Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Ninth Report


NINTH REPORT

The Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee has agreed to the following Report:—

TRAVELLING FAIRS

Preface

1. The Committee decided to conduct a short inquiry into travelling fairs as a result of representations that showpeople were getting a raw deal in modern Britain, and a suggestion that perhaps travelling fairs were no longer relevant in an era of theme parks and computer games.

2. Our terms of reference for the inquiry were:

3. The Committee received over 70 pieces of written evidence, and held 3 sessions of oral evidence.[8] As a Committee, we visited the West Midlands and Kirkcaldy to look at issues relating to travelling fairs, while individual Members looked at other fairs. On our visits we saw a proposed winter quarters site at Bromsgrove; discussed problems relating both to this site and to town centre show sites with local Councillors and officials; visited a winter quarters site in Walsall and the Shrovetide Fair in Lichfield; and travelled to Kirkcaldy to see the Links Market Fair and to discuss with Councillors, officials and others involved issues relating to the planning and running of this very large fair.[9] We are extremely grateful to all who submitted evidence, answered our questions and arranged our visits. Our inquiry was greatly aided by our expert advisor, Dr Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fairground Archive at the University of Sheffield, to whom we are deeply grateful.

History of Travelling Fairs

4. A number of our witnesses drew our attention to the long history and tradition associated with travelling fairs. Ann Perrett, a travelling showperson, for example, wrote:

She concludes, "The set of High Flying Swings that we travel dates from 1900. There are some rides that are older than this. These rides and stalls are as much as part of this country's cultural history as steam trains, and cricket on the village green."[11]

5. Elaine Whiting, another showperson, paints a similar picture:

    "As a small child I lived about 10 miles from a traditional Street Fair at Caerphilly. A few weeks before the fair, all the children in our village would be buzzing, eagerly awaiting this event. Pocket money saved. All my family would attend, some returning home from different parts of the country. Once at the Fair, lights, noise, smells, laughter, pure joy, all enjoyed in a safe carefree atmosphere. A magic land, there only for a few days. A tradition going back hundreds of years. As long as there has been a Fair, stalls, shows and such have attended. Over the last hundred years more rides have attended but still the modern equivalent of shows, stalls and games. Attend any street Fair in the land, see the thousands of families that attend them. Having their dose of fair magic. We are wanted by these families. Fairs are a family entertainment, a time when people can and do enjoy themselves as a group. From small babes fascinated by the lights, to older children and Mams and Dads testing their nerves and bravery on the modern thrill rides, to Grandma buying her brandy snap or riding on the Gallopers. As a part of our British culture, the feel good vibes at a British travelling fun fair is intoxicating, even Disney, in my opinion, comes a sad second to us! The ad men know this, look at the number of times a fair is used in TV adverts."[12]

6. Graham Downie, Secretary of the Midlands Section of the Showmen's Guild and Chairman of the Fairground Association of Great Britain, sets out the history much more fully. "Fairs in Britain have a long and ancient history," he writes. "Over the centuries they have played an important role in the economic, social and cultural life of this island and its people." He traces the history of fairs back many centuries and notes references to fairs in the work of writers such as Thomas Hardy. In the Middle Ages, charters granted by the sovereign gave the fair legal status and an increasing importance in the economic life of the nation. Merchants from the continent and beyond were drawn to these charter fairs, and their size and importance also drew itinerant entertainers such as jugglers, tumblers and musicians - the ancestors of today's travelling showmen. As time went on, the trading aspect of the fair waned, and entertainment became their primary purpose. The shows and rides provided became more and more sophisticated as new technology - steam power, moving pictures - became available. Eventually, rides took over as the main attraction, as they are today.[13]

7. Graham Downie sums up the history of travelling fairs as follows:

    "The story of the travelling fair is one of continuing evolution. Novelty, the showman's stock-in-trade, is the vital element in maintaining the public's custom. Fairs may have changed over the years in response to change and innovation, but their purpose remains the same: to provide the fairgoer with a form of entertainment that is readily accessible, unpretentious, exciting and uninhibited.

    "During the course of the 20th century the fair has had to withstand competition from new forms of mass entertainment: the cinema (which it spawned); television; and latterly, the advent of video games. The fact that the fair has withstood this competition and managed to come up with fresh attractions is the result of more than just an innate capacity for survival. Even today the fair still retains its age-old appeal: an opportunity for a brief escape from the daily toil into a seemingly carefree world of simple pleasure."

