Whitehaven Festival Chief Executive Gerard Richardson has today announced his plans to retire after suggestions The Whitehaven Festival will not return this year as planned.
Sellafield Ltd were in discussions to potentially bring back the festival in 2016 but sources close to The Whitehaven festival have said no sponsorship has yet been paid.
Cumbria Police have also written a letter to The Whitehaven Festival squashing any hope that The Whitehaven Festival or an event on its scale will ever return.
In a post on Facebook The Whitehaven Festival Chief Executive wrote: "There are all sorts of rumours going around about the future of the festival company but as usual its just gossip. The best gossip is always based partly on a truth so yes, its the time of the year when we discuss plans for next year which means its also the time of the year we talk to sponsors, the police and council but that doesn't mean we have any conflict. The only real story here is that I've told the board of the Festival Co that I want to retire and we are meeting today to discuss what that means in more detail. Sellafield are not just our oldest sponsors but they are and always will be good friends of mine and have never flinched in support of what I do."
Further developments will be reported in due course.