Hull Fair: Organisers build case for Sunday opening

Hull Fair is Europe's largest travelling fun fair, according to The Showmen's Guild

Organisers of Hull Fair say they are building a case for opening on Sunday in future years.

The Showmen's Guild will ask Hull City Council for permission to stay open across the weekend when they meet in January.

Michael Cowie, from the guild, said: "It's an anomaly for a fair not to be open on a Sunday."

The council say there are "no plans" to alter a three-year agreement based on the fair staying closed on Sundays.

One suggestion from the operators is making the Sunday a family day.

Mr Cowie, chairman of the Yorkshire section of The Showmen's Guild, said the Sunday could provide a different offering.

He said: "When Nottingham Goose Fair began opening on the Sunday, they made it a family day. They kept the volume down and played family music. Perhaps we could do something similar in Hull?"

The council say the Sunday 'break day' is needed to give residents respite

According to Mr Cowie, the majority of ride operators want Hull Fair - widely considered to be Europe's largest travelling fun fair - to open on the Sunday, and he believes there would be advantages for all parties.

"We'd ease congestion on the other days, especially on that first Saturday night," he said. "Many people work during the week, and a lot of people work on Saturdays too, leaving Sunday as the main family day."

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Around 100,000 people visited the fair on the first Saturday this year, making it the busiest day on record.

Mr Cowie said every year operators encounter families who have turned up at the Walton Street site on the Sunday expecting the fair to be open. "They can't believe we have to stay closed that day," he said.

Signed agreement

He suggested "as a compromise" the fair could stay open another day. "As it stands, we open on the Friday and Saturday, stay closed on the Sunday and then we're open until the following Saturday.

"If we have to stay closed that 'middle Sunday', as we call it, could we stay open another day, to the following Sunday?"

He added the guild enjoys "a fantastic working relationship" with the council.

"I think we'll get the change eventually. It may take some time, but we'll keep chipping away," said Mr Cowie.

Councillor Rob Pritchard, Hull Culture and Leisure Ltd Lead at Hull City Council, said: "There are no plans to alter the terms of the current financial agreement between the authority and The Showmen's Guild that was signed last year. This was based on the fair not opening on the Sunday, giving local residents respite."