He concludes:

    "But despite this obvious popularity (or perhaps because of it) the travelling fair is an undervalued aspect of our cultural life. This situation is in distinct contrast to countries such as France and Germany where the fair has a status that commands the respect of the authorities."[14]

Travelling Fairs - the Good News

8. The best evidence for the pleasure that travelling fairs give could be found in what we saw at Kirkcaldy Links Market Fair: thousands of people, young and old, family groups, and throngs of teenagers all out enjoying themselves, in a totally friendly, happy environment. It was emphasised by the Councillors, the local Police, and individuals to whom we spoke just how popular the Fair was. A local taxi driver enthused at the prospect of taking his children to the fair on the Friday.[15] Similarly, in written evidence to the Sub-committee, Big Time Events Ltd painted a picture of the enthusiastic response to the Millennium Fair in the Mall, which they organised,[16] while George Scarrott, an operator of rather smaller funfairs in the South-west, indicated both in oral evidence and in his written evidence the enthusiasm his fairs meet with in Wiltshire. He supplied letters from Stratton St Margaret, Grove, Wrought, and Quenington Parish Councils, Wootton Bassett Town Council, and a variety of other organisations, all praising his fairs and expressing their wish that he should continue to return with his fair.[17] Other evidence also points to the continued popularity of travelling fairs. Local authorities such as Liverpool City Council pointed out that, "Funfairs remain a popular attraction in the city",[18] a point echoed by the London Borough of Newham, who told us, "On the whole the enjoyment fairs give far outweighs inconvenience caused."[19] Further testimony to their popularity was the hiring of fairs as hospitality events,[20] and the way Town Centre Managers were inviting fairs and fairground equipment into town centres to revitalise shopping areas, something many European cities have long been doing.[21]

9. In addition to giving immense pleasure, many traditional fairs, both large and small, help to give a sense of place and a historic perspective to a community. Towns like Nottingham with its Goose Fair, or Hull with its Charter fair, or Lichfield with its Shrovetide Fair have the chance to develop local pride and identity through such events.

10. Even more important for many communities is the economic benefit from travelling fairs. At Kirkcaldy, the police estimated that the Links Market Fair attracts up to 40,000 people per day, with coach trips being organised from surrounding villages - and as well as visiting the fair people also spend time and money in the town. In addition, the presence of around 150 showpeople's families in the town for ten days will also contribute significantly to the local economy. John Biddall, a London showman, makes this point when he talks about the problems in Islington. He suggests that, if the site is lost, the local community will lose the spending power of 90 showpeople, which he estimates at around £900 per day.[22]

11. For many of our witnesses, however, the value of travelling fairs lay not in any historic or economic contribution they might make to the country or to the town or village in which it is held, but simply in the experience of the fair itself. Paul Needham sums this up best in his written evidence, as he tries to answer the question of the continued value of historic travelling fairs. "My first thoughts are of surprise [that] the question would need to be asked at all," he says,

    "but perhaps it is because we've grown up and have forgotten ... Come into the town centre on a grey cold February day and witness the transformation the fair brings with its vivid colours and flashing lights. The smell of hot dogs, candyfloss and toffee apples. The ground shudders with the movement of the rides and the air's alive with music and laughter. You know it won't be there forever but after 10 days it starts to feel part of the town, like it's always been there and you almost can't remember what the streets looked like before, but come the dawn and it's gone, just marks on the ground."[23]

12. We totally reject the view that Travelling Fairs have had their day. We recognise that, well run, they can give immense pleasure. It is a foolish local authority which does not do all it can to encourage the staging of traditional travelling fairs.

Travelling Fairs - the Bad News

13. It is clear that there are complaints about travelling fairs. Problems complained of include noise and light pollution; the nuisance of drunken youths urinating or vomiting in areas close to the fairground site; 'rowdyism'; and a popular belief that fairs encourage crime. The incidence of such complaints, however, needs to be put into perspective. Liverpool City Council, for example, which hosted 12 funfairs last year, told us that they had received just five letters of complaint and eight telephone calls in that time.[24] They and other Councils appear to receive more opposition to proposed new fairground sites than they do to existing sites. This implies that people who know what a fair entails are more tolerant than people who only imagine the possible problems.

