MARLBOROUGH 800th anniversary organisers have been hit with a massive £8,700 bill from Kennet District Council for road closures.

Chairman Coun Graham Francis said the money will have to come out of the anniversary fund. He said as a result there would be a big shortfall.

The shock bill for road closures will be the largest outgoing, but Coun Francis said they had originally been led to believe the only charge would be for barriers at both ends of the High Street. He said initially Kennet wanted £20,000 to have the High Street closed on five occasions. It claimed it would lose £400 in car parking revenue and £200 from the loss of the market.

The committee agreed to three closures but that would still have cost £12,000. After further negotiation the cost was reduced to £8,700.

The town council finance and general purposes committee agreed on Monday that the town clerk, Graham Gittins, should write to Kennet explaining the circumstance behind the road closures and asking for a dispensation, of up to 50 per cent.

The Saturday market on June 12 will now be held in the High Street as normal. One supermarket, however, has objected to the road closures.