COMMUNITY festivals in Kirklees, which attract crowds of thousands, are set to be given an extra cash boost.

Popular events, including the Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival, Marsden Jazz Festival and Slaithwaite Moonraking, have been allocated thousands of pounds to help them continue their good work.

Kirklees Council’s Cabinet will be asked next week to approve a budget of £160,000 to help fund 17 events across the district over the next year.

The cash is to be allocated following the success of the three-year Town Centre Vibrancy Programme, which gave £100,000 per year to fund a series of events.

The programme, which helped raise the profile of festivals across the board, led to the funding being mainstreamed into Culture and Leisure Services’ budget.

It aims to support not just town centre events but other types of community events as well.

The report on the funding, set to be considered by Cabinet members on Wednesday, says: “The aims of the programme are to provide fun, enjoyable activities for residents and visitors (and) raise the profile of Kirklees as a vibrant, creative and diverse place which promotes excellence, creativity and innovation.”

The programme also aims to bring more people into the area and improve the quality of the events calendar.

Clrs Liz Smaje, Cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, and Leisure and David Hall, Cabinet member for Finance and Business Services, are recommending that the funding is approved by councillors.

If approved, community events organisers will be offered the same amount of funding for the next three years, subject to budget, to help provide them with more financial security.

Events organised by the council will be given the funding for one year, which will then be reviewed.

Some of the events set to benefit are the Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival, which has been allocated £10,000, Marsden Jazz Festival, £7,500, Cleckheaton Folk Festival, £10,000, and Slaithwaite’s Moonraking Festival, which is set to receive £5,000.

The cash boost comes as extra good news for festival goers following the council’s announcement that the popular free concerts will be returning this year.

Civic chiefs hope to repeat last summer’s hugely successful People’s Prom and People’s Party by staging two huge concerts in Greenhead Park.