14. Nevertheless, the fact that such complaints occur merited some investigation of their validity. We wrote to a small number of Chief Constables to ask whether there was any evidence that crime was associated with funfairs. None of the responses that we received indicated that there was any evidence that travelling fairs increased crime.[25]

15. It is clear that rowdyism can be a problem. However, the memorandum we received from Irvin Leisure, which was later expanded on in oral evidence, showed how at Mile End in East London, with skilful management between the organisers, police, local authority, and local residents groups, even very difficult problems were overcome.[26] Obviously this was a tribute to local people and the organisers, but it demonstrates what is possible given the necessary cooperation between the relevant parties. Similarly, cooperation between the Council, emergency services, local residents and showpeople at Kirkcaldy had ensured the smooth running of one of the largest funfairs in the UK.[27]

16. Drunkenness, equally, does not go well with funfairs. It can lead to rowdyism, it increases problems with public toilets, it leads to sickness (both in the street and on rides), and, given the nature of many of the rides, it can be dangerous. At Kirkcaldy, we saw absolutely no problems with drunkenness, and it was confirmed and emphasised by the police at all levels, from the senior officers whom we met at the Town House to the officers on the ground whom we met whilst touring the Fair, that the problem had been largely eliminated. The solution was simple: in Fife, as in most of Scotland, there is a prohibition on drinking in the streets. This prohibition has many advantages throughout the year, but has had a particularly beneficial effect in eliminating some of the problems which used to occur at the time of the Fair.[28]

17. Finally, there is likely to be noise, and bright lights, if a funfair is to be successful. However, at well run fairs these difficulties can be minimised by ensuring that the fair closes at a reasonable hour, and that careful thought is given by those planning and organising the fair to the siting of the various rides and other attractions.

18. All the problems of nuisance associated with funfairs can be overcome. In particular, we draw attention to the evidence submitted by Irvin Leisure regarding the Mile End Park funfair. "We believe that the imagination and positive attitude of officials and councillors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets over the years has been a model that other authorities could well follow, as they have met the desires of their residents at a time when it may have been easier to simple cancel the Funfair," they wrote. "We greatly appreciate their work, thank them for this, and look forward to a future of working together."[29] We found the same views expressed at Kirkcaldy, where the problems experienced by local residents had been overcome through good liaison between all those with an interest in the smooth running of the Fair.[30]

19. If the problems of nuisance associated with funfairs are to be overcome, good cooperation is vital. In some instances this will involve formal liaison committees, in others they may be informal. However, in all cases residents, visitors to the fair, and showpeople alike must recognise the need for co-operation and common sense and the desire to maintain a valuable tradition.

Sites

20. In order to be successful, funfairs require not only the cooperation of all concerned but also the requisite physical space in which to operate. We heard a number of complaints about traditional funfair sites, particularly in town centres, being lost through redevelopment.[31] We recognise that, occasionally, this is inevitable. However, it ought to be the exception rather than the rule. In most cities, towns, and villages, a central space for events is very important, whether it be a town square, a village green or a traditional market place. Many of those without such spaces are today busily creating them: we recently saw one being created in Leeds, for example.[32]

21. Consideration should be given when the creation or redevelopment of these central areas is undertaken to the needs of funfair operators. The Amusement Catering Equipment Society, for example, make the point in their evidence that "many places have been re-paved with concrete paving that is not strong enough to take the weight of the vehicles we use, so preventing us from using that site again. At the time of development, it would not be too expensive to use heavier paving ... [whereas] a retrospective re-surfacing could be quite beyond normal refurbishing costs."[33] Such heavier paving is often also more attractive. Other witnesses referred to the problems of street furniture which blocks access to the square or leaves insufficient room for fairground equipment.[34]

22. Experience in European cities such as Strasbourg shows that such central areas can be laid out with moveable planters containing even quite large trees so that fairs can be accommodated; but when large events are not taking place the squares do not look empty and barren. It seemed particularly sad that so many English town and cities have not followed this example, but have tried to banish fairs to out-of-the-way parts of towns in the expectation that they will fail and the town be rid of a problem. Some local authorities appear often not to pay sufficient heed either to the tradition associated with historic fairground sites or to the need for funfairs to be easily accessible to the residents of a locality.[35] Even a charter fair, whose existence is governed by legislation,[36] enjoys no protection against the local authority which wishes to move it away from its historic site in the middle of a town.

