A KENDAL street art festival brought a £1.5 million boost to Cumbria’s economy - research has shown.

Boffins from Manchester University say that figure represents a conservative estimate for the amount of money brought in by the Mintfest International Street Arts Festival, which took place in August.

Thousands of people came into Kendal to see some of the best artists, circus performers, comedians, acrobats and musicians from across the country and overseas.

Dr Andrew Miles, senior research fellow, at Manchester University said they arrived at the number by using a formula based on interviews of more than 370 visitors to Kendal during the festival.

“The £1.5 million is the dedicated spend from the festival,” he said. “We interviewed and profiled visitors and we extrapolated their spend figures to attendance figures and applied a multiplier.

It is a conservative estimate of the extra money being brought in by the festival,” he said.

Dr Miles said around 75 per cent of those interviewed said they were there specifically for the festival. Around 45 per cent were from outside the county and 15 per cent from outside the North West.

Mintfest is organised by Kendal Arts International, and is part of the four-year Lakes Alive programme of events to celebrate the Olympics coming to Britain.

Julie Tait, director of Kendal Arts International, said: “These figures show that street arts are not only fun, they also make an important economic contribution. This was only the third year that Mintfest has taken place in Kendal but it is already one of Britain’s biggest and best street arts festivals.

“Our aim is to put Cumbria at the forefront of the development of street arts in the UK and the study by Manchester University is an important part of that.”

Cliff Dixon, from Kendal-based CNJ Media Marketing, said: “There was a real buzz in the air and a noticeable increase in people on Kendal’s streets.”

Another attendee of the festival was Peter Mearns, executive director at the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

“Kendal Arts International has once again put on a fantastic series of events across Cumbria,” he said. “The quality of the productions was second to none and the programme is helping to build Cumbria’s reputation as a cultural destination.

“We know from our own research that events such as these are not only great economic drivers, but they also help to change people’s perceptions of the North West, making the region a must-visit destination.”