Fundraising campaign to support Bexhill Carnival set up

The event, which this year runs from July 22 to 29, set up a Just Giving page last week, with the aim of raising £1,500.

So far more than £1,100 has been raised.

On the Bexhill Carnival Facebook page, the carnival committee said: “We are busy planning the 2023 carnival week events. Unfortunately we have encountered some unexpected costs this year as we have been asked to pay for the hire of the Polegrove. We have put together a Just Giving page to try and raise some much-needed funds to keep the carnival going, this year and for years to come.

“Bexhill Carnival put on a range of events throughout carnival week. We try to meet a variety of needs and cater for the whole community. All of these events are for Bexhill people and are free to attend.The committee also organise and run the carnival procession on the Saturday with performances and stalls in the Polegrove afterwards.

“In previous years we have held a service level agreement with Rother District Council where we were able to have the use of the Polegrove free of charge.

"This year we were informed that there was a cost to using the Polegrove of £327 per day. Along with the rising costs of all services and increased charges for the essential health and safety requirements we have during carnival week, this has had a huge impact on our costs.

"We are extremely lucky to have received some generous donations and have fantastic sponsors who are supporting us. We are very grateful for their generosity and could not do this without their support. However we need to consider the costs this year and in years to come if we want to continue to put on a fantastic carnival week.

"The monies we receive from the street collection goes to our nominated charities. Any other monies collected during the week goes towards ensuring all costs incurred are paid and to forward plan for the next year. We want to ensure that each year we have enough to cover some of the basic costs for the following year, while still supporting local charities."

The fundraising page is at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bexhill-carnival-2023.