23. Nick Raynsford, Minister for Planning, was very clear in his oral evidence that the new Planning Policy Guidance Note 17, on Sport and Recreation, would repeat the advice given in the existing Note and remind Councils of their duty to include in their town plans public open space for events such as fairs.[37] We are very strongly in favour of an urban renaissance. No large community ought to be without a central focus for public entertainment, a place where events such as funfairs can be held. Villages, towns and cities with such spaces ought to ensure they are designed to make holding funfairs easy, with good access to services such as water and electricity, while those which do not have such areas ought to be striving to get them, as recommended in the current Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (PPG17). Further, we recommend that the revised PPG 17 make specific reference to the value of historic travelling fairs and the role which they can play in the regeneration of town centres. Cardiff is one example of where this has happened.[38] A lesson for all local authorities can be drawn from the Millennium Fair held in the Mall. If a successful funfair can be organised there, then it ought to be possible to organise one in most places.

Standards

24. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Construction set out in his memorandum exactly how standards are regulated for fairgrounds, and who is responsible for enforcing the regulations.[39] We were very pleased that we received no complaints about health and safety issues, nor about food safety. The memorandum noted:

    "Health and Safety in the amusement industry has been strongly supported by the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain, the Society of Independent Roundabout Proprietors, the Amusement Catering Equipment Society and the Association of Independent Showmen, the main societies which cover travelling showmen ... The number of fairground and amusement park safety incidents remains very low despite the increased length of the travelling season, the increase in the number of rides and the large increase in the number of amusement parks."[40]

Everyone seems to recognise how much the industry has to lose from any bad publicity surrounding safety. Through the Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks Joint Advisory Committee (FJAC), co-operation between those organisations representing travelling showpeople and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been very close. There is in place an agreed system of steps and checks which ensure the health and safety of fairground attractions from design to disposal, and this system appears to be working very successfully. Similarly, in spite of the problems of providing food from mobile vans, we received no evidence to suggest that there was any problem with food safety at fairgrounds, and we were very impressed by the standards of hygiene which we saw in the food stalls at Kirkcaldy.[41]

25. Showpeople are also subject to employment laws (particularly in employing young people), street trading regulations, trading standards, in some cases local Council bye-laws, noise regulations, and to the requirements of the fire authorities and police. We received no specific complaints about any of these in our evidence. The Committee did, however, note the difference in value for money between two dodgem rides at Kirkcaldy: the first ride was three-quarters the cost of the second and lasted twice as long. This, it has to be said, was in contrast to most of the rides there, which seemed good value for money.[42]

26. We emphasise the number of different regulatory and organising bodies because we see it as important that all the regulators work as a team, and fully understand the impact of their regulatory actions. At Kirkcaldy, for example, the fire officers, along with the police, were very pleased to explain how the fair had been reorganised to make access for fire engines much easier, reducing the cost to the showmen of having two fire engines on standby. This seemed very sensible. However the effect on the showpeople was that the majority of showmen's living vans had to be parked away from the fair, on very poor land with very little access to the necessary services such as water and electricity. We thought that, given the considerable benefit the town got from the fair, it ought to be able to find better accommodation for the vans.[43]

27. It is very important that all the relevant regulators work together to help make travelling fairs a success. Liaison committees ought to be in place for all large fairs to see that both the public and showpeople get a safe, enjoyable, fair without exploiting anyone, least of all the showpeople. Such committees should include representatives of all parties with an interest in the smooth running of the fair - local Councillors and officials; the emergency services; local residents; and of course the showpeople themselves.

28. We also note the suggestion that there should be better liaison between those representing showpeople, especially the Showmen's Guild, and the Local Government Association, the national representative of local authorities.[44] Such liaison could greatly increase understanding on both sides of the problems which the other faces. We recommend that a regular, perhaps annual, seminar take place bringing together relevant officials and others from the Showmen's Guild and other representatives of travelling showpeople, on the one hand, and the Local Government Association, on the other, to discuss issues relating to travelling fairs. We further recommend that the results of such seminars be made available to all local authorities and lessees of fairground sites.

