Memorandum by Bradford Metropolitan District
Council (TF 59)
RESPONSE TO W MARSHALL'S AMUSEMENTS TESTAMENT
(SANDRA WRIGHT) REGARDING LOST FAIRGROUND SITES IN BRADFORD
Whilst the Council acknowledges that W Marshall's
Amusements have been associated with Bradford and the surrounding
areas for five generations and it is true to say they had sites
compulsory purchased some 25 years ago, the Council considers
it has been generally supportive of the organisation, to the extent
that it has resisted petitions opposed to fairs on the Wibsey
site, in order to preserve use of the site as a fairground and
will continue to do so as long as local community feeling is supportive.
See Appendix A. Committee resolution of the petition to Leisure
Services Sub Committee on 10 December 1990 and copy of a letter
from Sandra Wright to Recreation Services in respect of the matter
on 7 December 1990.[8]
On 4 January 1983 Leisure Services Sub Committee
re-iterated the decision of a previous committee taken on 14 March
1978 not to allow funfairs to operate on Sundays with the exception
of funfairs operating as part of a larger event. This is still
the policy of the Council which was upheld by Leisure Services
Sub Committee on 10 December 1990 after a request by funfair operators
for additional sites to be made available because of losses which
had occurred in the previous 10 years, owing to anti-fair petitions
by local householders, building development and refusals to make
land available by other Council Directorates.
Appendix B, a schedule for fairground and circus
sites was approved at the meeting on 10 December 1990 which shows
14 occasions when a fair can be held during the Summer season,
Easter to the end of October, on the 10 designated sites across
the district.
This does not include attendance at other events
ie Ilkley May Day Carnival, Keighley Gala, Bradford Festival Mela,
Pakistan Independence Day Mela, Bingley Lions Bonfire and the
Royds Festival, all of which events are held in locations owned
by BMDC and managed by the Recreation Service and all of which
have been or are still attended by W Marshall's Amusements and
which are allowed to have funfairs open on Sundays as part of
a larger family event.
The Easter fair in Lister Park has not been
lost, simply suspended, as have all other events in the park whilst
the park undergoes a £3.2 million Heritage Lottery supported
facelift, under the terms of which the site is covered by Design
and Construction regulations which in effect have turned it into
a hard hat worksite precluding public events under Health &
Safety legislation. W Marshall's Amusements have been advised
they will be offered the site for their traditional Easter fair
in 2002, all things being equal, as the Council is supportive
of the showman's traditions, associated with the Showman's Guild,
membership of which is a condition for all our travelling fair
organisers ie James Finnie, Stewart Robinson and W Marshall's
Amusements. Officers of the Council were unable to offer an alternative
site being mindful of existing policy see para one reference to
Sub Committee resolutions on 14 March 1978, 14 January 1983 upheld
on 10 December 1990.
The list of alternative sites visited by W Marshall's
Amusements as follows:
were part of Bradford Council's outdoor free entertainment
policy initiated by the Recreation Service in conjunction with
Bradford Festival and known as the Touring Parks Festival, which
saw funfairs visiting different locations as part of a larger
event on a daily basis over a two week period during the Bradford
Festival. It was felt by all parties that the initiative had run
its course, having been extremely successful and it was withdrawn
some three years ago, the resources being redirected into other
areas of the Outdoor entertainment programme. It was never intended
that the temporary event sites would become permanent annual stand
alone fair sites because of the existing policy and indeed strong
local objections at some of the sites, and all participating parties
were fully aware of the situation at the inception of the initiative.
As far as Centenary Square is concerned, the
manager of the site advises me that W Marshall's Amusements have
had the opportunity to supply a number of small rides to complement
various events in Centenary Square eg Christmas Lights Switch
on and Christmas market.
To her knowledge they have not requested a full
scale fair in the City Centre but if they had they would have
had a number of restrictions in terms of weight/blocking of access
etc.
Last year during the Christmas Lights Switch
on they were allowed to place rides along Broadway and the Tyrlls.
They were told quite clearly where they were allowed to put rides,
however, they ignored some of the rules by placing too large and
heavy rides in certain areas and they also blocked areas for emergency
vehicles.
Council staff were given verbal abuse by some
of the ride operators when they were told to move for safety reasons.
Marshall's management themselves were difficult to get hold of
on the day, which has proved to be a problem in the past.
Although we do not wish to stop fairground operators
bringing rides into the city centre our prime concern is safety.
It is also unacceptable for council staff to deal with abusive
ride operators and with this in mind serious thought will be given
to fair rides at future events in and around Centenary Square.
In conclusion we do not concur with the allegation
that BMDC has treated W Marshall's Amusements unfairly, on the
contrary the Council has been supportive of the organisation to
the extent of increasing by one the number of permanent fair sites,
see recommendation of Sub Committee on 10/12/90 re Bowling Park,
the offer of which has not been taken up for the past two years
because of a shortage of tenants, which may be reflective of the
internal sale of the business within the Marshall family some
three years ago, a move which appears to have had a deleterious
effect on the operational efficiency of the organisation.
Bradford Council's community policy has been
and is likely to continue to be a balanced programme of outdoor
entertainment reflecting the area's cultural diversity, supportive
of traditional travelling fairs within a planned and strategic
framework, whilst refusing to inundate the district with a plethora
of them, to satisfy the wishes of the organisers and the Showman's
Guild.
March 2000
8 Ev. Not printed. For further information please
contact Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Back
| 
