Cowley Road Carnival 'may have outgrown the street'

The popular bash – which last year attracted more than 35,000 people – was replaced with an event in South Park earlier this month.

And organiser East Oxford Action Charity said costs involved with shutting the street for an afternoon may make it difficult to return to the road.

It also pointed to the success of Carnival in the Park, despite attracting 10,000 people fewer than the Cowley Road Carnival.

Carnival co-ordinator Henrietta Gill said: “There’s a really strong voice saying people really loved Carnival in the Park.

“The park is very beautiful, very accessible, and it allowed Headington and East Oxford to come together.

“We will have to have a long discussion, but perhaps we have got too big for the Cowley Road.

“We could have much more capacity in the park because we haven’t outgrown the park yet, but we’re pretty much at the capacity of what the road could take.”

The charity said it staged Carnival in the Park for about a third of the cost of the Cowley Road Carnival.

But news that the carnival may move away from Cowley Road has not been welcomed by some people in the community.

Charlotte Hornwood, 22, from the Greek delicatessen Meli, in Cowley Road, said: “I think it’s a very bad idea to keep it in South Park because we are losing all our customers.

“The way the Cowley Road Carnival was laid out was better, and people were selling food outside their shops. It’s no longer a carnival.”

Amir Bhatti, 35, from the Costcutter store, also in Cowley Road, said: “This year, the shop was completely empty, no-one came to buy alcohol because it was forbidden to take any inside the park. That’s why I’d like to have it back on Cowley Road.”

Iffley Fields councillor Elise Benjamin said: “It would be nice, at the very least, to see a procession along the Cowley Road.

“It can still be the Cowley Road Carnival in the park, but the only concern of having it in the park is it needs to maintain its distinct identity.”

The total cost of organising the Cowley Road Carnival, including hiring a minimum of 64 paid stewards from 8am to 8pm, is £110,000.

Carnival in the Park, which was staffed by 25 paid security staff, cost £39,000.

Charity trustee Paul Wolf said: “At the moment we are exploring every possible option to raise finances for the event as you can imagine financial conditions are not brilliant.”

Ms Gill said the charity’s organisation committee would have in-depth discussions on where to hold the event next year, but has not ruled out staging two events – one in South Park and a smaller one in Cowley Road.

Ms Gill said: “I absolutely understand people saying ‘let’s get it back on the road’.

“However, we have to be very realistic about what it takes to put it on the Cowley Road, not just in terms of money and support.

“We will have to scratch our heads and have a think but, whatever happens, the spirit of the Cowley Road Carnival will be with us.”

But Sonia Callaghan, 41, from Greater Leys, said: “We definitely want it back to Cowley Road because in South Park, the community spirit and the tradition have gone.”

In March, this year’s Cowley Road Carnival was cancelled after Government money dried up for the East Oxford Action regeneration scheme which organised the event.

However, that body was replaced by the East Oxford Action Charity.

The group had said it did not want to rely on one major sponsor, despite BMW backing 2008’s carnival.

The charity is now looking for people to get in touch and tell them where they would like the carnival in 2010 to be held.

Email your views to carnival@eastoxford.com and let us know at oxfordmail.co.uk