THE future of cultural festivals in the Bradford Metropolitan District may be in doubt as Bradford Council considers axing the entire cultural festivals budget of £48,000. A decision is expected towards the end of February.

Ilkley Literature Festival organisers have got their retaliation in first, declaring that their £11,178 grant is vital in ensuring the delivery of the nationally acclaimed festival and the year-round development work for children and young people.

Bradford Council could in turn point out that the grant is insignificant measured against the Festival's annual turnover of £447,000. Of this about £187,000 comes from Arts Council England; another £240,000 comes in from ticket sales and other sources.

This year's event, planned over 17 days from October 2-18, may well attract 26,000 people like last year's Festival; but wouldn't they come anyway if the festival was trimmed to ten or 12 days? This year's Saltaire Festival is scheduled for nine days.

Rachel Feldberg, Ilkley Literary Festival director, said: "Cutting back the number of days the festival runs is a perfectly sensible idea, but if you don't give so many potential dates the starry names may not come. Most literary festivals take place in the autumn because that's when publishers put out new books.

"We used to get £15,000 from Bradford Council. If Bradford’s funding is withdrawn we’ll have to look at cutting back on the Festival programme; raising ticket prices and ending our workshops in inner city schools. On top of that, lack of support from Bradford Council could threaten future support from Arts Council England, who are our main funder. One of the things they always ask is if we have support from our local authority.

"That grant is the only link we have with Bradford. If the cut goes ahead we will have no link."

Bradford-based writer Michael Stewart, who has taken part in Ilkley Literature Festival events and organised others for Huddersfield University where he teaches said:-

"Very few literature festivals would survive without public funding. Most events make a loss except for very big name events. And even then they can sometimes make a loss.

"Ian McMillan made a loss. Andrew Motion made a loss. Kate Atkinson made a loss, Anne Fine made a loss. Ilkley I would think would be the closest of any festivals in this region to be a contender for self-sufficiency, but they actually programme a lot of events which make a loss despite the plethora a big players they programme.

"The short answer is that festivals need funding if they are to survive. Whether we want them to survive is another story.

"I've been to some fantastic events and if it helps writers sell more books then that has to be a good thing. The support from local businesses just doesn’t work. I wore myself out trying that one."

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council's portfolio holder for employment, skills and culture, said: "It's the Festivals line of the Culture budget that is proposed to be cut. Ilkley's in there but so is Saltaire.

"It's no reflection on the quality of the Ilkley Festival which we all know is brilliant. They sell nearly quarter of a million pounds worth of tickets a year. However it's part of a package of £41 million of cuts which Bradford is being forced to make this year as part of the Government's austerity programme.

"We simply are not allocated sufficient money from central government anymore to support all the services we had before. We are in the middle of a consultation period on Bradford's budget so I would encourage people to take part in the consultation which they cab find on Bradford Council's web site.

"Festivals all contribute to a great cultural landscape in Bradford but as the cuts from Government keep coming year after year the choices become harder and harder for local authorities like Bradford."

Budget cuts will also affect the number of events in Bradford city centre. The 85-budget document states: ' A reduction of £88k is proposed, a 24% cut in the Council’s base budget provision. In addition time limited funding of £250K originally allocated for two years will expire in 2015-16 so there will be a dramatic reduction in the resources available for City Centre events and the Council will need to continue exploring the potential for alternative funding sources including commercial sponsorship.'

The sharing of pain is no comfort to the devotees of Ilkley Literature Festival, however. The most they can hope for is that public reaction will persuade the council to try to find an alternative.

Rachel Feldberg said: "At the moment this proposal is just a consultation document - and Bradford Council is asking for comments. We’re asking everyone who supports the Festival tell Bradford Council why Ilkley Literature Festival is so important before Wednesday, February 25."

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