The Rotary Club of Ingatestone has reviewed the position in the light of the experiences in 2023 and mainly because our club is also both getting smaller and older in terms of its membership, we have decided that we cannot continue to run the outdoor event by ourselves in future with all it entails. We do not currently have the resources to do so.This has been a very tough decision for us to take as we love the ICM and are very proud of what it is and has achieved over the six years in which we have been involved.

What we are saying is that if it is to happen in 2024, we cannot manage it, set it up, run it on the day and then clear up afterwards all by ourselves. It has become a huge task and is getting beyond us. To an extent, it could be argued that its success has meant that it has outgrown us.This decision is not made lightly and is very sad for us as we have undoubtedly succeeded in establishing a terrific community event that is now very beneficial to the High Street businesses as well as improving the profile of the village.

Once again, we wish to emphasise that we are enormously grateful to BID/BBP for their support in 2023 and hope that an alternative way can be found to keep the ICM going and remain in the Ingatestone calendar.

After notifying the key players, like BID, the Borough Council and the Parish Council early enough, we were pleased when Brentwood Connected announced they would take on the outdoor elements in 2024.