Does Peebles still need an Arts Festival?

That is the question which retiring Festival chairman Douglas Roberts hopes will be addressed by a review he hopes to institute before giving up the reins.

For the second year running there were a record number of very well attended events all coordinated by a small committee of nine volunteers.

Mr Roberts said: “We had 80 separate events covering all areas of the arts, our top ticket Fawlty Towers dinner sold out in three days.

“We had great audiences, and developed the workshop format further so that Get Crafty attracted 750 people, photography workshops were popular as well, it was busy right up to the final event on Monday evening.

“The craft fair saw 900 people through the doors. Our French artists from Hendaye were pleased with the crowds. Painter Bruno Aguerre cut each of his murals into 10 pieces and has sold 10 at £40 each.” It is not quite all finished as there was a mistake in the programme and tickets for the prize draw of a weekend all expenses paid in London, will be sold right up until November 3, alongside other events.

However, Mr Roberts said that before his term finishes he wants to get all the people who took part in the Festival to get together and have a conversation about its direction.

“Looking forward to next year, the last thing I’m going to do is to institute a root and branch review to answer the question: 'Do we still need an Arts festival?’ said Mr Roberts. “It is run by a voluntary committee, gets bigger and bigger and funding is getting harder to find.” What do you think - does Peebles still need an Arts Festival? Email your comments to editorial@peeblesshirenews.com