Classic car show is saved from axe with new Cannock venue
A major classic car show that annually attracts thousands of people has been saved from the scrapheap and will be resurrected at a new venue.
The former Chasewater Transport Show, which draws crowds of up to 10,000, was axed last year after a change of management at Chasewater Country Park.
But organisers said it would now be held at Longford Park, a privately-owned site in Cannock, over two days instead of one in April.
Delighted organiser Helen Borton said: "It's wonderful news.
"I was devastated when it all folded. Now it's coming back bigger than ever."
The new lease of life for the show was made possible after she was contacted by Longford Park owner Robert Fellows. The site, in Wellington Drive, is popular as a venue for car boot sales and an annual fireworks event.
To reflect the switch in location, the event has been renamed The Chase Transport Show.
Another change is that an entry fee will be made for the first time. Visitors will be charged £3 a head on Saturday and £5 on Sunday, with under-14s admitted free.
Mrs Borton, of Cannock, has run the show since 2009 after a similar one at the country park was stopped.
But last year the venue was taken over by Staffordshire County Council from Lichfield District Council, leaving the show with an uncertain future. The 29-year-old vintage car enthusiast said the event had also started to outgrow the reservoir site.
She said: "It may be that we will return there in the future but for now I'm delighted with Longford Park. The main thing is the event has been saved."
Mrs Borton will put on the show as part of her new business, Chase Transport Events, instead of staging it as a charity fundraiser.
"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time.
"I 've put everything into organising the show for the past five years in my own time and raised a lot of money," she said.
"Now I've given up my day job to run it as a business."
The event will take place over the weekend of April 26 and 27.
