A POPULAR event that unites people both young and old in Okehampton looks likely to end after ten years. Over the last decade the Okehampton Battle of the Bands competition and Party in the Park finale has given musicians from the town and across the region the opportunity to test their skills in a live environment, with three heats and the grand finale in Simmons Park. However, the event organisers, Chris Hodgson and Ben Boulton, who have given up countless hours of their own time to organise the competition, have decided to step down. As well as the stresses of organising such an event, the pair have also cited lack of support from Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade and from the community at the heats among their reasons to allow someone else to take over the running of the event. As of yet, nobody has stepped forward with the intention of running the competition. Chris Hodgson said that this year's Party in the Park finale was as big a success as it had ever been, with a high standard of music and hundreds of people turning out in the early evening to make the biggest crowd the event has ever had. He also paid credit to Okehampton Lions, Okehampton Round Table, the town council and Okehampton United Charity and the competition sponsors for their support of the event. He said: 'I am disappointed in Okehampton's response to the Battle of the Bands heats, compared to the Party in the Park. 'Without the heats you don't get the arts grant funding, which is vital to put on the Party in the Park. 'If it were not for the bands bringing friends and family along and supporting each other, the turnout would be very low. Because of that we lose money hand over fist putting on the heats. 'When you do this on a voluntary basis and put in so much of your hard work and free time, the lack of response from the community and difficulty with the police helped Ben and myself to make the decision that that is it. 'We feel that with this, the town expects it to happen, but does not do enough to support it. 'We have put lots of messages out, we have used social media to promote the fact that this will be our last one we organise, and yet we have not heard from anyone interested in keeping it going. People like the event but don't get involved. 'The only conclusion I can draw is that it is not going to happen next year. 'Okehampton is the loser here, in terms of commerce and the social well-being of the town. 'We are very keen to see someone take it on, though if they do they must prove they can make a real go of it. 'It has been part of the town's history over the last ten years, and we don't want to lose that.' Town councillors Tony Leech and Julie Yelland were among those to attend a meeting last week discussing the competition's future. Cllr Leech said: 'As the town we need more yearly events like this one, and the Battle of the Bands is not something we want to lose. 'It is very hard to find people like Chris and Ben who have been so dedicated to the event, and put so much into it. Hopefully we can.' An organisation that has been involved with the competition has been OCRA. Stuart Lord, OCRA manager, said: 'Chris and Ben have done a great job in taking this fantastic local event to a new level and should be proud of the very positive music and community image and legacy they have created for Okehampton.  'OCRA would hate to see the end of Battle of the Bands and would be keen to hear about anyone that are keen to keep the competition moving forward.' Donna Tombs, the chair of Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade, said that due to the organisation receiving grants from other bodies, it had to be extremely careful about how its money is used. She said: 'It is impossible for us to give money to other organisations and events unless there is proof of a perceivable advantage for our members. Sadly, we just didn't have the time to look at what that perceivable advantage would be, and so we could not give the event any money. 'We weren't happy that we could not support the event more, and we did want to help. Some of our members did indeed give help with donations. 'In the past, it could be said that the chamber of trade hasn't given great consideration to other bodies and how we can work with them. 'The enquiry from Battle of the Bands led to great discussion within the chamber, and moving forward we are now ensuring we will do all we can to work with events of that nature. 'As a result of that, the chamber is now getting involved more with Okehampton Carnival and other events. This is one town, and we want to pull in one direction so everybody gains from that.' Anyone interested in playing a part in running the competition in the future can contact Okehampton Town Council by dropping into the town hall or calling the town clerk on 01837 53179.