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New Mills residents voted to bring back the Lantern Parade with a higher ticket price.

More than 80 per cent of residents at the Relight the Lanterns meeting this week voted to bring back the much-loved procession to the Torrs.

Last year, after a break since 2019, the anticipated return of the Lantern Procession in September as part of the New Mills Festival had to be cancelled because there were not enough volunteers to safely run the event, which attracts thousands of people to the town.

In January the festival launched the Relight the Lanterns campaign, asked people if they would support bringing back the lantern parade through Torrs Riverside Park and over the Millennium Bridge.

People voted to bring back the Lantern Parade to New Mills with a higher ticket price.

Alison Johnson, from the festival, said: “It is absolutely brilliant to know people want the lantern parade to return. It is an event which has become so important to so many people.

"People who came with their parents are now bringing their own children and it’s great that the community want the tradition to continue.”Thousands of people signed a petition calling to bring back the lanterns and at the meeting people were given four options; to bring the lantern parade back in the future when enough funds had been raised to cover the costs, bring it back with a higher ticket price, stop the lantern parade altogether or outsource the running of the event to an external company.

Alison said: “The festival became so big it was attracting 10,000 people and the population of New Mills was only 10,000 so it was a big event to organise, and a costly one too.

"The Torrs has deep cliffs, and water and add in thousands of people we need to ensure the correct safety measures are in place from barriers to portable toilets.

The Relight the Lanterns meeting where people voted in favour of bringing back the procession but with a higher ticket price. Pic submitted

"People at the meeting voted in favour of the event going ahead with a higher ticket price which we hope to be around the £6 mark but are also looking at ways to reduce costs for low income families so we can make the event accessible for everyone.”

Kate Badger who led the meeting added that the New Mills community stepped up to support the lanterns returning which was great.

New Mills Lantern Parade set to return