Stone Town Council have issued an updated statement on the cancellation of the popular Stone by the Sea, which was organised and operated by Warwicks Funfairs.
Stone Town Council apologises to residents who were looking forward to Stone by the Sea, which had to be cancelled this weekend due to circumstances beyond the Council’s control.
Stone by the Sea is organised and operated by Warwicks Funfairs, who hire the sand for the event from an external supplier. On Monday (7th August) Warwicks contacted the Council to say that their supplier had found a contamination of glass in their play sand, so it was clearly not safe to use, and that they were trying to find an alternative supplier to allow the event to go ahead.
By Tuesday afternoon, Warwicks had been unable to find a suitable alternative supplier, and a decision was made that unless a new supplier was found by Wednesday morning, the event would be unable to proceed.
Warwicks were unable to identify a suitable new supplier, and so the Council were reluctantly forced to cancel this year’s Stone by the Sea on Wednesday.
Jill Hood, Chairman of the Council’s Tourism and Town Promotion Sub-Committee said “I’m thoroughly aware that this free event is enjoyed by many families, particularly those who cannot afford to travel out of Stone to find an activity for their children, and also those families who are just over the financial threshold to be eligible for free places for their children to enjoy the fun activities held by the County Council.
We were let down at the last minute, and put in a position where we had no option but to cancel. I am not happy about this situation, and shall be asking the Council to find an alternative event for next year that we can be confident will go ahead. I sincerely apologise for not being able to provide a few days of fun for those who look forward to this free event.”
