The Community Meeting helped to fund the Clarendon Park Christmas Fair which took place in December. This will be a short item giving some feedback on how the event went.
Minutes:
Councillor Kitterick gave the meeting feedback on Clarendon Park Christmas Fair. He covered the following points:-
- The Fair came about as a result of discussions at these meetings where a resident suggested it was a good idea to talk to your neighbours.
- It was originally planned to be an autumn fair, but became a Christmas fair.
- It was thought that 2000 people attended the fair, which was much higher than expected.
- It was reported that the day was a financial success for stallholders and shopowners.
- There were some comments about the lack of hot food, which could be considered for a future fair, but it would mean a range of new regulations would have to be considered.
- It required £3000 from this meeting’s budget to fund the day, but this was £250 under budget. £1800 of this was for road closures.
A number of issues were considered as part of the discussion
General Feedback
There was a strong general feeling that the fair was an excellent local event which was widely appreciated.
Holding two fairs a year, an additional one in the spring
Some were opposed to the idea of holding another fair in the year, feeling it would dilute the special nature of the Christmas fair, the success of which should be consolidated.
Others however felt that another fair in the spring would be welcomed and that it could have a completely different character.
It was noted that holding an additional fair would increase costs, therefore the charge for a stall could be increased.
There was general support for holding a spring fair. It was suggested that it take place on the Sunday prior to spring bank holiday.
Extending the size of the fair / holding it on Victoria Park
It was generally felt that a big part of the atmosphere was created by holding the fair on the street and this would be lost if the fair was held on Victoria Park.
There were differing viewpoints on whether to extend the size of the fair, some felt that keep it the same size would help retain it’s special character. There were also opinions that businesses and residents on Clarendon Park Road felt excluded and to extend the fair would benefit them as well. There would also be further issues with resident’s access to their homes if it was extended. The costs of the fair would also increase if it was extended.
It was felt that this issue would need further discussion.
The character of the fair
There was a pretty much unanimous view that efforts should be made to ensure that the fair was focussed around local people and local businesses running the stalls.
There was some discussion about restricting the types of stalls, ie arts / crafts and types of food.
Other comments / suggestions
It was suggested that holding the Christmas fair earlier in the year could avoid bad weather.
There was a need to consider resident’s access requirements at future fairs.
Dawson Smith from the City Council’s Festivals and Events Team agreed to let residents have his photos for the Facebook page set up for the fair.
This issue would be discussed again at the March meeting of the Community Meeting.