A food, drink and music festival that was due to feature acts including Echo and the Bunnymen and OMD has been cancelled by cash-strapped Wirral Council. Tony McDonough reports

Wirral Food, Drink and Music Festival has been cancelled for the third year in a row due to Wirral Council’s cash crisis.

The event, scheduled for September in Birkenhead Park, was to feature performances from legendary Merseyside music acts including Echo and the Bunnymen, OMD and The Coral.

All those who had bought tickets for the music concerts will be contacted directly and given a full refund. The Wirral Food and Drink Festival was postponed in 2020 and again in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the decision has been taken to cancel the event in light of the council’s current financial position.

While the festival was designed to be a commercial event that would not directly cost the council money it would still require considerable resources from across the organisation to support and subsequent budget savings mean that this is no longer possible.

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Wirral Council’s director of regeneration and place, Alan Evans, said: “It is disappointing to see the Wirral Food, Drink and Music Festival unable to go ahead but we will make sure all those who have bought tickets are refunded as quickly as possible.”

In February, Wirral Council passed a budget that included £20m worth of savings. The plans will see the closure of nine libraries as well as other services and facilities such as Woodchurch Leisure Centre.