Notes of the Appleby Fair Multi-Agency Strategic Co-ordinating Group held on Monday 20 November 2017 Attendance: Matthew Neal, Eden District Council (Chair) Mark Pannone, Cumbria Constabulary (Vice Chair) Ben Swinson, Cumbria Constabulary Roly Earl, Cumbria Constabulary Andy Millburn, Cumbria Constabulary Emma Brass, Eden District Council Rob Lewis, Cumbria County Council Sarah Griffiths, Eden District Council Adrian Medcalf, Highways England Nick Wright, Cumbria County Council Barry Cooper, Eden District Council Anthony Rooney, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service Simon Rowley, South Lakeland District Council Nigel Butcher, Cumbria County Council Apologies: Neil Graham, Cumbria Constabulary Bill Lloyd, Gypsy and Traveller Representative Billy Welch, Gypsy and Traveller Representative Neil Buck, Eden District Council Robert Docherty, Eden District Council 1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 18 September 2017 These were agreed as true record. Nigel Butcher queried the statement in the minute that he would be the lead for infrastructure/highways. It was agreed that the minute reflects what was stated by Daniel Evans at the meeting of 18 September 2017. It was however agreed that clarification as to who precisely is the designated lead for infrastructure/highways should be provided by the County Council in time for the next meeting of MASCG. 2. Appleby Fair Strategy 2015-2018 It was agreed that this could be considered as a late item. A copy of the current Strategy had been previously circulated. Mark Pannone gave an update about the Strategy. It had been produced in November 2014 to act as an overarching Strategy for the Fairs that took place between 2015 and up to an including 2018. It was agreed that MASCG representatives should consider the document with a view to refreshing it so that it is fit for purpose in time for the 2018 Fair. Amendments to the Strategy would be brought to the next meeting, taking account of any comments from representatives on MASCG. 3. Issues at Melmerby, Alston and Long Marton Emma Brass gave an update about issues arising between Alston Moor Parish Council and the gym at Alston. Alston Moor Parish Council lease the gym and car park to Alston Gym. Emma Brass had discussed this with Matthew Neal in October 2017 regarding discussions that had taken place between the Parish Council and the gym about responsibility and liability brought about by occupation of the gym car park during the run up to Appleby Fair. Clearly the lease should address the issue of occupation by Gypsy/Travellers. The gym said the car park was publicised as a designated site by MASCG. In light of the concern, Emma Brass had written to the gym and to the Parish Council stating that if the desire was for the car park

1 not to be advertised as an available site, the Council make appropriate modifications to its publicity in the run up to the 2018 Fair. This would however mean that the Council would not provide any staff resource to the car park or provide any bins bags or other assistance in relation to the car park. Emma Brass and Andy Millburn had been invited to a working group meeting of the Parish Council which was scheduled to take place on 2 November 2017. In the run up to the meeting, it became clear that the meeting would relate to tensions and disagreement between the gym/Council and it would be up to the District Council or the Police to broker. They gave their apologies to the meeting. The meeting took place and their apologies had not been recorded and there were a number of inaccuracies set out in the minutes of the meeting. Matthew Neal would be writing to the Parish Council pointing out the inaccuracies. Another concern was that the Village Green Group at Melmerby have dictated that the site is to only be used by bow tops. Emma Brass and Andy Millburn had made it clear that resourcing this stipulation for the 2018 Fair would not be a priority. They would reiterate this point at a meeting that was due to take place in Melmerby in January 2018. The minutes of the working group meeting had referred to an unchallenged statement by Ms Makepeace that they were worried about the Makepeace’s field being promoted as an available site without the Makepeace’s consent. The minutes also stated that Melmerby had its own MASCG group. The minutes also referred to an unchallenged statement that the level of resourcing provided the previous incumbent of the Council had been greater than was provided at the recent Fair by the current Council officer. These inaccuracies would be addressed in a letter prepared by Matthew Neal. It was agreed that issues in relation to Long Marton would be dealt with under the Eden Parish Forum agenda item. 4. Update on Cumbria County Council’s Review of Resourcing the Fair Nick Wright indicated that the budget of the County Council was set by the Eden Local Committee. This year the budget was set at £45,000 but the actual spend was £63,000. There were a number of traffic management and weather related issues which had led to this overspend. There was clearly a desire by the Local Committee to control this expenditure. However, there was concern by County Council Officers that the County Council’s input in the Fair should not cease in the middle of the 2018 Fair in the event that the budget threshold had been reached due to ambiguity as to the ability to overspend. Concern was expressed by other representatives of the group that public safety was paramount and it is imperative that the County Council is able to resource the Fair throughout its duration. Nick Wright stated that a report would be taken to the Eden Local Committee in December and the issue of the costing of the Fair in terms of the County Council’s budget would be considered by the County Council’s scrutiny process. Matthew Neal had previously resisted a suggestion from the County Council to undertake a whole scale scrutiny review of the overall costs of MASCG given that such task would detract from the work of planning for the 2018 Fair. Nick Wright would bring a further update to the next meeting of MASCG.

