Coronavirus pandemic claims Chatteris Midsummer Festival as it becomes latest event to be cancelled

The Chatteris Midsummer Festival, which was due to be held on June 27 and 28, has now been cancelled due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns.

The annual event, usually held over two days in Furrowfields, has been cancelled following a decision by Chatteris Festival Committee that was made with the health and wellbeing of the local community in mind.

Councillor Peter Murphy, the council's cabinet member responsible for markets and events, said: “The cancellation of this event is a great shame but it was necessary in light of the prevailing circumstances.

“The interests of the community should always come first when making difficult decisions such as these and I would like to thank all the events staff and committee members for the hard work they had already put in to preparing for the event.”

The council is contacting the range of stallholders, caterers and entertainers due to attend the event and will offer them the option of either transferring their booking to next year’s event or providing a full refund. The event will return next year, as usual, on June 26 and 27, 2021.

Councillor Steve Tierney, the council's cabinet member responsible for emergency planning, added: "Fenland Council is monitoring the situation with respect to COVID-19 and continues to follow national Government and Public Heath England (PHE) advice in its decision making.

"It also continues to play an active role in the multi-agency Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum (CPLRF) to support the area's response to the pandemic. We have robust policies and resilience plans in place for emergencies and business continuity, which we continue to

review and refresh as the situation develops."