Major 2025 South Devon arts festival postponed

'There are just too many pieces of the jigsaw missing'

An arts festival spanning dozens of towns and villages across South Devon has been postponed amid concerns over how it will be paid for.

South Hams Council had already agreed to pledge £32,500 to underwrite the cost of the South Hams Arts and Culture Festival in June 2025, and communities across the district came up with thousands of pounds more.

Now it won’t be happening until June 2026.

Festival organisers NDP Circus are due to apply for £65,000 from the Arts Council towards the festival, which will spotlight climate change and biodiversity when it happens. But it won’t be happening next June.

“There are just too many pieces of the jigsaw missing,” said council leader Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham).

A report to the South Hams executive committee said there was ‘uncertainty’ in securing the additional match funding which had been anticipated, and the short timeframes available to ensure the festival is a success mean a delay is recommended.

The council decided in April to back the festival, which will be hosted across the five towns in the South Hams – Totnes, Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Salcombe and Ivybridge – as well as in villages and communities in between.

NDP Circus – a non-profit organisation – delivered a successful Totnes Festival in 2022. The new event will cost a total of £175,000 to put on, and aims to bring in more than 50,000 people with more that 100 individual events.

Town councils in Totnes and Ivybridge had thrown their weight behind the 2025 date, but Kingsbridge and Dartmouth opted for later dates. Salcombe did not respond.

Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Dartington and Staverton) suggested starting with a lower-key festival in 2025 but Cllr John McKay (Lib Dem, West Dart) said: “If we take the time and turn this into something special, it could have an amazing effect across the district. We should be taking the time and doing it properly.”

Members of the committee agreed to postpone the festival until June 2026 while supporting a funding application to the Arts Council. Work with local town and parish councils will continue.