Gloucester Tall Ships Festival cancelled
The Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester has been cancelled.
Organisers of the award-winning event, which brings tens of thousands of people into the city, have axed the event because of building works in the Docks.
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Gloucester tall ships festival
The festival was due to go ahead in May this year.
But Marketing Gloucester, which promotes and manages the event, said projects to regenerate the Docks prompted them to postpone.
Graham Walker, chief executive of Marketing Gloucester Ltd, said: “The 2009 Tall Ships Festival brought more than 75,000 people to the city, won silver at the South West Tourism Awards and was widely regarded as the best event ever to happen in Gloucester.
“Building works taking place in and around the Docks mean we would really struggle to deliver an event we could be proud of in May, and with such a great reputation to uphold following last year’s successes, we felt it would be harmful to the future of the Tall Ships Festival to invite tens of thousands of visitors to an area that’s in the middle of a programme of building work.”
Major work is taking place to renew the pedestrian surface around the Victoria basin and improve linkages between the Docks and the city centre.
Organisers have been informed that building work will be underway on the site of the former Merchant’s Quay shopping centre, restricting access around the main basin.
Paul James, leader of Gloucester City Council, said the decision to call the event off had been a difficult one.
He said: “We’ve talked long and hard with the team at Marketing Gloucester Ltd and with partners involved in the event, and in the end we all agreed that it would be in the best interests of the Tall Ships Festival to take a year out while the Docks area is being upgraded. We intend to stage an even bigger and better event in 2011 when the building works have been completed.”
The mayor Chris Witts , who has a past in the maritime trade, said he was worried the cancellation would cause problems for tourism in Gloucester.
He said: “I’m very disappointed. Bearing in mind the Tall Ships festival has really put us on the map and brought in thousands of people in the past two years, it’s not good to suddenly announce there’s going to be no festival.
“If we’re not careful, the Docks will slip back into decline again.”
26 Comments
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by jas, quedgeley
Thursday, March 11 2010, 10:54PM
“David,i'm afraid that you sound like one of the blinkered and negative people who have been holding Gloucester back in recent years.
I assume that you are probably the same poster that stated that the Quays site should have been left as it was - a derelict run down area that had been mainly vacant for many years.
Had you ever actually visited the Merchants road/High Orchard street area in the last 20 years.(or recently)
No doubt you will also complain if the Bakers Quay buildings are refurbished as they should clearly be left as crumbling derelict buildings.
Of course I forgot- change is always a bad thing- or is it negative people do not like change.
You tell me..
And no,I don't work for Peel ,I just walk around with my eyes open and I am interested in what is best for Gloucester.
Try taking those blinkers off and keeping an open mind,you might be pleasantly surprised..”
by David, Newent
Wednesday, March 10 2010, 1:36PM
“I have just realised, my last post was a little sweeping. I've since remembered that Gloucester does have its Cathedral, and I trust it will be safe for a few years yet.”
by David, Newent
Wednesday, March 10 2010, 1:25PM
“You don't by any chance work on behalf of Peel Holdings, do you JAS? I can't comprehend, otherwise, how anyone can consider 'the Quays development' (my 'horrenous shopping arcade', I believe) as anything other than yet another of Gloucester's disasterous, self-destructive, mistakes. I'd be less upset if it were not part of the trashing of the one potential heritage asset that Gloucester had not already destroyed.”
by jas, quedgeley
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 9:40PM
“I must admit I feared that this would happen..
I imagine that the city council,marketing Gloucester and Gloucester Quays must be pretty annoyed about this.
I could not understand why the linkages work and the works adjacent to Victoria basin were not started in October/November .
The worst would have at least been over by the end of May.
And as for the demolition and building work at Merchants Quay the timing is ridiculous.The building has been vacant since 2007 so why does the work need to commence just as the peak season for visitors to the docks approaches.
This to me smacks of poor planning by the South west development agency (again).
We here them boast about how they have spent £11m in the docks but they don't seem to have had any sort of joined up plan.
To me the saviour of the docks has been the Quays development,and this was privately funded - not that Peel Holdings seem to get any appreciation or credit from many city residents.
I would hope that the South west development agency would now make a huge effort to help sponsor the 2011 festival - at least this would in part then make up for the mess they have made of this summer's season for the docks,Quays,city centre traders and us the local residents.
Surele an apology and explanation is overdue!”
by Ian, Cheltenham
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 7:40PM
“OK, if we can't have the Tall Ships, then can we at least have the Sealed Knot here again to restage the siege of Gloucester... paulc, Matson, Gloucester
Now this is a good idea, I really enjoyed it the last time.”
by paulc, Matson, Gloucester
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 7:33PM
“OK, if we can't have the Tall Ships, then can we at least have the Sealed Knot here again to restage the siege of Gloucester...”
by CV, bishops cleeve
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 7:25PM
“Why dont they hold it down Sunkmeadow Road theres a big space available”
by anon, glos
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 6:57PM
“Sounds sensible until you stop to think.. does anyone actually plan whats happening at the docks? Im assuming both projects were know about so the 'conflict' should have been budgeted/accounted for?”
by Transgendered Johnny, Twigworth
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 6:14PM
“David, Newent - You are absolutely spot on, I agree with everything you said, the historic docks are no longer its been replaced with a modern sanitised version, what a shame. There has never been less reason to visit Gloucester.”
by Malc, Cheltenham
Tuesday, March 09 2010, 5:41PM
“This is truly a great event for everyone and such a pity that something could not have been arranged to enable it to go ahead. I agree with Claire from Quedgeley that those responsible should think again.”