Food and Drink Festival to return to Hucknall in August but name divides opinion

Hucknall Food and Drink Festival will take place in the summer again this year.

However, the event will be known as Ashfield Food and Drink Festival at Hucknall.

This is something that has created a bit of a divide, with local people furious at what they perceived as an attack on Hucknall's individual identity by a Council that has been accused several times of favouring Kirkby and Sutton.

However, the Ashfield Independents, who run the Council, have vehemently denied that this is a rebrand, insisting that the festival has always had Ashfield in the title and that it is merely there to emphasise that the event is organised by the Council.

The name has also caused concern amongst Hucknall locals who were worried that this might lead to it being relocated to Sutton or Kirkby at some point in the future. This is something that the Ashfield Independents moved quickly to clarify.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, a party spokesperson said: "I can give you a 100% guarantee that there are no plans to move the Food and Drink Festival from Hucknall.

"Rather than looking for alternatives we're absolutely committed to holding it in Hucknall.

"Rather than dealing in semantics what we're actually doing is working towards making sure Hucknall Food and Drink Festival is bigger and better than ever in August."

However, Conservative Councillor Chris Baron, who represents Hucknall West, was critical of the festival not having Hucknall as prominently in the title.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News, he said: "If I recall with the literature and the social media feeds from Ashfield District Council it was the Hucknall Food and Drink Festival. It was very well supported by local people, very well attended and a very good project.

"As it's been pointed out why take the Hucknall Food Festival name away from it? It gives the town itself a little bit of fame.

"At the moment for some bizarre reason, the Ashfield Independents seem to be focusing on upsetting Hucknall people. Councils and Councillors are not there to upset residents."

Last year, Hucknall staged two food and drink festivals, one in August and one in November. Organised by Ashfield District Council along with partners Discover Ashfield and Lincoln Green Brewery, both events were extremely well attended and proved popular additions to the calendar.

This year's festival will take place in August, with the exact date soon to be confirmed.