PROPOSALS designed to prevent a repeat of the £140,000 loss made on top name concerts at Caldicot Castle are being considered today (Wednesday, July 25) by county councillors.

An independent review was commissioned into the Monmouthshire County Council events and special projects programme after last year’s blockbuster Little Mix gig and other shows left the authority with the six figure loss.

The Little Mix show in July lost money despite attracting 15,000 fans to the council-owned castle and grounds, with a “lack of experience” of hosting huge shows blamed for the deficit, alongside extra security costs following the Manchester Arena bombing. The council’s Cabinet will ask for local opinion on events at the castle to be gauged.

The increase in size of events has also stirred up discontent in the village, with some residents saying they feel like prisoners in their own home when thousands head along Church Road to the castle.

Council head of enterprise Cath Fallon told the economy and development select committee last Thursday (July 19) that lessons would be learned, with the review making positive proposals to avoid previous mistakes.

She said that, despite the loss, the show had promoted “a frenzy” on social media, boosted the local economy and offered volunteering opportunities to the community.

The review carried out by a promoter with 15 years’ experience working with local authorities highlighted problems stemming from the “large increase” in the scale of the shows, plus the “lack of experience” in running them.

It suggested seven ways of improving the running of the events, including the hiring of a promoter to solely run them, or to work in partnership with the council, with a hybrid model being put forward as the favoured option.

Ms Fallon said: “There was a loss, which was regrettable, however it was an ambitious programme. Part of the reason for the overspend was the increased security as a result of what had happened at Manchester prior to the event.

“Perhaps it would be one large scale event with smaller events, as opposed to trying to run too many at the same time.”

Tim Lewis, of the events team, said improving the infrastructure at venues was also key.

“Caldicot Castle has grown from a very small event within the internal walls four years ago to 15,000 people last year,” he added. “We’d like to prepare our sites and get them in the best possible place to not only maximise income but to also offer them as spaces for the community.”

Other proposals also include supporting the events service, which was previously operated without council funding, through providing an annual budget of £32,000.

Cllr Alan Davies, the Labour member for the Green Lane ward in Caldicot said: “We need to be realistic here, the overspend is considerable so it’s going to take time to get that back under control. I do think there’s major potential in a lot of our sites, particularly Caldicot Castle.”