£2.25m Budget for Scarborough Fair

Friday, 24 March 2023 06:00

By Anttoni James Numminen, Local Democracy Reporter

The new and reimagined Scarborough Fair will have a budget of £2.25m following approval by the borough council.

Scarborough Borough Council has approved a £2.25m budget for the fair which was last held in the 18th Century and is now planned as a year-round programme of events.

On Wednesday, March 22, council directors approved the allocation of further funding and new contracts to cover staff costs and fundraising plans.

According to a council report, £1.5m will come from the Towns Deal fund and £750,000 from the authority’s 2022/23 financial strategy.

The authority has said that instead of being a commercial event, the fair will “be the banner under which a wide-ranging and inclusive cultural programme will sit” with events planned up until 2026.

Proposed events include a winter lights festival, an affordable art trail, an international street art festival, and a music and action sports festival.

The newly approved spending will see £380,000 allocated to the revenue budget to fund festival staff costs and fundraising consultants.

A £30,000 contract with the fundraising consultant was also approved following a tender process.

The decision has an approximate revenue value of £1,2m and will enable the Scarborough Fair project to progress “in line with the timescales for the expenditure of the grant”, according to the report.

It will also “commence fundraising to support the project and its sustainability”.

Potential risks to the scheme include the “low performance of the fundraising consultant” and disruption due to the upcoming local government reorganisation which will see Scarborough Council abolished on April 1.

The plans for the fair suffered a setback in March when it was revealed that the director of the fair, David Edmunds, – who was appointed to the role in January – would be stepping down due to “personal reasons”.

However, the authority is hoping to mitigate new risks through regular meetings and ensuring that the fair is on the agenda of the new North Yorkshire Council.

Established under Royal Charter in 1253, the original Scarborough Fair drew merchants from all over the world to sell to hundreds of visitors each August and September.

However, competition and changing economic circumstances left it financially untenable, with the last fair held in 1788.

Paul Robinson, chairman of the Scarborough Fair Advisory Group and the Scarborough Fair founder, said:

“I am delighted that this long-held aspiration has become a reality.

“The Scarborough Fair will celebrate all that our beautiful region has to offer – the people, food, sport, music, art and so much more – in all its exciting and vibrant colours.”

RELATED STORIES : Scarborough Fair Needs a New Festival Director

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