The current agreement between Blackpool Council and Leisure Parcs comes to an end in October and town hall chiefs have decided not to renew it.

Instead the council will subsidise individual events in order to attract them to the Winter Gardens in a move which could save more than £500,000 a year compared to the cost of the annual subsidy.

Events

The grant allocated to each conference or event will depend on the amount of delegates they bring and the number of days they are in Blackpool for.

The new agreement with Leisure Parcs runs up to March 2010, but will be extended on a rolling basis to ensure events can be planned well in advance.

Gatherings such as the annual pigeon show, dance festivals and the hairdressing championships are among those which will receive council grants which can be then used as the organisers wish, including to pay for space in the Winter Gardens.

Council leader Coun Peter Callow said: “This is a sensible way forward because we are not here to prop up Leisure Parcs in any way, but we do want to help bring conferences to Blackpool and encourage delegates to stay here.”

A spokesman for Leisure Parcs said: “We confirm we have been in discussions with Blackpool Council regarding the possibility of it supporting a number of high profile events that have historically been held at the Winter Gardens and have been very beneficial to Blackpool.

“In order to retain these events in the resort, the council has agreed to pay a grant to the organisers towards the cost of hosting their events in Blackpool.

“We are now in the process of reviewing all the events at the Winter Gardens with the team from VisitBlackpool, to determine which events will be supported.”

The subsidy, which was first introduced in 1986 (although at a lower level), has caused controversy because the council has continued to pay out £1m a year to Leisure Parcs despite the fact that Blackpool no longer attracts the big party political conferences it once did.