COWLEY Road Carnival organisers who are set to get £30,000 in council cash will be strictly monitored, bosses have insisted.

Oxford City Council last month announced it would give the cash to secure the long-term future of the event on July 6 and 7.

But concerns were raised at a city council meeting about how the authority would ensure the cash is spent effectively.

St Clement’s councillor Bev Clack said: “I’m really interested in how, with the more voluntary groups like the Cowley Road Carnival, you are going to be working in partnership with them. Is there a sense that they are actually capable and up to it? “What do you do when you’re dealing with people who are very committed but might not be so good with organisation?”

Fellow ward member Graham Jones said: “I share Bev’s concerns, particularly in relation to the carnival.

“I’m wondering whether we offer enough help to organisations to develop their capacity and skills.”

But director of culture, policy and communications Peter McQuitty said a “service level agreement” (SLA) will ensure organisers deliver.

He said: “There’s a big difference in the way we are dealing with organisations now. Service level agreements mean that if certain milestones are not reached, the money will not be released. It’s a really creative way of managing relationships with voluntary groups which also protects council finances.”

Council cultural development manager Dr Ceri Gorton said there is a strong agreement between organisers and the council.

Speaking at the communities and partnerships scrutiny committee last week, she said: “The steering group we have established with the Cowley Road Carnival is part of the funding agreement. It is not voluntary.”

The rest of the event’s £88,900 costs is expected to come from grants and fundraising. Council funding will continue for at least three years.

The SLA covers engaging with a diverse community; co-ordinating and supporting outreach activities and using the funding to leverage other sources of income.

The carnival – launched in 2001 – was cancelled in 2012 because of Olympic and Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

And it moved to South Park in 2011 to save more than £10,000 in security costs.

For the first time, it will be held on the same weekend as Alice’s Day which celebrates the first telling, in Oxford, of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.