A summer beach festival has been given the go ahead by Douglas Council.

The local authority has allocated £10,000 for the event and it will be held on July 1 on Douglas Beach.

At the council’s meeting on April 12, some councillors were against the idea as they felt the cost was ‘considerable’ for a one-off, one day, event.

Councillor Stephen Pitts described the spending as a ‘waste of money’ and the money should be spent instead on a wheelchair swing for Nobles Park.

Deputy Mayor Natalie Byron said: ‘Some councillors are scared or worried about spending money.

‘The beach is a different beast. It’s one of the largest open spaces that the council maintain and it’s very under utilised in my opinion, so I thought that the beach festival would promote use for a large number of our constituents.’

She says the event will be funded by ‘unbudgeted income’ but the council will also consider any form of sponsorship.

The following day, July 2, will be a contingency day in the case of poor weather.