Cowley Road Carnival bosses have pledged to fight on with plans to stage colourful celebrations across two sites despite suffering a funding body-blow.

Two weeks ago the future of this year’s carnival was plunged into doubt after organisers missed out on a £50,000 grant to cover a third of the total budget.

But following a meeting of the carnival’s organising committee, trustees have vowed to continue seeking cash to fund twin celebrations in Cowley Road and South Park on Sunday, July 4.

The scale of the carnival will depend on the amount of money which can be raised in the forthcoming weeks.

Trustee Junie James said: “The plan is pretty much as we were before with the decision to close the road and an event in the park.

“We’re looking at everything to see where we can trim back and save money, but we’re still committed to the road and the park.

“We’re quite confident about our ability to deliver a carnival and we are not the sort of people who throw in the towel.

“It is crucial that people step forward with financial backing but we’ll also be looking at in-kind support to make up the cash shortfall.”

After losing out on the carnival’s biggest fundraising application from the Arts Council, the organising charity Cowley Road Works has trimmed the budget for the event by £20,000 to £130,000.

They have also gone back to the Arts Council to ask for a smaller grant of £10,000.

The news that organisers are pressing on with plans to close the Cowley Road has been welcomed by traders in and around Oxford’s most colourful street.

However concerns have been raised the carnival again faces a last-minute fight to fund the event which regularly attracts 30,000 people. The carnicval was not held in Cowley Road last year.

Lance Cowan, who runs the James Street Tavern, started the Save Cowley Road Carnival Facebook group, which has almost 950 members.

He said: “This is a great news.

“It’s obviously going to be harder than normal to find funding but I think it’s possible to put on the carnival on a much lower budget.”

But he added: “The decision on where the carnival is held should have been made a couple of months earlier.”

Erica Steinhauer, of the Plain Traders’ Association, said: “I sincerely hope that they are being realistic about what is achievable at such short notice.”

Firms or individuals who can help with the event should send an email to carnival@eastoxford.com