Spring Harvest, the annual Christian festival in Minehead and Skegness, has announced Gavin Calver as the new chair of its planning group.

Calver is director of mission for the Evangelical Alliance and the planning group is responsible for the whole Spring Harvest programme.

Calver, whose father Clive helped found Spring Harvest in 1992, said of his appointment: 'I am both humbled and delighted to take on this new role. Spring Harvest has a wonderful history and I want it to be a place of real evangelical unity where many different Christian groups can come together to worship our amazing God and be inspired to change our world for him. I also want us to innovate and model things at our larger gatherings that can then be used to serve the local church on the ground.'

He said: 'As the son of one of the founders I'm very much aware of my family heritage when it comes to Spring Harvest. I hope that my unique perspective on this will help me to serve Spring Harvest well.'

The current chairman, Malcolm Duncan, oversaw a change to the leadership model to provide for five-year chairmanship terms. He will remain as deputy chair and said: '2017 is the year in which that transition will take place, and I am delighted that Gavin is stepping into this role. He has my full support and I am excited about continuing to play my part in the leadership of Spring Harvest moving forward as part of the team.'

The conference has seen a sharp decline in attendance from its peak in the 1990s when it attracted around 70,000 people a year, and has reduced the number of holiday weeks it offers. However, it has seen signs of growth in recent years.