BUSINESS GROUP LAUNCHES COMMUNITY RESCUE BID TO SAVE KIRKINTILLOCH’S FLAGSHIP TOURIST EVENT

Business leaders have vowed to step in and lead a bid to create a new ‘Community Festival’ in Kirkintilloch after the town’s popular Canal Festival was suddenly cancelled.

The annual flagship event, which celebrates Kirkintilloch’s historic connections with canals and waterways, will no longer go ahead after East Dunbartonshire Council said it could no longer afford to fund the event.

The decision to cancel the popular festival, centered around the town’s popular marina and Forth & Clyde Canal, has come as a shock to the local community.

The event was one of the tourism highlights of the year, generating a valuable economic boost for the area.

Now, the Kirkintilloch BID (Business Improvement District), which represents in the region of 150 local businesses, is leading a campaign to create a new event in the town to bring the community together.

The business organisation is backing calls by residents for Kirkintilloch to have its own flagship community event. The Kirkintilloch BID has now launched a bid to explore what external funding can be secured to ensure the town has a Community Festival to look forward to this summer.

The group is rallying local business owners to work with community groups, the council and local politicians to develop plans for an alternative festival.

The Kirkintilloch BID is now planning an emergency community meeting in the coming weeks to bring the people in the town together and launch the bid for a new Community Festival.

A spokesperson for the organisation said:

“We want to galvanise the local community to ensure a similar event goes ahead this summer, such as a Community Festival.

“The festival, in its current form, may have been cancelled. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t take this as an opportunity to build something new, something sustainable, and something that keeps the heart of the event alive.

“This Canal Festival was a much-loved annual event which showed Kirkintilloch at its finest, while being a key driver for the local economy and attracting tourists to the area.

“Many local businesses had already started planning for this event and were relying on the income that the event generated.

“To cancel the festival now is a major blow to the community and business. We are determined to do everything we can to ensure there is still a date in the calendar for everyone in Kirkintilloch to look forward to.

“We are in talks with the council to get a breakdown of the event plans to see what external funding we can get to start planning for a new Community Festival. Plans are also underway to organise an emergency community meeting to formulate a plan of action.

“We are reaching out to anyone in the area who can help with funding or ideas to come forward.”

The Canal Festival features a packed programme of music, boat rides and fairground attractions. The event is attended by thousands, handing a major boost to local shops, cafes, bars and hotels in the area.

East Dunbartonshire Council, which runs the popular event, has decided to withdraw funding for the event after no external funding was identified.

They added £120,000 would need to be found from other sources soon for the event to go ahead.

The Kirkintilloch Business Improvement District (BID) is a collaborative initiative by local businesses to enhance the town’s appeal and economic growth.

It focuses on improving the area’s physical appearance, boosting footfall and promoting it as a vibrant destination, while fostering productive partnerships with local authorities.