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by Dan Rutstein

Plans to stage a second Viking Festival in York this year are in jeopardy because of council worries about crowd control and the impact on flower beds.

Battleground: Scenes from last month's Viking Festival battle at the Eye of York

Following the recent successful festival - involving boat burning and fireworks on the River Ouse - it had been hoped that Act Two could be staged this May in the Museum Gardens, outside the Yorkshire Museum.

A Viking encampment of between 15 and 20 tents has been planned, to show how people lived 1,000 years ago, with the Viking characters performing demonstrations of cooking, craft and combat.

The event organisers, the Partners Group, say they made a number of changes to the proposal after becoming aware of a number of concerns by the City of York Council.

A spokeswoman said the number of stewards had been increased, proposals for a ceilidh had been dropped because of concerns about possible noise problems and a restitution clause had been agreed in the contract, to cover any remedial work to the gardens afterwards.

But now a report to this Thursday's Leisure Services Committee meeting says officers still have worries about the event, and are recommending councillors to ban the combat area, while allowing the encampment to go ahead.

Charlie Croft, acting director of leisure services, says concerns have been raised about the proposed combat area, in the light of crowd control problems which occurred during last month's event at the Eye of York.

"Furthermore, the large number of visitors that these combat events always attract could cause damage to flower beds at a particularly sensitive time and may well also dissuade visitors from entering the museum."

But Louise Wood, account director for the Partners Group, said the whole event might have to be scrapped if the combat area was not allowed.

"We are extremely disappointed that the council is being urged to reject a key part of our festival proposals - which will in fact put the entire event in jeopardy," she said.

"We were told we would have a decision before Christmas, but it is now March and we are still waiting.

"It is does not send out positive messages for others who want to take an active role in encouraging visitors to our city."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.