Band contest fate is bleak

POPULAR — but the weight of red tape, a lack of funding and volunteers, could mean the end of the band contests

THE future of Saddleworth’s famous Whit Friday Band Contests hangs in the balance as organisers reach breaking point amid legal action and increasing red tape.

Several volunteers say a mixture of additional bureaucracy, council and police changes and depleting funding could spell the end of the long-standing tradition in as little as two years.

It comes just days after organisers of the Scouthead and Austerlands contests announced this Friday’s celebration would be the last.

The fear is that others could soon follow.

Several committee members are this year standing down in Greenfield. Their action coincides with a decision by the family of Alan Chamberlain — killed in 2010 when he was hit by a coach — to lodge a legal claim of negligence.

Secretary Joe Buckley, who has been involved for over 40 years, will stand down after the weekend clear-up.

He said: “I don’t blame the family for taking legal action.

“We have taken every precaution, every year to ensure it was a safe event and for 40 years it passed without incident.”

An inquest into the death of Mr Chamberlain recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Joe is desperate for the Greenfield contest to continue, and is pleading for more volunteers.

Part of the problem is been the changing role of Oldham Council and Greater Manchester Police.

Once the council arranged road closures, but now organisers must submit lengthy business plans and risk assessments and employ agency stewards.

A decision by Greater Manchester Police to end this year’s Scouthead contest early - due to shift changes - was the last straw for committee members there.

At the helm of the central committee is Bob Rodgers, who is also chair of the Delph contest and has been a Whit Friday organiser since the 1960s.

He said: “The goalposts keep getting changed every year, we get more and more thrown at us. If all these demands continue and no extra finance becomes available, Whit Friday could be over within two or three years.

Bill Cullen, chair of the Lees contest, added: “We’re being made to jump through so many hoops. We’re at a point where regulation is making it almost impossible to maintain it. It’s demoralising to see so many obstacles put in our way.

“We’re treated as if the contest is a major accident waiting to happen. It’s nanny state at its height, and while this is supposed to be a co-operative council we’re just met with endless obstacles.”



Whit weekend in Saddleworth will be notable for the absence of the beer walk.
Round Table organiser scrapped the popular fundraiser that has run for almost four decades after last year’s walk was dogged by violence and saw thousands of unofficial walkers tag along.



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