In pictures: Appleby Horse Fair 2022 – the aftermath

[Chippy_Tea]

Four pictures from the website below showing how they left the site, in the many videos i have watched they moan about the negative opinion many have of travellers then they do themselves no favours by treating the town they visit every year like a dump.

The bloke with the rake might be there a while


https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/06/15/91599/#!

 

[Jim Brewster]

Unfortunately it'll all blow away if its not cleared up, otherwise I'd say leave it all there for them when they arrive next year

 

[Clint]

Block the entrance /exit with concrete blocks and hand out the bin bags...

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Billy Welsh is the head gypsy and says in the video its a sacred place its a shame they don't treat it that way.

 

[borischarlton]

I don't see it as any different to any other festival, have you seen the devastation left after Glasto / Reading etc. It is shameful.

 

[Goldthirst]

Assuming they paid for using the site, I would add the clean up costs to next year's event. If they didn't, then use Clint's suggestion.

 

[aamcle]

Same as any other festival

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't see it as any different to any other festival, have you seen the devastation left after Glasto / Reading etc. It is shameful.

The difference for me is they know plenty of people in Appleby would be more than happy if they never returned, they moan about people saying they are scum and tell the guy in the video they are nothing like how the general public see them then instead of treating their holy land as you would expect and proving their haters wrong they leave it like that.

You pay to go to a festival you go to see the band's why would the land owner expect the crowd at a gig to clean up after themselves.

 

[Dutto]

You pay to go to a festival you go to see the band's why would the land owner expect the crowd at a gig to clean up after themselves.

There’s more than one way to pay for your “fun” and I bet that the shops and pubs in Appleby don’t want the gypsies to “leave and never return”!
Appleby is a God forsaken place and I presume that the influx of people and the money they bring is more than welcome!
To give anyone who hasn’t been there an idea of what it is like, “Tebay Services” on the M6 was welcomed on the basis that it brought jobs to the area!
:hat:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Appleby horse fair: 'You don't feel safe, you feel threatened'

Residents of Appleby are fearing for their safety ahead of the annual horse fair.

Big changes have been made for the 2019 fair which has left a number of people who live in the town worried and fearing for their safety.

Plans to move the route the horses and buggies take to the residential street of Garth Heads Road have left some people in the town worried that they will not be able to get in and out of their homes.
The changes are designed to improve safety and reduce the amount of passing traffic along The Sands, but one resident who didn’t want to be named said: “We can’t get out to walk our dogs we just get hassle and abuse.
"I think the fair is too big it shouldn’t be here it’s not like it used to be 20 years ago. It was lovely you could walk round everyone was friendly.
"It's just got too big for the area.
"There is no respect for locals who are just trying to get on and you don’t feel safe you feel threatened."
All the agency's involved are making changes to help make the fair safe for all but the resident added: "They need to take the horses back up the hill shut The Sands off.

"At one time they (The Gypsy and Traveller Community) just came down to water the horses and went back on the hill. That’s where the fair was but now they take over."
Billy Welch, known as the Shera Rom or Head Gypsy has been involved with the fair all his life and made a promise to his father to preserve it he said: "When it was decided to change the route, I said yes. It's not final. We're going to try it and see how it works but we can go back to how it was last year.
"Every year we tweak things and try things to see if it works better. We thought it would be safer for pedestrians in the town if it causes a problem we can re-open it.
"It' trial and error, it's how we improve things. It's the same in both communities both have worries and we're trying to fix them."
The Appleby Horse Fair Multi-Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group has been listening to feedback from residents following last years fair. A spokesman said: "The first priority for all MASCG members is keeping people safe.
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"In line with this priority and concerns raised about the safety of pedestrians, the MASCG is putting in place measures designed to improve pedestrian safety on The Sands.
"The pedestrian crossing at The Sands is to be guarded with barriers on both sides of the carriageway, keeping the pedestrian crossing free for pedestrians and removing the potential for horses travelling over the crossing to collide with people.
"A diversion is to be put in place, taking traffic from Battlebarrow to Bongate along Garth Heads Road.
"This will be the first year these measures have been put in place and they will be monitored closely by the different agencies."
"We continue to encourage anyone who experiences an offence to contact the police. We have a dedicated Appleby-specific 101 reporting line. Police cannot be expected to tackle issues if they are not reported."

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/17671898.appleby-horse-fair-you-dont-feel-safe-feel-threatened/

 

[mickthetrick]

that place is cleaned up every year after the fair. i went for years and part of your fee went to the clean up.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

i went for years and part of your fee went to the clean up.

What fee is that i thought it was free.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Appleby is a God forsaken place ....

I don't understand this, Appleby is a beautiful small town in a very attractive part of the country

To give anyone who hasn’t been there an idea of what it is like, “Tebay Services” on the M6 was welcomed on the basis that it brought jobs to the area!
:hat:

You've lost me here, too. Tebay services is easily the most agreeable services, with the best food, I've been to. And it does provide local jobs.