Winter Quarters

The need for sites for travelling showpeople's depots

29. The term 'winter quarters', referring to the permanent base, or depot, to which travelling showpeople return when not attending a fair, is something of a misnomer. It is a throwback to an era when most travelling shows were held from April to late October, and showpeople would travel continually during that period, returning to their permanent base only during the winter months. For many different reasons, the season is now for most showpeople much more complex, necessitating a base to which they can return to live at any time and where their equipment can be stored, tested, and in some cases adapted. The evidence we received suggested that there is an increasing need for such sites.[45]

30. Our adviser, Dr Vanessa Toulmin, suggests in her evidence that part of the reason for the increase in demand for sites is the way work for showpeople has evolved in recent years.[46] Firstly, there are increased opportunities for many of the stalls and food vans to be set up at more funfairs, and other events such as fêtes or car boot sales, for short periods, in many cases only a few hours; there are also more opportunities for small children's rides to be set up at large events. At such venues showpeople will often not wish to bring accommodation vans. Secondly, many showpeople have more equipment, and will vary the equipment they take to different venues, needing somewhere to leave the other equipment. Thirdly, many of the big fairs, and some of the smaller ones, have lost space for showmen's accommodation, meaning that larger living vans have to be kept elsewhere. As a result, the traditional pattern of showpeople travelling for seven months of the year and returning to base for the remaining five no longer applies: increasingly, showpeople need all-year-round bases where they can leave their equipment when it is not being used; where this equipment can be serviced and safety checked; and to which they can return to live at any time.

31. Three further considerations indicate that more all-year-round sites need to be provided. As with other people, showpeople are on average living longer. As a result, while in the past there were a small number of retired showpeople, today their numbers are increasing, and a new category is developing of people who still do a little work, but do not work all the time. Accommodation therefore needs to be available for these people, who, having travelled all their lives, cannot be expected to move away from their family unit into sheltered accommodation or nursing homes. At the other end of the age scale, the educational needs of travelling showpeople's children have to be taken into account. The Minister's memorandum,[47] and those of Michelle Day-Leonard[48] and the West Midlands Consortium Education Service for Travelling Children,[49] discuss the problems of providing education for showmen's children. All make the point that it is much easier to do so where showpeople have proper permanent accommodation. Finally, it is worth making the point that more and more showpeople simply want the security of owning their own site.

32. Against this background, urban conditions have been changing, especially in the South East of England. Pieces of waste land have been disappearing, land values have escalated, and temporary stopping places for all travellers have been reduced.[50] In particular many local authorities and landowners have put up barriers around vacant sites to keep out those leading an itinerant lifestyle, particularly tinkers.

Circular 22/91

33. The need to ensure that travelling showpeople have a fair chance of finding and obtaining planning permission for accommodation sites was recognised by the then Department of the Environment in 1991 with the issuing of Circular 22/91, which gives advice to local authorities about planning considerations relating to travelling showpeople. In addition to giving general advice about the nature of travelling showpeople's sites and how to treat applications for planning permission for such sites, the Circular advises local planning authorities to consider the needs of travelling showpeople when preparing their development plans, and on all matters likely to affect travelling showpeople to contact the General Secretary of the Showmen's Guild.[51]

34. For a short time after it was issued, Circular 22/91 appeared to improve the situation. For example, David J Loveday, a planning consultant, refers in his evidence to a "honeymoon period 1992-1994", continuing, "the Circular was at the time fresh and much vaunted as the panacea for all the ills of the showmen's world."[52] Ian Baseley, another planning consultant, calls the Circular an "important milestone in recognition within the planning system of the extreme difficulty being faced by Showpeople."[53]

