Sheffield International Venues have started an “internal review” into the management of Sheftival, the flop festival which lost £180,000 - and into why the firm were saying it cost 10 times less until this weekend.
A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council told Sheffield Politics the results of the investigation "will certainly be shared with the council", but could not say when it was likely to report, or if the report would be made public.
Confusion still remains about the timing of SIV’s report to the council of how much money the festival lost. In a small article at the bottom of page 4 in Saturday's Star, SIV claimed the accounts which showed a £180,000 loss were “just finalised.” The figure previously reported had been £10-20,000.
However, a council spokesperson today said councillors had been told the correct figure three weeks ago, on March 5th.
On the morning of March 5th, Cllr Brian Lodge, cabinet member for finance and resources told the BBC’s Toby Foster that the lower figure was correct.
Foster asked: “So the losses as far as you're concerned, of Sheftival will be as SIV say they are, between 10 and 20 thousand pounds.” to which Lodge replied “Yeah, SIV reported this. It's their event. It's up to them to cover those losses within their business.”
The interview can be heard here:
Lodge appeared on Foster’s breakfast radio show to justify the withdrawal of the council subsidy for Don Valley Stadium and Stocksbridge Leisure Centre, which are operated by SIV.
SIV is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sheffield City Trust, a charity set up by the council to manage the city’s entertainment and leisure facilities. Cllr Lodge is a council observer on the board of Sheffield City Trust.