'Red tape and bureaucracy': why Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable Truck Convoy 'can't continue'

Graham and Gina Munt have run the much-loved fundraiser since 2015, raising over £250,000 for good causes, including military charities and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

However, Graham said things had become "difficult", claiming that "red tape and bureaucracy" are to blame for the decision to stop the event – as well as a whopping cost increase of around £2,000.

The council says that it "really values" the efforts of the volunteers. But it added that safety is “paramount” that it works with organisers and emergency service partners to ensure events are safe for people to attend.

But Graham claimed: "It's bureaucracy and red tape. Trying to do anything feels impossible. It blows my mind. We are trying to run a charity event, which also supports the community and businesses – and brings thousands of people into town.

"The community are gutted. We're gutted. I don't know why we didn't get more support."

Graham claims that the convoy usually applies to CBC for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) – which it did this year – and was granted permission.

However, he says that CBC then rang and said he needed a premises licence instead – which incurred further costs. And he says he still hasn't got his money back for the TEN.

The council says this was down to a legal requirement due to the size of the event, and that it has no power to waive it.

Another blow was the extra cost of traffic management.

He claimed: "We had got a traffic management company that we had been using for six years. They were based in Peterborough and free of charge.

"But the [CBC] Safety Advisory Group said we couldn't use them anymore and that we had to use their traffic management, costing £1,340."

Graham claims that no reason was given, but that the actions left them hurt.

He added: "I could understand if it was the first year we were running it, but we've been going for 10 years without a problem.

"Things started getting bad last year, but this year they doubled."

Graham claims that he and his wife Gina were left with "rakes and rakes" of paperwork to do at the last minute – including questions they'd already answered.

Both are still working full-time at age 74, with the extra requests leaving them "exhausted".

He also claimed that he had previously asked CBC to work with its partners and secure police presence on the day, but that they had never been given any.

Graham claimed: "They are a joke this council, they really are. I'm paying their wages. They say they are for the community, but they don't give a toss about community."

A CBC spokeswoman, said: “We know how much the Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard Truck Convoy means to local people and we really value the efforts of the volunteers who organise it.

“Our role is not to stop community events from happening, but to work with organisers and emergency service partners to make sure they can take place safely.

“For such events, the safety of the public is paramount and for a large convoy of vehicles moving through urban areas, there are considerable risks not least the ability of emergency services to move around the area unimpeded.

"The safety advice here is based upon a collective position agreed by the council alongside Bedfordshire Police and the ambulance service.”

The council added that a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) can only be used for events with fewer than 500 attendees.

It said: "The attendance for the convoy exceeds this limit. As a result, a TEN is not appropriate and the event required a premises licence. This is a legal requirement, and the council has no discretion to waive it."