Forum topic: Funfairs and circus in Broomfield Park

So after looking at the Enfield Events website, listening to councillors .....
A childrens fair is planned to arrive yes in the East field by the playground from 6th August to beginning of 3rd Sept 18 = 28 days !!
I have read the parks strategy in detail by now, as the events at Broomfield park are historic there is no need for consultation and that has lead to Broomfield Park due to the increasing events being named as a park for major and large events
. So here it is folks I now will have a fair outside by back door for 28 days !! Pay now for the last ride - hope it will stick in the councillors heads as it does mine.
28 DAYS ... no thank you ! Not in a field beside residents - we deserve some peace and quiet too... Broomfield Ave residents are annoyed and will be opposing
8 main days + 2 extra event days = the bank holiday fairs that is what is in the strategy for larger parks
The circus can go back in the West field and the bank holiday fairs well and good in the East field but put them to the back of the field with extra bins, extra police and all that sustainability talk in the strategy of recycling get these businesses to adhere to it, with their plastic rubbish and turn the bloomin music down, put up your fees to cover it if it is a problem
I support the the PG festival and the events that bring our community together, I will volunteer and I am a member of the friends of Broomfield Park, the park is for the greater good is for the public not just a money making business for the fair owners and Enfield council.
SAY NO TO COGGERS FAIR ON FOR A MONTH August 18 !! Please complain to Enfield Council
Or shall I not use my garden for the whole of August - in the summer holidays - thanks Enfield council

J B, I couldn’t agree more. The last of the summer set to be ruined by the thick end of a month with the fair ruining things. I’ve already written to the Council, but I think a handful of engaged residents is - regrettably - not quite going to cut it. We need a more cohesive and detailed campaign. I know that you, Penny and I have written to the council but perhaps we could also get a petition together and get a face-to-face meeting with the council?

I would think that nigh on everyone whose home is within spitting distance of the park would sign. I’ve spoken this morning with another resident in Broomfield Avenue. Perhaps we four can get together one evening and talk strategy?

Please could someone let me know who at Enfield council or which councillors would be best to write to object to the fair. Thanks

Does anyone know exactly what is planned? If it's the fair that was last in Broomfield Park then that seems unreasonable and I would oppose; however there's some posts on social media that say it's a couple of children's rides. If it was a couple of rides (eg roundabouts) for small children and they operated for limited hours during day than seems more reasonable. It feels like the Council need to be clearer on what the plans are.

Ann - Dan Anderson has generally been pretty good at engaging.

Also, from facebook:

It seems that Councillor Guney Dogan is chiefly responsible as cabinet member for the environment. If you would like to message him your thoughts on a fair lasting most of August his email is cllr.guney.dogan@enfield.gov.uk you could also cc in cllr.mary.maguire@enfield.gov.uk

Following these most recent posts, I'd like to say as follows:

- The Council has not specified what the fair will comprise of, and in a slightly woolly response to many people's complaints have stated (sic) that the fair will be 'A election of children's rides, inflatable slide and play centre and fun fair games and one dodgems'. No specific answers have been given as to the extent of these games or the fairs' overall size, so it is wishful thinking that it will be a small event.

- There is a local movement to stop a 3 week fair in August (which is excessive by anyone's standards) and have it reduced to four days (if at all) as was previously the case. The website is here: http://www.4not24broomfieldpark.co.uk/ Twitter is here: @4not24

There is a meeting in the park open to the entire local community - the Council have been invited too - at 11am on Sunday by the steps to the children's playground.

The park is for the benefit of the community and a 3 week fair is excessive. Please get the word out, email the council and attend on Sunday!

In 2005, the Cogger’s fairground became intolerable for the people surrounding Broomfield Park. Angry at the lack of controls for the fairground and annoyed that no consideration was being given to them, residents amassed to object to this imposition.

After heated meetings an agreement was reached which limited the use of the fairground to two weekends a year, with strict noise control, quiet running generators and rides that were set away from houses. In the intervening years the Council has largely maintained the agreements made.
Until now.

The Council’s Enfield Park Events Strategy 2017- 2022 has created an open season for as many ‘medium’ sized commercial events (such as fairgrounds) to happen across the year.

Within May alone, a very large fairground and separate circus have created more disruption and damage than ever before. Coggers have now made an application to use Broomfield Park playing fields for 24 days in August. Beyond that there may be further events.

This is not only a concern for those surrounding the park. The use of the playing fields for commercial fairgrounds reduces this major public amenity. Space adjacent to the children’s playground is taken up by the rides themselves, but accompanying them is a village of caravans and trucks, enclosed within a barricade of fencing. The proximity of the fair to the children’s playground creates a noisy background for families visiting. The playing fields will no longer be an open space for the enjoyment of all during the school holidays.

Enfield Council is short of cash and it is understandable that parks need to earn their keep, but this sea change in the way our parks are run brings in the princely sum of about £300 per day for the use of a major open space.

Is this worth the loss of amenity to the wider community for the whole of the summer holidays? Are there not other, more community-oriented activities that would add to the sense of place?

Fairgrounds are a useful addition to the mix of activities in a park, but not dominating the whole of a summer holiday. Enfield needs to think again about how a broad brush strategy impacts on local communities and focus not purely on financial gain but on using parks as a focus for community cohesion and well-being.

If you have a view, come along to a meeting 11.00 on Sunday morning at the steps near the children’s playground. If you can’t make it check out the website