35. In spite of these hopes, however, a great deal of oral and written evidence concentrates on the fact that the Circular does not appear to be working, and that the lack of accommodation for travelling showpeople and their equipment is a major problem for the industry and those working in it.[54] Local planning authorities, we were told, were not dealing fairly with individual showpeople's applications for accommodation sites. Where permission was granted, it was usually only after an appeal, involving considerable additional expenditure on the part of all concerned. Figures supplied by the Planning Inspectorate showed that, of the 15 cases of applications for travelling showpeople's depots which they have considered in the past 3 years, 80% (12) were allowed, and only 20% (3) dismissed. This compares with a current average of 35% of all planning appeals being allowed.[55] Furthermore, very few local authorities were heeding the advice in Circular 22/91 to consider the needs of travelling showpeople or to contact the Showmen's Guild when preparing their development plans. Keith Miller, General Secretary of the Showmen's Guild, reported that he had received only six communications from local authorities regarding development plans in the ten years he had been in post.[56] Of the 23 local authorities who submitted evidence to us, only nine told us that they had any reference to travelling showpeople in their development plan, and none had made any designation for travelling showpeople's accommodation of land which was not already used for that purpose.[57]

36. It is clear to us that many local authorities are not properly considering the needs of travelling showpeople, either during the preparation of their development plans, or when considering individual applications for sites for travelling showpeople's depots. We welcome the undertaking given to us by the Local Government Association to draw the attention of its members to the existence of Circular 22/91, so that it no longer "languishes in the bottom drawer" of planning officers' desks.[58] Local authorities must take their responsibilities towards travelling showpeople, as outlined in Circular 22/91, as seriously as they take their responsibilities to any other sector of society.

The size of the problem

37. It is, however, hard to judge how large a problem, in absolute terms, the lack of sites presents. We thought the Minister was inviting a larger postbag when he told us that he had only three or four letters a year complaining about the lack of sites. Evidence from Janet Montgomery, a planning consultant, suggested that at least 139 showpeople's families were looking for sites in and around the South East.[59] John Groom, a travelling showman, submitted to us a map showing that, in the area covering central London, west Kent and east Surrey, some 35 depots for travelling showpeople had been lost in the last twenty years, leaving only around thirteen remaining.[60] However, none of our witnesses was able to give us a definitive answer to the question of what the scale of the problem was.

38. Local authorities would be greatly aided in the task of ensuring that the planning system takes adequate account of the needs of travelling showpeople if more information was available as a basis on which to assess those needs. We note the complaint of Surrey County Council, for example, that whilst the Showmen's Guild has consistently argued that there is inadequate provision within the county for the needs of travelling showpeople, it has failed to produce any evidence to substantiate this claim.[61] Without clear evidence of the scale of the problems facing showpeople, it is of course considerably more difficult to convince local authorities of the need to grant planning permission for travelling showpeople's depots, or to make provision for such sites in their development plans. If the Showmen's Guild were to carry out, region by region, a survey seeking to establish current unmet needs; future likely needs; and what provisions currently exist for travelling showpeople's accommodation in regional and local development plans, the Committee would then feel it ought to return to this topic before the next election.

Development plans

39. The fundamental problem facing showpeople in trying to obtain planning permission for sites for their winter quarters is that very few development plans make any provision for such sites, despite the advice to do so contained in Circular 22/91. We note that Tameside Council claimed that there was no need to go into such detail, because normally sites suitable for travelling showpeople's accommodation could be found within the Borough as the need arose.[62] However, such an approach negates the whole principle of a plan-led system. As Circular 22/91 recognises, showpeople's sites are unusual in planning terms, as they comprise a combination of residential, storage and maintenance uses.[63] If no provision is made in a development plan for land for such a use, any showman wanting a site starts at a disadvantage, as he has to argue that land designated for some other purpose could be used for winter quarters.

The Green Belt

40. Showpeople face a further problem in finding sites for their accommodation in that the nature of the use to which these sites will be put inevitably means that the most suitable sites tend to be located on the fringe of urban areas, and thus planning applications often come into conflict with policies designed to protect the Green Belt. Circular 22/91 says, "very special circumstances have to be demonstrated to justify allowing development for purposes not normally appropriate in the Green Belts."[64] We fully concur with the principle of the protection of the Green Belt from inappropriate development, as we have reiterated in past Reports. However, if the principle of the Green Belt is to prevent towns from merging into one another, it is important to note that showpeople's depots are rather different in nature from housing development. 'Green field' sites should, wherever possible, be protected from development. Nevertheless we suggest that there are across the country a number of 'brown field' sites, such as that which we saw in Portway, near Bromsgrove, which may lie in officially designated Green Belt land, but which could be developed for travelling showpeople's accommodation without significantly altering the character of the Green Belt.[65] In this context we emphasise once again the importance of the plan-led system. Sites identified by a local planning authority during the production of a development plan should be those which cause the least possible harm to the Green Belt; whereas a site chosen by a showperson is likely to be that which is cheapest and most convenient to him and his family.

