Funding has been secured to address various matters raised by the Appleby community as a result of Appleby Fair.
The measures are being funded through Westmorland and Furness Council’s Integration and Improvement Fund and were drawn-up following feedback from the local community and town councillors after the 2023 fair. The plans have been considered and agreed by the Multi-Agency Strategic Coordination Group (MASCG) to ensure the full backing of all key fair partners.
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “The funding secured through the Integration and Improvement budget will help to improve experiences for both residents and visitors during the fair, ultimately making the fair as safe and enjoyable as possible for everyone, but also delivering some year-round benefits for the local community.’’
The measures include improvements to signage in and around the town, a temporary height restrictor and residents’ exemption permits at Appleby Leisure Centre with the intention of preventing illegal camping during the fair, temporary traffic calming measures to prevent excessive travelling speeds of horses and sulkies and the removal of the fencing within the verge of the C3004 Appleby to Dufton road, along with the installation of a new footway.
It was recognised that the fencing on that stretch of road – known as ‘Flashing Lane’ during the fair - was in a poor condition and there have been a number of requests from the community for a footway along this length, to improve connectivity and provide a safer route for pedestrians.
To maintain pedestrian safety during the fair a new pedestrian guardrail will be installed which will comply with latest highways standards and this will be removed for the remainder of the year.
The council intends to have as many of the improvements introduced in advance of the 2024 fair and it is anticipated that the footway improvement works will commence after the Easter bank holiday weekend.