Porthleven Food and Music Festival is going back to its roots this year after fears were raised over the event becoming “too big” and losing its original character.

Concerns were also uttered that too much was being outsourced to an outside company – but the volunteer organisers have stressed this is the only way the event can continue safely.

A long discussion took place between Porthleven town councillors and this year’s festival chairman David Turnbull.

He assured the council that the volunteer committee behind the event – many of whom were founder members – continued to be responsible for what took place over the three days: booking chefs, organising the stalls and the daytime entertainment.

However, the evening music, road closures, insurances and security aspects had been contracted out to external company Arc Live – the team behind the Porthleven and Hallowe’en Masked Balls - as the event was now too big for the volunteers to run by themselves and members were finding themselves personally liable.

Mr Turnbull said: “When it was a small festival run by volunteers, I stood on a corner and stopped traffic – there was tremendous risk to volunteers in reality. It’s moved on since then.

“This is not a commercialisation of the festival – it’s about putting on a proper festival that’s properly managed. If it’s going to be this big the only way is to employ somebody who can organise it properly. A volunteer team is not able to do this.

“If we don’t have that in place we rush around making ourselves incredibly vulnerable and personally liable.”

And he said the bottom line was: “If we don’t do it like this, we don’t do it.”

He added that neither party made a profit, with the aim just to break even, as any money paid to Arc Live and taken through evening event ticket sales had already been spent on the costly organisation.

“Arc Live’s costs are in the region of £60,000,” he said.

Mr Turnbull was keen to provide reassurance that the volunteer festival committee still had overall control of the event, after hearing feedback from councillors that some residents believed too much control was being given to an outside company.

Mayor Barbara Powell said: “I think the general feeling is that it’s just got too big and it’s not for local people.”

Councillor Beverley Plunkett said many businesses in the port reported a downturn in custom during the festival days, yet they were being asked to contribute to it financially.

But Mr Turnbull described this as a “short-sighted view,” explaining: “This isn’t about one day of trading, it’s about getting people to Porthleven. The whole point of a festival is it bolsters a town over the period of the year.”

Councillor Mark Berryman said most of the complaints he had received were from locals who “just see disruption.”

Many were people living within the road closures, who Mr Berryman said “felt they were basically trapped in their houses for three days plus.”

“They felt the festival was being enforced on them and they weren’t part of it, which isn’t what they felt in the early days,” he said, adding that contracting out areas “changes the whole atmosphere,” and concluding: “I think that’s what people were noticing last year. There’s a danger that it just becomes an identikit festival.”

Mr Turnbull stressed that residents within the closures would still have access throughout.

He did acknowledge though that tweaks would have to be made to this year’s event, taking place on the weekend of April 21 to 23, saying: “The huge, huge majority of people enjoyed the festival [last year], but there were things that needed a bit of finessing.”

This includes the return of the Lime Kiln stage offering daytime music and last year’s large marquee in the shipyard, used for food demonstrations and music, would be made smaller after not filling up last year, with Mr Turnbull adding: “The music in there is much more for locals by locals.”

Porthleven Town Band would be given a much more central role – the plan being to have the band march start in Church Row and parade down Fore Street to the harbour and along Breageside, to open the festival, and hopefully parade back again on the Sunday to launch the second day of chef demonstrations.

Headlining chefs have already been booked and this year local chefs will also be given the chance to show off their skills, in a second demonstration area at Amelies. A £1 entry fee to the chefs’ theatre is being added this year, providing access in and out all day, to recoup some costs.

Stalls will start at the fishermen’s quay and run along Breageside, with food traders in the marquee on the harbour.

A new farmers’ market area is in the planning, which Ms Powell said would be “very much appreciated,” adding: “The local traders feel they have been priced out of stalls.”

However, Mr Turnbull pointed out that they had been “under-pricing by a long way” compared to other festivals in the area, such as Falmouth Oyster Festival and Boardmasters.

He added that any trader based within a five-mile radius of Porthleven would receive a discount on the cost of having a stall.

It is hoped the bridge over the harbour will return for a third year, subject to all parties agreeing,

The town council agreed for the Moors area to be used for the literary festival, which is returning following its debut last year, with the young people’s festival taking place in a big top near the new skatepark.

Sunday’s activities will take on more of a ‘pudding’ theme, to tie in with the Porthleven Bake Off competition, followed by the auction for local charities – which last year raised £1,700 for Porthleven’s Christmas lights.

The town council agreed to give its usual £500 grant towards putting on the festival, with a review to take place following the event.

Members were keen to show their support for the festival still, with councillor Alan Jorgensen saying: “It’s a fantastic event for Porthleven; it puts Porthleven on the map."