2 5. Review of Encampment Strategy Emma Brass had previously circulated the Appleby Fair Encampment Strategy. She indicated that it would be appropriate for the Strategy to be reviewed. It was agreed that the revised Strategy should be brought back to the next MASCG meeting for final approval and any comments received would be taken into account. 6. Discussion on Flashing of Horses A discussion took place about the MASCG flashing decision policy 2011 about the flashing of horses. It was agreed that this policy needed to be updated to reflect appropriate dates and times for the 2018 Fair. A discussion to place about the prescribed control measures and specifically wooden permanent safety barrier installed on both sides of the flashing lane. Nigel Butcher expressed scepticism as to the appropriateness of such a barrier and indicated that there must be a better solution. He would consider this and feed back. It was agreed that the policy decision should be the subject of consultation with representatives of the group. 7. Creation of a Mobile Working Area Matthew Neal sought clarification as to whether Cumbria Police were content for Appleby Police Station to be used as a mobile working area. At the previous MASCG meeting mention had been made of a potential for creating a mobile working area within the Bowling Club. Mark Pannone indicated that MASCG partners were welcome to use the Police Station and there were operational reasons why this could not continue. However, if a space were to be created at the Bowling Club, that would be acceptable also. It was agreed that Matthew Neal would explore the possibility of creating a mobile working area within the Bowling Club and report back to MASCG as appropriate. 8. Opening and Closing Times of the Sands Mark Pannone indicated that in 2017 one of the few flash points was the decision to close The Sands at 6.00pm, in the context that it was only open after bad weather late in the afternoon. He said that this was the only incident and serious disorder could have occurred. He stated that in a similar situation in the future, he would make a different decision. He indicated that there were three options for MASCG namely; Option 1 - Retain the opening and closing times as they are Option 2 - Offer a later closure of The Sands Option 3 - Have a more flexible opening and closing policy Concern was expressed by the District Council and County Council representatives about the resources implications and also about the desirability of adding certainty to residents and the Gypsy and Traveller community. Whilst the increased costs of potentially later opening times was a consideration, clearly the issue of public safety and prevention of serious injury or disorder was a paramount issue. Matthew Neal indicated that a further option would be to retain the current opening and closing times but with the option to use discretion if similar exceptional circumstances arose as in 2017. It was agreed that Neil Graham should consult with the public, the Gypsy and Traveller community and the Town Council with a view to seeking their views as to whether or not the current opening and closing times should be retained or whether 3 the alternative option referred to above should be considered. A report could then be brought back to the next MASCG meeting. 9. Updates a) Eden Parish Forum Emma Brass raised the issue of people in Long Marton putting in their own highway posts. She stated that it was important to bring in some colour coding. b) Licensing Sarah Griffiths indicated that letters would be going to licensees asking about whether they were intending to open for the 2018 Fair. Matthew Neal indicated that a report regarding Public Space Protection Orders relating to alcohol control orders within Appleby and Long Marton (and other areas within Eden) would be brought to the Executive recommending a consultation on new Orders. He was confident that new Orders would be in place in time for the 2018 Fair. c) Communications In the absence of Neil Graham, Barry Cooper indicated that there had been very little activity in terms of communication. He confirmed that he would review the information on the website about the 2017 Fair and remove information that was no longer required. d) Highways There was discussion about the need for a central log of postings. This would enable the authorities to know which were official and which ones had been put in by residents. Nigel Butcher stated that in the longer term, appropriate bunding to prevent encampments in inappropriate places would be better. He also stated that a Traffic Management Plan would be necessary for the 2018 Fair. e) South Lakeland Working Group Simon Rowley stated there was nothing to report. 10. Any Other Business There was no other business to report. 11. Date of Next Meeting The next meeting would be held on Monday 19 February 2018 at 2.00pm in the Whelpdale Room, Mansion House, Penrith.* *But please note subsequent change of venue to the Committee Room, Town Hall, Penrith.

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