Memorandum by The Showmen's Guild of Great
Britain, Norwich & Eastern Counties Section (TF 04)
THE CONTINUED
VALUE OF
HISTORIC TRAVELLING
FAIRS
Many councils in the country are no longer run
by people who value the traditions of their area and do not take
seriously the loss of sites on which fairs have been held for
centuries. Most areas of the country only experience the unique
entertainment which a funfair provides on a few occasions during
the year and it is not only important to the showmen to see these
fairs continue but also important for the people of this country
to continue with the traditions that their forefathers enjoyed.
THE PROVISION
OF SITES
FOR TRAVELLING
FAIRS
As stated above, many councils do not take seriously
the loss of traditional fair sites through redevelopment, for
example, nor do they seem to appreciate the need for an alternative
site of similar qualities to that lost. A good example of this
is the current situation in Norwich where the two fairs held at
Christmas and Easter, having lost their hardstanding sites since
the redevelopment of the Castle Mall shopping development, have
recently been offered the use of a green park in the city as the
home for the fairs which, especially at Christmas-time, is quite
unsuitable and, for the first time in living memory at least,
no fair was held over Christmas last year.
THE PARTICULAR
NEEDS OF
TRAVELLING SHOWPEOPLE
IN CARRYING
OUT THEIR
TRADE
Showmen not only need sites for their fairs
but also sites, especially during the winter months, where they
can pull off the roads and park their trailers and equipment.
At this time of the year they can then carry out the vital maintenance
of their equipment in the interests of public safety which has
become a serious issue in recent years.
THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF EXISTING
PLANNING GUIDANCE
ON THE
PROVISION OF
QUARTERS ETC
At present, the only reference available to
councils is Circular 22/91 which, in some cases, appears to be
ignored by them. This document needs an urgent review in order
to bring it up-to-date and it should be reissued to councils but
with more "teeth" than at present.
In this section, responses to planning applications
for showmen's winter quarters has mostly been poor with the majority
of applicants having to go to an appeal in order for them to be
approved. As an example of a council's lack of understanding,
an application made to the South Cambridgeshire District Council
by a showman for his own site resulted in a letter from the council
suggesting that as it was no longer a statutory duty for local
authorities to provide caravan sites they suggested that the showmen
should seek to occupy vacancies on their various caravan sites
throughout the area!
WHETHER ANY
ACTION IS
NECESSARY TO
ENSURE THAT
APPROPRIATE REGARD
ETC
Several years ago all local authorities had
to review the planning policies for their area and all were written
to by this section seeking an entry in their policies which allowed
suitable areas to be earmarked for the use of travelling showmen.
From the policy documents we have seen this appears to have been
done and this aspect of your inquiry seems to be covered satisfactorily
in our area. What is needed, however, is a more compassionate
understanding of the showmen's needs where parking sites are concerned.
February 2000
|