UPTON Town Council has discussed concerns raised by residents who say that the festivals in the town can cause fear and anxiety.

The council had been made aware of the concerns at a meeting in September, and at the meeting on October 22, councillors responded to them following a meeting between members of the various festival committees and town council representatives.

Councillor Simon Yates said he was "not quite sure" what more the council could do about the concerns, saying: "It sounds like a good meeting, we are always willing to listen to people.

"It is a really difficult one, I'm not quite sure how we can address the issue or what more we can do than have stewards, but they are not going to see everything that happens in town.

"Other than that I think it was a good meeting and cleared the air a bit."

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At the meeting last month, a member of the public asked the council to consider the impact of the festivals and in particular the Blues Festival on the residents of Upton, saying that although the festivals brought in visitors there were "concerns over the human cost to Upton residents" and that the festivals were often occasions of "fear and anxiety".

The member of the public then suggested the council set up a working group to examine what could be done to limit the disruption to people's lives caused by the blues, jazz and folk festivals in the town, and to "balance the interests of festival goers, traders and residents".

Councillor Betty Williams said that encouraging people to take part might be the answer, saying: "Last year I was persuaded to go and sit outside while the festival was on, and I think I had one of the best evenings.

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"I was speaking to someone who said he was a mayor in another town and he said to me how wonderful it was to see people who live in the town joining in.

"I would encourage more townspeople to join in."

Mayor of Upton, Henrietta Ross, said that the council could communicate with concerned residents about being helped through the crowds by security staff during the festival.

She said: "We can communicate that they can essentially have an escort from Court Street to the Spar, meaning that they can get through safely.