Memorandum by Birmingham City Council,
Department of Leisure and Community Services (TF 52)
By way of introduction, Birmingham has a long
tradition of providing Council owned sites, mainly parks, on which
proprietors of travelling fun-fairs can operate.
Funfairs in Birmingham's Parks fall into three
main categories:
(i) Stand Alone Funfairs;
(ii) Funfairs associated with Community Events;
(iii) Funfairs associated with major events.
(I) STAND
ALONE FUNFAIRS
It is the Council's experience that the allocation
of sites for funfairs to operate on can sometimes cause considerable
opposition from people who live in close proximity to the sites
selected, and therefore over the years a very robust process has
been developed to ensure all relevant views are canvassed and
presented to the Committee concerned as part of the decision making
process. In the case of each site, the views of Ward Councillors,
local community groups and residents associations, the local police
and the funfair operators are sought, and included as appendices
of the main site designation report.
The Leisure, Culture and Tourism Advisory Team
(formerly the Leisure Services Committee) of Birmingham City Council
are very mindful that campaigns against the staging of funfairs
can be orchestrated by people living close to a proposed site
which can be very vociferous and emotive, whilst not necessarily
reflecting the wider views of the community served by the park
concerned. Often issues of noise, anti-social behaviour by young
people and a perceived increase in local crime are cited as reasons
for not staging a funfair. In reality, in the majority of cases,
these fears are not supported by the facts, and in most cases
the Committee will facilitate local meetings between the funfair
proprietor, Ward Councillors, Council Officers and the local police,
and those opposed to the funfair, to air the concerns and come
forward with an agreed set of conditions for the operation of
the funfair that meets, as far as practicably possible, the concerns
expressed. These conditions often refer to siting of the fair,
hours of operation, noise levels (especially amplified music),
policing and security, site re-instatement and close down arrangements.
These conditions are agreed with the funfair
operators and monitored by locally based Council Officers. It
is our experience that in the majority of cases this process works
very well.
The funfair proprietors themselves also understand
they have an "image" problem with some sections of the
community, and have in recent years become involved in a range
of community based initiatives to address this issue. These have
included work with local schools, special rates and sessions for
deprived sections of the community and people with disabilities,
and support for local community based initiatives. There is no
doubt that some of these actions have helped to build bridges
into local communities and reduce opposition to funfairs.
Interestingly one of the funfair proprietors
operating mainly in Birmingham has recently been successful in
promoting and securing funding for a "Gateway to Learning"
outreach programme in conjunction with the City Council and a
local college to engage local young people attending his funfair
in pursuing opportunities for further education and training.
This innovative scheme is scheduled to start this year.
(II) FUNFAIRS
ASSOCIATED WITH
COMMUNITY EVENTS
The "Urban Villages" that make up
Birmingham have a very strong tradition of staging community events
in their local parks, especially local carnivals, religious celebrations
and fun days. The Council allows small funfairs to operate as
part of these events, with the income from the funfair rental
being used to support the events and reduce the dependence on
the Council's own budget.
The fairs usually operate on the days of the
events, and are allowed up to three additional days' operation
for each event. Again, the funfair operators often become involved
in the wider organisation of these events. It is the Council's
experience that this arrangement works very satisfactorily.
(III) FUNFAIRS
ASSOCIATED WITH
MAJOR EVENTS
The City Council has a history of staging major
events for its citizens ranging from the Lord Mayors Show to annual
bonfire carnivals. Many of these major events include a substantial
funfair, with the fairs being much larger than those associated
with community events or the traditional "travelling fair".
They tend to have a larger number of "white knuckle"
rides, and usually operate only as part of the event itself. The
site rentals are usually used to offset the overall event staging
costs.
CONCLUSION
In the course of a year some 50-60 funfairs
are staged in Birmingham in the various categories described.
There has been, and continues to be limited opposition to funfairs
in the City's parks, especially if an incident relating to unruly
behaviour occurs at one of the fairs.
Whilst the negative elements of funfairs tend
to feature in the media headlines, the Council feels that funfairs
do have a role in a modern, multi-cultural urban environment.
They provide a useful income source for the
Council, and assist in meeting the cost of staging both community
and major events.
They also have an important role in terms of
low income households and social exclusion. There are inevitably
those in large urban cities who have extremely limited incomes,
who cannot afford to go on holiday, or even visit major theme
parks like Alton Towers or Drayton Manor Park. For these groups,
especially children and young people, the local funfair can represent
a real leisure opportunity at an affordable price that they would
be deprived of if funfairs did not happen.
February 2000
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