41. The problem of convincing a local planning authority to grant permission for a showperson's site is often made worse by prejudice, a point emphasised in much of the evidence we received.[66] Too often travelling showpeople are not perceived by the general public as being any different from other itinerant groups whose lifestyle is in fact very different from that of showpeople. Our visit to Bromsgrove illustrated the problem: an application for the development as a travelling showpeople's depot of a site which it appeared the planning officer felt was quite suitable was vigorously opposed by local councillors. We certainly felt, on visiting the site, that a small, well-run winter quarters site could be easily be accommodated here without changing the nature of the Green Belt. The Showmen's Guild has a model plan for such sites: it appeared that, once the Planning Inspector had granted permission for the site, detailed plans for its layout were not proving a problem.[67]

42. One issue put to us vigorously by local Councillors during our visit to Bromsgrove was that Bromsgrove itself had no tradition of providing sites for travelling showpeople, and that the responsibility should lie chiefly with the neighbouring authority, Redditch, which already contains a number of showpeople's depots.[68] We understand the temptation for local planning authorities to feel that the next door authority ought to make the necessary provision, but we do not regard such 'buck-passing' as an acceptable excuse. We do not wish to suggest that there should be a hard and fast rule that, if an area enjoys travelling fairs, it ought to make a reasonable provision for winter quarters, since this might make it harder to obtain and preserve fairground sites. Nevertheless, the historic number of fairs in an area ought to provide some guidance to a local authority, when drawing up and approving its development plan, about the scale of its responsibility to ensure the necessary accommodation is provided for the people who make those fairs possible.

43. All local authorities should heed the advice contained in Circular 22/91 and ensure that they consider the needs of travelling showpeople when preparing their development plans. We emphasise that the primary responsibility for ensuring that adequate provision is made for the needs of travelling showpeople in a particular area lies with the local planning authority. Nevertheless, it would greatly assist the process if the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain became more vigorously and systematically involved in the drawing up of both regional and local development plans. Where no provision for showpeople's sites is made in the development plan for an area where the Guild has identified a need for such sites, an appeal should be made to the Secretary of State.

Conclusions

44. We consider that the task of overcoming the problems which showpeople are currently experiencing with the planning system would also be greatly assisted by the establishment of a dedicated planning committee of the Guild, similar to that which currently oversees health and safety matters. Such a committee could undertake the tasks of compiling a census of current and future needs for accommodation and of coordinating Guild input into development plans referred to above. It could also assist individual Guild members by giving advice and assistance in obtaining planning permission for sites for travelling showpeople's accommodation.

45. Janet Montgomery, Ian Baseley and David Loveday, all planning consultants, suggested to us that more regular updating of the relevant planning circular, and more cross-referencing to other planning guidance, would help to improve the situation regarding obtaining planning permission for showpeople's depots.[69] However, we do not accept the view that circulars have to be re-issued by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions in order to re-enforce them, nor that cross-referencing to other planning guidance is necessary. Far more important is demonstrating how a well-run authority has interpreted and applied the advice contained within the guidance. Either the Showmen's Guild or those involved regularly with these planning issues should consider publishing a good practice guide for the benefit of local planning authorities. The Showmen's Guild should discuss with the Local Government Association whether it would be appropriate for such a guide to be produced as a joint publication between the two organisations.

The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain

46. On 5th August 1957, The Times referred to the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain in these terms:

47. Some of the problems which the Guild and its regional sections experience stem from the multiple roles which it has to perform. It acts as an entrepreneur negotiating and running a large number of fairs; it acts as a benevolent society, a trade union, and a trade association. At times these different activities are not always compatible. For instance, they may have been the entrepreneurs for a traditional charter fair, while relatively close by a member is negotiating, with difficulty, for a private venue. Similarly, they may be trying to acquire or promote for a member an accommodation site which may be in competition with a site rented out by another member. One has also to question how far the Showmen's Guild ought to be seeking new sites for major fairs and carrying the financial risks associated with it, and how far it should be leaving this kind of business to one or more of its individual members acting as entrepreneurs. The travelling funfair industry is immensely valuable in economic, social and historical terms. The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain has played a key role in ensuring that this is so. Nevertheless, the industry, and those who work in it, continue to face problems. Showpeople ought to think long and hard as to how they can maintain and improve the effectiveness of the Guild, and thereby contribute much more to solving those problems. We also hope that the Guild will act on all the suggestions we make in this Report, and so facilitate greater understanding of their business and way of life at local and regional levels and dispel the prejudice and ignorance which in so many cases prevents travelling showpeople from taking their proper place in modern society.


