Fair hearing
After a Facebook campaign was launched last week suggesting that Appleby Fair is under threat, the public agencies who co-ordinate the event have clarified travel arrangements for the 2010 Horse Fair which takes place from 3-9 June.
Kevin Douglas, Chairman of the Appleby Horse Fair Multi Agency Co-ordinating Group (MASCG) and Chief Executive of Eden District Council said: “A lot of incorrect information has been bandied about concerning Appleby Fair this year. The work of the MASCG is not about closing the Fair down, but returning it to its traditional origins and balancing the needs of Gypsies and Travellers and the settled community and ensuring it is safe and enjoyable for everyone.”
He urged all those travelling to the fair to visit the www.applebyfair.org website which includes the latest information about Appleby Fair including all the temporary stopping places in Eden and South Lakeland.
Common purpose: Kevin Douglas (far left) and fair organiser Billy Welch (far right) are working together to manage the fair
Traveller and Gypsy spokesperson for Appleby Fair, Billy Welch, said: “The MASCG is working very hard to preserve, protect and improve the Fair. It isn’t just about Gypsies and Travellers it also about the settled community. The large majority of the settled community have no problems with Appleby Fair and think it is a great event. Unfortunately a small minority of Gypsies and Travellers tend to use the Fair as an excuse to stop anywhere for up to two months before the Fair starts and a lot of these people cause problems. This is unfair on the people of Cumbria and the surrounding areas.
“The MASCG provides toilets, skips and stopping places in sensible areas for people travelling both to and from Appleby Fair. I attend all the meetings about the Fair and if the rest of the Gypsy and Traveller community could see how passionate the MASCG are about preserving the Fair, they would ignore all of these rumours which are going about. The measures being introduced are common sense, but there will be the odd occasion when someone has a genuine complaint and if so let me know. I have 100% confidence in the MASCG and will continue to be a part of it and monitor what is being done. There is no hidden agenda to end Appleby Fair, these rumours are complete nonsense.”
The MASCG says road traffic restrictions have been amended this year as a direct result of public feedback after a number of significant incidents involving people travelling through South Cumbria to Appleby Fair between 9 May and 10 June last year. The MASCG stated that the restrictions only applied to areas where there were problems - but do not apply to all verges or temporary stopping places.
Traveller representative on the MASCG, Bill Lloyd said: “Appleby Fair is the most important event of the year for Gypsies and Travellers, but unless people behave reasonably, it can cause friction between travellers and local residents. The public agencies have worked very hard over the past three years to solve some of these problems, and I believe that they now demonstrate more respect for the Gypsy Traveller community than for many years. The provision of toilets, rubbish skips and a four acre field full of grass next to the Sedbergh verges has never happened before, and it is something I would not have believed possible only a few years ago. I think it is a positive move, and I hope it works, so I would ask people to spread the word that it is available, and that it is free of charge.
“I realise that the Sedbergh verges and Haunted House lay-by have been used as stopping places on the road to Appleby Fair for many generations, I have had some great times there myself, - and I regret that the roadside is now closed to motor vehicles, but the world has changed, and 68 police callouts to one stretch of road is also an unprecedented change. It is out of order, and as usual the law-abiding majority must pay the price for the actions of a few idiots, but at least a new site has been provided with much better facilities.
“I don’t like it, but I accept it. I ask all Gypsies and Travellers who use the Sedbergh verges to look at the Horse Fair's dedicated website and pass the information on to those who do not use the Internet, so that the new facilities are used and respected. I believe that if there is respect on both sides, there is no reason the Fair should not survive for another five hundred years.”
The main licensed encampments for Appleby Fair will not open until 4am on Thursday 3 June 2010 and encampments in a 1.5 mile zone around Appleby will not be permitted ahead of this time.