The phoenix of a new North Wiltshire Festival is rising from the ashes of a near disastrous crisis of confidence and a resignation, according to district councillors.

The future of the bi-annual business, leisure and community festival was up in the air when festival project leader Steve Cox quit three weeks ago.

A new team has now been created under the auspices of business manager Laurie Bell and new plans drawn up in a bid to make sure the £100,000 show will go on.

Festival board members from both sides of the district council have been impressed with the results.

Coun John Thomson, who criticised the earlier handling of the event under Mr Cox's leadership, said: "I am very impressed and I am not easily impressed. I am suspicious by nature of anything going well at the district council but we had a brilliant presentation from Laurie Bell and her team on Friday."

The board was shown a project plan and given a rundown of who was responsible for what and when it had to be done by. "It will be a slightly shorter and tighter festival over two days but I don't think that is a bad thing," said Coun Thomson.

This year for the first time exhibitors at the festival, which will be held on July 16 and 17 in Monkton Park, will have individual modular stands in a village-style arrangement around a stage.

There will be three stages in total, including the main stage at the end of Monkton Park.

"I feel comfortable now we have the new team in charge," said Coun Thomson. "Everything was foggy before and that has all blown away."

Coun Roy Jackson, who described the earlier festival organisation as a dog's breakfast, shared Coun Thomson's confidence in the new team though he was not entirely happy it had cut the Sunday from the programme.

"We'll have two very concentrated days of activity," he said.

"We have a good team on board, with Laurie Bell as the guiding hand. Now we know what's going on, everything's up to scratch and we know what's what. I am looking forward to a good festival given the weather."

A council spokesman said a package for sponsors had been put together and would be released next week showing what the festival would look like and the opportunities available to business.