Music events in Dorchester’s Maumbury Rings over the late August bank holiday may take a different format next year.

The Anonymous event on Saturday, aimed at younger people, attracted 2,000-plus but the Bank Holiday Music Day saw numbers down to 550 – while the LGBT ‘Love Parade’ was washed out on the Sunday and had to retreat to the Corn Exchange.

Town councillor Tony Lyall, the original organiser of the events with former town clerk Dennis Holmes, said he believed the Monday format needed to be ‘refreshed’ with a look again at the choice of bands.

“We need to look at fresh ideas, or knock it on the head,” he told the Dorchester town council policy committee. He also suggested the town council resuming control of the day.

Cllr Robin Potter said that while Anonymous had done well the Monday event had flagged this year: “I would agree the band selection needs carefully looking at…do we want more variety?” he said.

Cllr Fiona Kent-Ledger said that, nationally, live music events had been suffering a fall in numbers but the weekend weather this year had not helped. “People also have more choice about where to go and what to do…but people do expect something to be put on.”

Cllr Alistair Chisholm also supported the need to look again at the event. He suggested that another attraction, such as the French market, being run alongside the music event, might draw more people into the county town. He asked for more consideration to be given to having only local performers: “We should promote the talents of performers in and around the town.. it should be our own big band, not the one from Purbeck.”