THE 2016 Fisherton Festival has received a funding boost from Salisbury City Council.

The council's services committee agreed to give £3,500 towards the running costs of the event in May at a meeting last night (Monday).

Cllr Matt Dean, who was not able to vote on the item due to declaring an interest on the matter, said: "Last year's Fisherton Festival was a fantastic success in terms of footfall and interest. It really caught the public's imagination."

He said the feedback from traders was positive and the event was of benefit to the community.

"I hope the event will be more successful than last year," he added. "It was absolutely excellent in raising the profile of our city."

In 2015 the free event attracted about 7,000 visitors.

Cllr Ian Tomes said: "It was nice to see so many people enjoying themselves. It is really good and the sort of thing we should be supporting."

The meeting heard the festival had encouraged people to come to Fisherton Street.

Cllr Atiqul Hoque said "it was a fantastic way of bringing the community together".

The total cost of the project is about £23,060 and more than £18,000 has been raised towards it.

This year's Fisherton Festival will take place on May 2, 10am until 7pm.