A BROMSGROVE resident has said he is 'disgusted' at Bromsgrove Council's decision to spend thousands of pounds on a French performance group for the upcoming Bromsgrove Festival.

A total of £26,000 has been earmarked out of the council’s reserves to support this year's festival, which will take place on July 19, with £15,000 going on Transe-Express, a performing group that combines circus skills and rock music with dance and visual arts hailing from Lyon, France.

According to the group's website: "Transe Express play in open spaces to provoke the meeting of a public. Without limitation, the artistic mediums and modes of expression are the ingredients for our creators."

It goes on to read that its shock creations and non-conventional spaces will intrigue the public in their everyday lives.

The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, is angry at the decision to spend so much on an act from outside of the town.

He said: "There are plenty of local performers in Bromsgrove - spending that amount of money on a group that aren't even from here just isn't right. Bromsgrove Council appear to support anyone as long as they are from outside of Bromsgrove."

A spokesperson for Bromsgrove Council said: “The council is supporting the Bromsgrove Festival by putting on an extraordinary high profile performance that will include aerial drumming and trapeze artists high above the rooftops of Bromsgrove town centre at the climax stage of a full scale procession of music and visual arts.

"Not only will it entertain a broad audience but an act of this magnitude really will put Bromsgrove on the map internationally and attract interest from far afield.

“More importantly the event will increase the economic impact in the town, including more footfall in local restaurants and retail outlets, the financial benefits of which will far outweigh this initial investment. We will be carrying out an economic impact assessment to demonstrate this.”