The suggestion that Appleby Horse Fair could be run as an organised and self-funded event has been rejected by authorities.
The idea was put forward by Appleby Fair Communities Group — a cohort of local residents set up in the wake of the 2021 fair. It was discussed at the annual post-fair meeting held in September by the Multi-Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group (MASCG) where heads of authorities involved in managing the safety of the fair answered residents’ questions.
However, in meetings of a MASCG sub-group held in November and December to consider the idea, minutes recorded: “It was agreed to recommend to MASCG that the questions had been investigated and answered, and that the group had reached journey’s end on this.”
On the sub-group were members of Appleby Town Council, Cumbria police, Eden District Council, Cumbria County Council, both elected MASCG representatives Karen Greenwood and Phil Dew, along with members of the Romany traveller community.
Minutes showed the group considered issues of legal liability, insurance, officer capacity and cost to the parish precept, along with the running of other events nationwide.
It was stated Appleby’s Fair Hill itself is public open space, and cannot be closed off to the public — or ticketed — because of the terms under which it was gifted to Appleby Town Council.
Suggestions that an event management group could run the fair were discussed and so were procedures for Cumbria police working with event companies who run local events such as Kendal Calling and the WannaSee festival.
Appleby Town Council clerk Karen Lowthrop said she had informal discussions with three event management companies — both local and international — who had experience of large gatherings and/or horse events, with a view to one taking on Appleby New Fair, but none expressed any interest in doing so.
A paper was also submitted by county and district councillor and historian Andrew Connell summarising the attempts over the previous 20 years to see if the fair could be made an organised, ticketed event.
Issues were addressed relating to liability and insurance, and the very nature of the gathering and its purpose were all considered. It was agreed that for all of these reasons it was unrealistic and impracticable to pursue the idea that the fair could be run in such a different way.
In the wake of the refusal to take the group’s suggestion forward, Appleby Fair Communities Group have now lodged a complaint with Eden District Council about its environmental health department’s lack of communication in response to their concerns about the fair.
The group raised concerns regarding a number of health and safety issues, including the spacing of caravans on Fair Hill not being policed.
They said that not only has this got the potential to result in a tragedy in the event of something like a fire, but is also unfair to local businesses who have to abide by the rules, making it an “unfair playing field”.
The group said they were advised to take their concerns back to MASCG, but that they had raised the issues with Eden’s environmental health team as they consider these officials are responsible for ensuring MASCG complies and is held to account if they do not abide by the rules.
The group claimed it faced excessive delays in getting a response and has complained about this and also poor communication generally.
In response, Lee Clark, Eden District Council’s deputy chief executive and chairman of MASCG, said: “Appleby Horse Fair Communities Group’s health and safety concerns have been raised by Eden District Council’s environmental health department for consideration by the MASCG.
“With regards to the group’s suggestion that the fair become a managed event, Appleby horse fair is an historical cultural gathering of the gypsy and traveller communities.
“As a multi-agency organisation designed to ensure the safety of visitors and residents during the fair, MASCG is not responsible for its organisation, or management, and is not in a position to implement or impose organisational restrictions such as ticketing.
“Further information on this position will be included in the annual evaluation report for the fair which we aim to publish in February.”
However, the residents’ group was unimpressed by this, saying they had put many questions and raised numerous health and safety concerns that should have been answered by the environmental health department at Eden Council, not MASCG.
A group member said: “We feel it’s clear there are many issues that MASCG are not addressing and rules that are being ignored.
“Eden District Council should ensure these health and safety and environmental health issues are resolved, with measures put in place to ensure laws and rules are followed. After all, is that not their role?
“It feels like this is a case of the tail wagging the dog and it’s clear that the event is out of control, which is very worrying.”