8  
Written evidence can be found in volume HC284-II, published earlier this session; oral evidence and further written evidence can be found in volume HC 284-III, published with this Report. Back

9  Annex Back

10  Ev vol II p.1 Back

11  ibid Back

12  Ev vol II p.18 Back

13  See ev vol II pp.42-43. Back

14  Ev vol II p.43. A fuller account of the history of travelling fairs can be found in The English Fair, by David Kerr Cameron, Sutton Press, Stroud, 1998; Travelling Fairs, by David Braithwaite, Shire Publications Ltd, Aylesbury, 1976; or on the webpages of the National Fairground Archive, http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/nfa.  Back

15  Annex Back

16  Ev vol II pp.34-38 Back

17  Ev vol III pp.50-51 Back

18  Ev vol II p.60 Back

19  TF 42 Back

20  Q250 Back

21  Q6; ev vol II pp.11, 29, 30.  Back

22  Ev vol II p.9. See also pp.6-7. Back

23  Ev vol II pp.23-24 Back

24  Ev vol II p.60 Back

25  Ev vol III p.45 Back

26  Ev vol II pp.31-34; QQ225, 226 Back

27  Annex Back

28  ibid Back

29  Ev vol II pp.33-34 Back

30  Annex Back

31  Ev vol II pp.3, 4, 6, 11, 16, 20-21, 24-25, 26, 39, 43, 44, 48 &c. Back

32  This visit was undertaken as a part of the Committee's inquiry into the Urban White Paper; we expect to publish the Report of this inquiry shortly. Back

33  Ev vol II p.11 Back

34  Ev vol II pp.7, 15, 18, 26, 43, 47, 53, &c. Back

35  Ev vol II pp.1, 3, 4, 9, 11, 21, 24, 26, 29, 48 &c. Back

36  Metropolitan Fairs Act 1868, Fairs Act 1871 and Fairs Act 1873. Back

37  QQ353-354 Back

38  Q14 Back

39  Ev vol II pp.48-51 Back

40  Ev vol II p.50 Back

41  Annex Back

42  ibid Back

43  ibid Back

44  QQ54, 110-115 Back

45  Ev vol II pp.2, 15, 16, 19, 22, 26, 40, 54, 56; QQ241, 247-248. Back

46  Ev vol II pp.54-55 Back

47  Ev vol II p.50 Back

48  Ev vol II p.7 Back

49  Ev vol II p.46 Back

50  Ev vol II p.7; Q259 Back

51  Joint Circular from the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office, Travelling Showpeople, 1991, (Circular 22/91 (Department of the Environment); Circular 78/91 (Welsh Office)) Back

52  Ev vol II p.13 Back

53  Ev vol II p.56 Back

54  Ev vol II pp.1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 15, 16-17, 19, 22, 23, 25, 27-28, 41, 54, 56-58; QQ48, 51, 241-243, 245-248, 255-257, 288-290, 320; &c. Back

55  Ev vol III p.43 Back

56  Q53 Back

57  See also ev vol II pp.23, 27. Back

58  Q58 Back

59  Ev vol II p.27 Back

60  Ev not printed (John Groom) Back

61  Ev vol II p.5. See also ev vol III pp.65-66. Back

62  Ev vol III p.68 Back

63  op cit, para 4 Back

64  ibid, para 8 Back

65  See Annex Back

66  Ev vol II pp.2, 4, 9, 12, 16, 19-20, 41; QQ45, 47, 234, 249, 290-291 Back

67  Travelling Showpeople's Sites - A Planning Focus: Model Standard Package, available from the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain; see Annex. Back

68  ibid. See also Q282 Back

69  Ev vol II pp.28, 59; QQ300, 301 Back


 
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