Unsafe and intimidating — that’s the verdict on Appleby horse fair from residents — who have branded it akin to the “Wild West”.
The verdict follows a month-long “perceptions survey” of more than 500 people, shared with the Herald, ahead of the annual gypsy and traveller gathering next week. Organisers believe it’s the first ever comprehensive assessment of the fair from a local perspective which has taken place in the town for at least 250 years.
Ninety per cent of respondents are calling for it to be professionally organised and 93 per cent believe local taxpayers should not pick up the tab for policing or council clear-up costs,
A total of 89 per cent don’t feel safe, according to the survey, with 84 per cent of business owners saying their income falls.
Improvements have been called for including:
- Self-funded by fairgoers
- Firmer policing
- Less focus on alcohol
The survey concluded: “There is an undertone that the authorities don’t listen to our suggestions, desires or concerns. People don’t believe Multi Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group (MASCG) or their local town council has any desire to change anything. Many feel it’s hopeless and have come to expect they may have to put up with this every year until there is a disaster.”
Mark Jenkinson MP, who is the Conservative Party candidate for Penrith and Solway, also entered the debate and said: “If I am fortunate enough to be elected, I will be listening closely to residents’ concerns. It is disappointing that some of these residents do not feel their voices are being heard by the authorities — and I would urge the police not to let political correctness get in the way of enforcing the law.” The survey was carried out by the Appleby Fair Communities Group, which says it wants an organised event “safe for all” which is “considerate” of the local population.
Last year, it tried to get Eden District Council to give the nod to a parish-wide residents’ poll on the fair, but it was turned down. A communities group spokeswoman said it had not yet received any formal response from MASCG to the survey’s findings. The MASCG is now chaired by Steph Cordon, a Barrow-based council boss in charge of “thriving communities” at the new Westmorland and Furness Council.
MASCG members include Cumbria police, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, the Environment Agency, Highways England, the North West Ambulance Service, and a gypsy and traveller representative, among others.
Asked to respond to the survey, a spokesman for MASCG issued a statement, which described the fair as a “unique historical and cultural occurrence” with “no formal organiser”.
The statement read: “Local authorities including local councils, the police, highways, North West Ambulance Service, the RSPCA and more, are committed to working to make this occurrence as safe as we can for all involved. The MASCG’s principal objective is the preparation, delivery and co-ordination of a multi-agency operational plan to support a safe and enjoyable fair.
“At its core, the MASCG serves a simple purpose — rather than all of the agencies working alone as individuals in response to the fair, the MASCG brings these agencies together to work in co-ordination with one another to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of each agency. The first priority of all agencies working within the MASCG is public safety. A consultation regarding the future for the Appleby horse fair is currently ongoing, which will look at a number of areas raised within the survey including whether there is the potential for the fair to be a ticketed event in future.”
Writing in a 2019 book, his second about the fair, Andrew Connell, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Appleby, pointed out: “If the fair exists 100 years from now, it will, on the evidence of its past, continue to be an unpredictable and volatile occasion, a magnet for controversy and mythology.”
