FESTIVAL organisers are deter-mined that council funding should not be 'Wasted' after the punks pulled out of Morecambe.

They hope people power will win the day - and anchor down the future of Lancaster's threatened Maritime Festival.

As the annual 'Wasted' Festival is destined to move to Blackpool, organisers want to see its £25,000 grant money shared out to boost the area.

"We are fighting to save the Maritime Festival and this seems like the perfect opportunity to get some funding," says Roy Denby, of the Three Mariners pub.

"We handed a petition in at the Town Hall on Monday and about 100 people turned up - that shows that people care.

"I hope it will make the council think again about the festival because it brings a lot of people into the city."

Funding was cut from the annual Easter event as part of council restructuring of its festivals budget. But Lancaster City councillors upped the grant offer to 'Wasted' in a bid keep the punks.

Now the decision to take that festival back to its original home in Blackpool means that cash is being filtered straight into the Festivals Innovation Fund.

Council leader Cllr Ian Barker says: "We will not reduce our overall support to festivals but instead try to encourage a variety of smaller events to extend the season.

"The council hopes to draw more visitors to the area and is moving to test private sector interest in alter-native event ideas for 2006."

He says the council will be seeking expressions of interest for the Innovations Fund for 2006 in the first week in September.

The fund is designed to encourage private sector or community organisations to bring forward proposals to encourage visitors to the area.

The first round of applications for events this summer was in February, and grants were awarded to the Kite Festival, the Art Deco Guided Walks and the Panto in the Park running this week.