THE future of the Watchet Carnival Weekend Festival - hailed as one of West Somerset's major tourist attractions - has been secured with the announcement of a new venue for 2007 and beyond. The Free Press can exclusively reveal that the organisers, the Watchet Carnival Club, have been offered a ten-acre field at Parsonage Farm, just off Brendon Road. Farmer Richard Burnell, concerned that the festival which has been staged in its present three-day format for the past nine years, was under threat, made the offer a month before this year's event. And just a week before the 2006 extravaganza got underway - the last on the soon to be redeveloped East Quay - carnival organisers heard that the Wyndham Estate, which owns the land known as The Down, had given the go-ahead in principle. An agreement which would see the club renting the field for an initial five years is expected to be signed by the end of August. This will be followed by a public meeting in September or early October ahead of the submission of a premises licence application to West Somerset Council which would provide the various permissions needed for the festival to take place on the land. Mr Burnell told the Free Press this week: "The land is currently under arable rotation and would be available to the carnival club between March and October each year. "We still have to finalise the details but the Wyndham Estate has said it is agreeable. "I just felt there was nowhere else for the event to go and I wouldn't want to see it fold. "One has to try and do something for the town." Carnival club chairman Mark Bale said both Mr Burnell and the Wyndham Estate had been extremely helpful. And he said the eight-strong committee behind the festival was keen to win public support for the new location and allay any fears. The new venue will be used only for the music and entertainment events, with the parade and fete remaining in the town. Mr Bale said, although the new site presented limitless opportunities to expand the festival, there were certainly no immediate plans to increase numbers dramatically or make it bigger. But he said staging the festival on grass would present different problems. "The event will change. We would have loved to continue to hold it in the heart of the town but that is just not possible - we have no choice. "We have been looking for a suitable site for a long time and although this field is on the edge of the town there is a footpath to it from St Decuman's Road, so people wouldn't have to walk up the main road. "This site gives us the opportunity to contain the festival and safety, as ever, will be paramount. "We always work within the guidelines laid down and we have had a lot of positive feedback from the statutory agencies. "The police have already had an initial look at the new location and on the face of it are very happy. "The land is much bigger than we need and there will be plenty of space for parking." Mr Bale said the committee faced a huge amount of work in planning the event at the new location and infrastructure costs could be double the current £20,000 paid out each year. Committee member Bob Hornby, who has responsibility for the infrastructure, said a water supply would have to be installed and generators used as it has no electricity. A security fence would be erected, with the stage and other facilities positioned as far away from neighbouring houses as possible. "Being able to have this site for at least five years is brilliant because it provides us with a certainty we have never really had before on the East Quay." Organisers have always prided themselves on offering a weekend of free fun, music and entertainment but the anticipated huge increase in operational costs has forced them to consider the possibility of a small admission fee to some events. Jackie Bale, who is charge of liaison, said: "It may not happen but it is something we have to consider. "We will certainly be looking for more sponsors. "At the moment our current supporters, which include the Free Press, Watchet Town Council, Cotleigh Brewery and Quay FM, have made positive indications about continuing their support. "But we are going to need even more support and a lot of help from local people to stage the event." Mrs Bale said it was hoped the weekend's attractions could include trade and craft stands, a possible 'proms' night and eventually some really high calibre acts to bring in more money. "The potential of the site is brilliant but we are very conscious of the impact on people living nearby and we will not be staging the music events as late as we have done previously." Discussions have already taken place with some neighbours and organisers want as much public input as possible on the issue. "We want people to come forward with ideas before we submit the premises licence," said Mrs Bale. "We are passionate about this event and we want it to continue but we need the community's support."