A POPULAR Crewe-based arts festival will not be cancelled for the second year running after councillors agreed to stage a scaled-down event at the end of the summer.

Since it was launched in 2016, The TrAction festival has attracted large crowds to the town's main squares to watch shows and installations based around the the themes of transport, science and technology.

The event, which is normally held in the first week of July, was shelved last year because of Covid-19 and was under threat again because of uncertainties over restrictions and the social distancing measures that are likely to be in place when the country exits lockdown.

But Crewe Town Council has agreed to work with performing arts company SpareParts on plans for an August event, potentially spread over a number of days with restrictions on the numbers attending and with strict Covid-secure measures in place.

Cllr Dennis Straine-Francis said: "If this (the pandemic) is over by June people will want to be entertained and this is an ideal opportunity for us to put something on to cheer people up.

"It's not clear whether there would be enough people vaccinated to make events like this safe by then, but if there are then I think we should be prepared.

"I think if we move it back it will give us time to do what we want to do."

The council has already agreed to pay SpareParts for the work it undertook preparing for last year's cancelled event. The arts company, which is managed by the Fleetwood Festival of Transport, has now submitted detailed plans to deliver a programme of events with safety measures.

Planning of events of any kind has proved almost impossible for organisers across the country, with large shows requiring months of preparations, like The Glastonbury Festival, already cancelled for 2021.

Cllr Marilyn Houston signalled a note of caution when she admitted: "I don't feel at all optimistic as I think Covid is going to be around for a long time and I wouldn't want us to be contributing to any sort of temptation in the summer."

But after last year's cancellation of TrAction and the Lumen festive lights display, the council's marketing and events committee was keen to examine the proposal for a scaled-down event within any guidelines that are likely to be in place.

Town Council Events Officer Edwina Rigby said: "We are in a difficult position if we don't make a decision now as then no planning can take place."

Councillors were faced with three options; the high-risk strategy to push ahead with the full festival was discounted along with cancelling the event altogether. Instead they hope to limit the risk by restricting the event only to the part previously delivered by the arts company.

SpareParts says it will drop the parade and walkabout acts as well as drop-in art workshops.

Rather than a one-day festival drawing large crowds, the event, which would not be under the trAction banner, would be spread out over a number of days.

Art installations have been suggested, such as Ray Lee's innovative 'Ring Out', a series of giant bell-like cones which were permitted in other towns during last summer's lockdown, and could be set up on Market Square or near Christchurch.

Art trails and commissions by individual artists are also under consideration.

The council will pay £30,000 to Fleetwood Festival of Transport for the contract with SpareParts plus a further £5,000, while Arts Council England will chip in with up to £16,000 in grant cash.

The council's events officer added: "We wanted to do something nice for the people of Crewe. And the best option was to push the event date back until August to give us a bit of leeway."