Examination of Witnesses (Questions 140
- 159)
TUESDAY 7 MARCH 2000
MR DAVID
LEWIS, MR
RICHARD NOBLE
AND MR
BARRIE TINKER
Chairman
140. That is specifically a rebuttal of what
is in the evidence to us?
(Mr Tinker) It is, yes.
141. That, again, will be very helpful.
(Mr Tinker) That is in writing.
Mr Cummings
142. Do you believe that your local Showmen's
Guild section is correct when it says that Nottingham Council
tried to impose a 22 per cent rise in rental without any consultation?
If so, why was this the case? How was the situation finally resolved?
(Mr Noble) I would not say it was an imposition. The
first start of the negotiation was a 22 per cent rise and that
was then taken to consultation with the Showmen's Guild and eventually
ended up as a three per cent rise on rent.
Chairman
143. Pretty big starting point, was it not?
Was this to soften them up, a body blow to get the negotiations
going?
(Mr Noble) We were given a directive by members to
try and raise a certain amount of income because they did not
feel at the time they were getting a fair rent from the site,
although after negotiations it came down to a three per cent rise.
This year we did a big survey on the fairgrounds to see the numbers
coming and also the head spend on the fair. Hopefully those results
will help us in the negotiations for this year.
144. Can you tell us the results?
(Mr Noble) Not at the moment, they are being looked
at at the moment.
145. How soon do you think you will know?
(Mr Noble) Hopefully within the next month or two.
146. If you do get them fairly soon I think
the Committee will be very pleased to hear. I think we are interested
in how many people turn up to fairs. When you were looking at
the spend, was that looking just at the spend on the fair, or
was it looking at the spend by people who were coming into Nottingham
because of the Goose Fair and their general spending on shops
and elsewhere?
(Mr Noble) No, it was purely looking at what people
spend on the fair but also there are side parts of the fair where
people around the area will let off their land to people like
fortune tellers and hot dog sellers, that sort of thing. We did
look also at the spend on those activities as well as within the
fairground itself.
147. You were looking at the income the fair
made?
(Mr Noble) Yes.
148. You were not looking at the income that
Nottingham made as a result of the fair being there?
(Mr Noble) Not as part of this survey, no.
Mr Cummings
149. I would like to come back to Bradford and
ask how the question of the Christmas fair and the Easter fair
is going to be resolved?
(Mr Tinker) The Easter Fair, you mean the Easter Fair
in Lister Park?
150. Yes, that is the one.
(Mr Tinker) From Marshalls?
151. Yes?
(Mr Tinker) That will be resolved in 2002 where we
have already advised Marshall's Amusement that their Easter Fair,
should they make application in 2002, which we do not doubt they
will, will be given to them but at the moment the Park is undergoing
a £3.2 million Heritage Lottery refurbishment. At the moment
it is a hard hat area so we have cancelled all events in the park
and it just does not apply to the fun fairs.
152. The Christmas Fair?
(Mr Tinker) The Christmas Fair, the town centre management
have indicated that should they receive an application from Marshall's
Amusements they will look at that situation.
Chairman
153. Right, now the Park fair, the park is being
done up under the lottery heritage fund?
(Mr Tinker) Yes.
154. How far in that plan is the foundation
work being put into the Park so that it has got better opportunities
to work with travelling fairs on the ground for a week or a fortnight
and reverting back to attractive green space for the rest of the
year quickly? My experience is that there are certain sites that
fairs go on to which are poorly drained, although the showmen
have to pay to reinstate the sites. If major work is being done
it should be possible to make it much easier for them to go on
to the site without having to do major reinstatement work.
(Mr Tinker) The site that they will go back to will
remain as it is and always has been. It is an ash area which comes
out of the old infirmary boilers from the hospital in the city.
It drains very, very well. It is reinstated very quickly. We pay
for the reinstatement and the fairs are not expected nor are they
asked to do any reinstatement works because there are very rarely
any. There are new toilets going into the Park, a new boating
lake, new children's play area and the fair sits just at the edge
of all these and we think that will enhance the fair as it returns
to the city.
155. The Lottery money being spent on the Park
is enhancing the park and is enhancing the tradition of having
fairs there?
(Mr Tinker) We hope so.
Mr Donohoe
156. Can I just come back to you, Mr Noble,
and ask the question as to what the overall rent income is to
your authority in a year?
(Mr Noble) The income purely from Nottingham Goose
Fair is around £300,000. For the other fairs that we licence
we purely take a licence fee.
157. You make £300,000 as an income?
(Mr Noble) No, we do not make £300,000, that
is not a surplus, that is purely an income, that is gross income.
158. Do any of you try to set the rates for
the rides in terms of time or fare?
(Mr Noble) Sorry?
159. There is a lot of local animosity to the
amount of time that the kids get on the individual rides or the
fare structure as it is. Do any of your authorities try to set
a rate for either time or fare?
(Mr Lewis) No, it does not occur in Thurrock.
(Mr Noble) It did in Nottingham until about six or
seven years ago. That was taken away in negotiation with the Goose
Fair Tenants.
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