AFTER 18 years, The Dales Festival of Food and Drink in Leyburn is to be discontinued.

In 2001, the Yorkshire Dales suffered the trauma of a widespread outbreak of foot and mouth disease. This resulted in many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep being culled and then incinerated, devastating the farming and tourism industries.

Something big was needed to get the area back on its feet and plans were laid in the autumn of 2001 to stage a festival in Leyburn Market Place promoting local food and drink producers. Thus the Dales Festival of Food and Drink came into being.

It was planned for the May Day bank holiday weekend in 2002. Despite having no track record for the event, the organisers signed up many Dales food and drink firms who set up their stalls in a marquee in the market place. The event was a big news story with widespread television, radio and press coverage.

The organisers’ expectation of 6,000 visitors was vastly exceeded, with some 15,000 people attending.

After another year in the Market Place, the event needed more space and moved to a site on the edge of the town where it continued to prosper. Over the years it generated a surplus of over £150,000 which was distributed to local good causes.

Publicity for the event was greatly aided by Gervase Phinn and the late Richard Whiteley, both of whom gave several free performances to add to the festive atmosphere.

In the meantime, many other food festivals were established, some with local authority financial backing, and the Dales Festival format, which necessitated an entry fee, started to lose popularity. In 2017 the event was downsized back to the market place with free entry but continued to lose money. Now, the not for profit charitable company that run the event, the Leyburn and Mid Wensleydale Partnership Ltd, has made the difficult decision to cancel the festival.

A spokesman said: “The event remained popular with the public but the absence of an entry charge made it impossible to cover costs. The directors of the Leyburn and Mid Wensleydale Partnership wish to thank the festival’s supporters, many generous sponsors and an army of volunteers, whose efforts enabled the event to happen and to be the big success it was for many years.”