Goose Fair: Entrance fee plans for historic fair scrapped

Controversial plans for an entrance fee and perimeter fence for a 700-year-old funfair have been scrapped.

Nottingham's Goose Fair, which attracts more than 420,000 visitors over five days, was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month the city council said it was considering the two options so that the fair could go ahead safely this year.

However after backlash from organisers the local authority confirmed the plans were "no longer being considered".

The Showman's Guild of Great Britain for Derby and Notts works with the council to organise the fair each October, which is one of the largest of its kind in the UK.

In July its members rejected the council's proposals saying the fair would go ahead as it always has "or we won't have it at all".

Before the pandemic, an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1646 and the two World Wars were the only times the fair had been cancelled previously.

Nottingham City Council said it had listened to the feedback of Guild members and decided not to go ahead with the plans.

Council Leader, David Mellen said: "We put forward the option of fencing off-site to enable vaccine passport checks, while covering the costs of this and extra security through a small entry charge."

He said this was not "something we would have wanted to do" and it would not have been an "ongoing feature" of Goose Fair.

"Following feedback from Guild members, I can confirm this is no longer being considered," he said.

Mr Mellen said the council would seek advice from the government on the "possible implementation of vaccine passports and what this means for unstructured major events like Goose Fair".

Previously, the chairman of the Showman's Guild, William Percival, said he feared the council would not be able to give up a £1 admission charge in the future if it was introduced.

"That's not what the Goose Fair is about. It's for the people," he said.

The city council said it expects to reach a decision on this year's Goose Fair later this month.

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