‘It’s not Victorian, and it loses too much money’
b10-1618 Victorian Christmas Fair
BUSINESS owners have called for a radical re-think of Bedford’s annual Victorian Fair after council figures showed a mixture of rising costs, falling visitor numbers, and less than one in five stalls being run by local companies.
The Castle Quarter group spoke out after a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request to Bedford Borough Council showed that the cost of the fair increased from £15,300 in 2009 to £45,265 12 months later. The cost of the 2011 event was £30,110.
The number of visitors to the fair also fell last year. 222,859 people are believed to have visited over three days in 2010, but that fell by nearly a third in 2011.
Samantha Price, who runs children’s shoe store Angels And Urchins in St Cuthberts Street, said: “Why has the cost gone up so dramatically for the last two years, and why did footfall drop so dramatically?
“We also need to know that the council is trying to work out the answer to both those questions.
“We’re at a loss as to why closing one road, for three days in 2010 and three more days in 2011, cost a total of £33,000. Was that a good way of spending taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ money?
“It’s such a shame when the council can do such a good job with the River Festival and the Kite Festival, that there seems to be a problem with the Victorian Fair.”
The fair expanded in 2010 when new stall pitches were set up along the High Street, meaning the road was closed to traffic for three days.
However despite the larger number of pitches the proportion of local firms running stalls has remained at around one fifth of the stalls.
Karen Fryc, who runs the children’s furniture and party shop Little Monkey Murals, said: “If you’re going to have a Victorian Fair it should be three things. It should be Victorian, it should help businesses and business people in Bedford, and it should either make money or be good value for money.
“This wasn’t Victorian, and it cost far more money than it used to. And I don’t know why it had businesses from out of town filling 80 per cent of the stalls.”
A spokesman for Bedford Borough Council said: “The Victorian Christmas Fair attracted an additional 40,000 people into Bedford town centre during the crucial Christmas shopping period. The fair also provides an enjoyable, festive family occasion for residents.
“The 2011 fair was the biggest ever, and featured more stalls and more local traders than ever before, while the cost to the council was significantly lower than last year.
“Bedford Borough Council does not believe in cutting Christmas. We believe in supporting local businesses and working alongside them to provide events which attract more visitors to Bedford, while helping local residents to enjoy the town centre.”
What the Freedom Of Information request showed:
Expenditure on the fair by Bedford Borough Council
2007: £15,100
(£8,225 on fair, £6,875 on entertainment)
2008: £14,655
(£8,105 on fair, £6,550 on entertainment)
2009: £15,300
(£8,000 on fair, £7,300 on entertainment)
2010: £45,265
(£9,161 on fair, £6,640 on entertainment, £29,464 on road closure)
2011: £30,110
(£9,800 on fair, £5,810 on entertainment, £14,500 on road closure)
Income to Bedford Borough Council from the fair
2007: £9,050
2008: £8,588
2009: £9,632
2010: £10,450
2011: £11,415
Number of stalls/Number of stalls taken by local companies
2007: 56 / 11
2008: 51 / 9
2009: 56 / 9
2010: 93 / 11
2011: 89 / 17
Number of visitors to the fair
2007: Footfall not counted
2008: Footfall not counted
2009: 103,797 (Friday 41,434, Saturday 46,136, Sunday 16,227)
2010: 222,859 (Friday 91,028, Saturday 82,880, Sunday 48,951)
2011: 163,297 (Friday 37,455, Saturday 77,092, Sunday 48,750)
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Monday 28 May 2012
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