 

[mickthetrick]

What fee is that i thought it was free.

thats what you pay at the gate at top to stay on the fair with caravan. stalls are expencive to pitch but must be worth their coin as you see them year on year
horse drawn are free

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Appleby Horse Fair: People demand vote about its future​

An Appleby group is asking that a vote be held about the future of the town’s annual horse fair.

Appleby Fair Communities Group say town residents and the surrounding area feel ignored by councils.

They want a referendum in Appleby and one in Kirkby Stephen to answer if the event’s status should change and how it should be funded.

Currently, the fair is classed as a gathering and as such is not organised.

This means that it does not have designated people who are held responsible for the fair.

Police and other costs associated with the fair come out of taxpayers’ pockets.

It is overseen by the Appleby Horse Fair Multi-Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group, which involves representatives from the police, councils and the Gypsy and Traveller community.

It called this year’s gathering a success – despite a record number of arrests, fines and weapons seized.

But protestors in Appleby said they were tired of not being listened to – and felt that the fair was not run correctly and was ‘out of control and not safe’.

A mass stand-off between a large group of men, carrying weapons and sticks, was prevented quickly by police on the Saturday of the fair, resulting in two arrests so far.

Appleby Fair Communities Group said: “We don’t want to sit and wait for the incident that will inevitably happen if we continue down this road. The events of the 2022 fair have served as a warning of what could happen.

“We did not want this to escalate to this point but after years of being ignored, any attempt to make life better for the locals were met with resistance, so we have been left with no other alternative.

“We have requested for years that the event is controlled, managed and policed in line with any other event in the country.

“The event states it is a gathering and that there is no organiser, therefore it is not subject to normal health and safety rules events such as Glastonbury must (rightly) adhere to.

“Why wouldn’t our councils want a safe, managed, self-funded event? All we are asking for is a safe, self-funded, managed, controlled event with attendees limited to match the size and facilities of our tiny town.

“There is no way the Cumbrian taxpayer should be forced to pay these costs when the majority do not benefit. We believe more locals are negatively impacted than positively.”

The group, if it gets enough support to call for a referendum, wants a vote on whether it should go ahead on July 7, when the post-fair meeting is held at Appleby Town Hall.

It said the referendum should ask:

1. Should Appleby Horse fair be allowed to continue in the current format as a gathering with no organiser or organising body.

Yes – Appleby Horse Fair should continue in its current format and remain an unorganised gathering.

Or

No – Appleby Horse Fair should become an organised event with an organiser responsible for ensuring safety, manageable numbers, policed in line with the laws of the land (low level crime not ignored) and compliance with legislation.

1. How should Appleby Fair be funded?

Local taxpayer – Appleby Horse Fair should be funded through revenue generated from local tax.

Or

Self-funded – All costs relating to Appleby Horse Fair should be covered by the attendees who come by choice to enjoy the event.

1. Appleby Horse Fair should be suspended until arrangements are made to comply with the wishes of the community.

Yes
No

 

[Dutto]

NIMBY - springs to mind!
:hat:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Passions ran high in Appleby as around 100 members of the public questioned eight officials about oversight of this year’s horse fair.

From the floor of the public hall, a swathe of criticisms were levelled from reports of serious criminality and anti-social behaviour, softly-softly or non-existent policing, to not enough being done to apply the laws and regulations of the land fairly at a meeting last night, July 7.

A businessman reported that just three of 38 local firms benefitted, with the rest amassing estimated losses of £60,000.

A member of the public – branding the event a “sham” – called for an on-the-spot show of hands with just four going up in favour of the fair. However, the meeting chair intervened and said it should be disregarded as unscientific with people afraid to show support.

Senior Cumbria police officers maintained that they are committed to taking views on board and said there had been more enforcement in 2022 than “probably in the last decade” with 28 arrests, with fixed penalty notices going from 58 last year to 139.

The packed house also heard from various representatives of the Multi Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group who pledged to appoint independent experts to oversee a review of the “legalities and practicalities” of the fair remaining an unorganised event.

In calls for more respect, a Gypsy and Traveller representative replied that it was easier said than done and that the majority did not want to be camped on isolated roads but were turned away when trying to book on official sites.


A member of the public said: “Most of the people in Appleby really want the fair to go on and they want the Travellers to be given the opportunity to do that – but not at the expense of the residents who live here, pay their taxes and have it completely destroyed for five days.

“There are good ones and bad ones – and we somehow have to take control and stop them blatantly breaking the law and ignoring all the rules and regulations the rest of us have to follow.”

On the way out a resident was asked what he thought of the event and replied: “Same old, same old.”

https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/07/08/passions-run-high-at-appleby-horse-fair-meeting/

 

[Dutto]

Amazing!

1. The fact that there are at least 108 people in Appleby.
… and …
2. That 100 of them were apparently unaware of the fact that a Horse Fair took place in the village on an annual basis.

:hat: