, with up to 20 soloists and bands providing live music, alongside a family area for games and food stalls.
A festival spokesman said: "We were advised by Lincolnshire Event Safety Partnership, an advisory group made up of the county council, police, fire and rescue, ambulance and South Holland District Council, that some of the posters put up by our volunteers had contravened their regulations.
"So a team from county highways was sent out to remove some of the posters and they asked us not to put them up on any road furniture.
"We can understand the reasons for doing so and we hope the safety advisory group will let us where the problems were so can rectify them in future years."
But Mr Rawlings said: "It's a little bit officious and if the county council can be that efficient about taking down the festival posters almost overnight after they were put up, why can't they fill the potholes?"
Coun Richard Davies, the county council's executive member for highways, said: "I am always keen for us to support community events like this and. I will be speaking to our highways team about how we can find a way forward that will avoid such situations in future.
"I am sure it is possible to find a compromise that allows events to be promoted without jeopardising the safety of people out on the roads."
