Llanfyllin music festival cancelled over money problems

An award-winning music festival which attracted up to 5,000 revellers has been cancelled this year because of money worries.

The Workhouse Festival in Llanfyllin, Powys, is facing losses of about £15,000 after a lower than expected turnout at last year's event.

Rising security costs and the cost of hiring extra land for parking and camping was also blamed.

Event profits went towards developing an old workhouse as a community centre.

Bands at the 2009 festival included The Blockheads, Neck, Subsource and The Holloways.

In 2008, the event, normally staged in July, won the Greener Festival Award for being eco-friendly. It was praised for using local suppliers and power from renewable sources.

Confirming that it had been scrapped this year, a festival spokeswoman said it was under serious threat of disappearing completely.

The festival was launched in 2003 with the aim of supporting the development of the arts locally.

It also put its profits into the development of the Llanfyllin workhouse, an historic building being developed as a community resource.

A trust bought the workhouse five years ago after it featured in the BBC Restoration series in 2004.

The festival spokeswoman said: "It's a real tragedy that so much hard work has come to this.

"We owe a great deal to those who supported us over the years and feel that our only hope for a future is to face our debts responsibly.

"We have been formulating a plan to rescue the future of the festival and to pay off the debts, especially the monies owed to local companies who have supported us from the beginning.

"We have proven that our event is for the most part sustainable, but what we need to do now is get our finances back on track so that there is some hope of a future."

As part of the rescue plan, festival organisers are promoting a Workhouse Festival membership scheme and are encouraging people to donate a minimum of £10.