TRADERS have launched a petition to make sure next year’s Cowley Road Carnival returns to Oxford’s most colourful street.

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

The organisers, East Oxford Action Charity, said the Cowley Road Carnival might not return as the replacement in South Park cost about a third of the price of the street procession — and still attracted about 25,000 revellers.

Organisers have asked the community to tell them where they would like to see next year’s carnival – and businesses in the Cowley Road have responded by starting a petition to bring it back to the street.

So far the petition has signatures from 50 traders from the Plain roundabout up to Tesco.

Larry Reddington, who owns The Music Box, said: “I think it’s all wrong. You can’t have a carnival if it isn’t on the road. You wouldn’t move the Notting Hill carnival to Hyde Park would you? It wouldn’t be the same event.”

Reza Khalaj, owner of Meli Deli, said: “The carnival belongs to the Cowley Road – it is stupid for it to be anywhere else.

“As a businessman it’s very important to me, I can do a good day’s business.

“But this year it was a disaster– it was quieter than a normal Sunday.”

Erica Steinhauer, who runs Bead Games, organised a fringe event this year to keep the festival spirit alive on the road in the absence of a full-blown carnival.

She said: “The importance of the carnival to our businesses in the current economic climate is huge.

“They should organise a Cowley Road Carnival or all step back and leave the resources, reputation and goodwill in place for others to organise it.

“Don’t use the reputation and the credibility and the community support of the carnival to set up something that takes away from the community on the Cowley Road.

“In the absence of a carnival we’ll have a fringe again, but to do that properly we will be launching in the next couple of months and we could be competing for the same funding and resources from every level within the community and outside the community, which is a terrible waste.”

St Clement's councillor Nuala Young said: “I’m glad the businesses have got a petition together.

“The carnival was started out of regeneration money and its original purpose was to bring the community together and also to help businesses in the Cowley Road.”

A Facebook group — Save Cowley Road Carnival — has been started.

The group, which was set up by Lance Cowan, the manager of the James Street Tavern, currently has more than 300 members.

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk