NORTH Wiltshire Festival 2004 is set to have a whole new look as organisers learn lessons from the last event and draw up ideas for the next.

Festival project leader Michael Paul-Williams has left North Wiltshire District Council to take up a post as events organiser at Kew Gardens in London.

Now the district council is busy recruiting a new project leader to take the reins and create a new focus and outlook for the major business and community event, scheduled for July 2004, which includes setting the dates earlier in the month so local schools can be involved.

"We want to focus the event more clearly," said district council leader David Packham. "We are supporting the festival next year but we do need it to be more focussed. Last time we had a business element, pop concert, family day, and religious element. Now we feel it needs a sharper focus and a more clearly defined message of what is it all about."

But the future of the festival could be thrown into jeopardy if the Conservative Party wins the local elections in May.

Conservative leader Coun Toby Sturgis said they would probably scrap the event altogether because he believed it did not have the support of local people.

"We would have to give serious consideration to abandoning the festival," he said. "When I went knocking on doors on Cepen Park, out of the 70 homes, 62 had not been to the festival and were not even aware of it."

He said arts and festivals came bottom of the poll in People's Voice consultation questionnaires.

Coun Packham said it was unfortunate the district council had lost Mr Paul-Williams.

"It will take some time to appoint someone new and we won't be making any decisions about the new focus until we have made the appointment," he said. "At the moment the only decision we have made is to go ahead with the festival."

Chief executive Bob Marshall said the event would be community based but the business element was still very important, providing the sponsorship to support the festival.

"We will be running it in term time rather than the school holidays. A lot of people were away on holiday last time. We want to organise more school events," he said.

"David Packham is keen for this event to be more focussed but we haven't yet sat down and discussed what that focus should be."

The post of festival project leader has been advertised but it could be May by the time a new person takes up the post.

The dates for the Festival 2004 could be Friday and Saturday July 16 and 17, yet to be confirmed, and the festival will continue to be managed in-house, though certain elements could be contracted out.

Last year feedback from visitors suggested the dates were too late in the month and some businesses were unable to provide staffing.

A Festival 2004 working group suggested the two-day event should have entertainments, exhibitions and displays aimed at the community with community providing the main focus, and businesses invited to attend.

The free Saturday night concert should still provide the main focus, but more entertainments could be laid on during the day in the central arena and main stage.

A new idea was the possibility of staging a jazz or classical concert on Friday afternoon or evening as a wind- down for the weekend event. The main stage could be offered to local community groups on Sunday afternoon.