Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre should be revived, say town’s market traders
Calls have been made for the return of a town’s Christmas fayre - the loss of which has been slammed as a ‘disgrace’.
The plea is being led by market traders who say the demise of the event in Bury St Edmunds, last held in 2019, has led to such a downturn in trade at the end of the year, that some have shut up shop.
The plea has also been echoed by residents, independent stores and a county councillor, who has lambasted the lack of a major event in the town, which is known as the ‘Jewel in the Crown of Suffolk’.
Charly Palfrey, who runs the Kitchen Kave stall on the market, said: “The loss of the Christmas Fayre is completely destroying us.
“Markets are struggling as it is and the revenue from the fayre and the Christmas market was enough to carry us over for the next three or four months, when footfall typically drops.
“The irony is we still get people turn up asking where the Christmas market is even now, after they have got a coach here to see it.
“It helps but it is not enough. Most market traders would like to see the fayre return, which, including the Wednesday market, gave us our busiest days of the year.”
Lisa Tattersall, who runs Sew Bee It Haberdashery stall, has announced that she will be closing her stall at the end of this month.
The dressmaker and former teacher listed the loss of the fayre as one of the reasons for her departure.
She said: “It is devastating for the market.
“Its loss was definitely an influence on my decision to close the stall, and also for my brother, when he closed down his card and wrapping paper stall two years ago.”
At its peak, the Christmas Fayre, staged by West Suffolk Council, brought in around 120,000 people to town.
It was held from Thursday evening to Sunday, usually at the end of November.
It featured some 300 stalls as well as entertainment including live music, school performances, street entertainers and fairground rides.
It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
The following year, it was replaced by five days of festive events arranged by a partnership including the arc Shopping Centre; Our Bury St Edmunds, Bury St Edmunds Town Council; St Edmundsbury Cathedral and West Suffolk Council.
Resident on social media have also been calling for the return of the fayre after the Bury St Edmunds Christmas Spectacular, promoted by organisers as Suffolk’s most exciting Christmas event’, turned out to be a flop - and was cancelled.
The Christmas Fayre was previously lauded for drawing in visitors from across the country. It was also criticised however for creating local traffic and parking problems.
Suffolk County and West Suffolk councillor, Richard Rout, said: “You will struggle to find anyone at all who will say that Christmas in Bury St Edmunds is better than it was five years ago.
“The town is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Suffolk, famous not just for its history, but for its food scene and brilliant retail. But that doesn’t mean those businesses don't need our support.
“Our Bury St Edmunds do a brilliant job, but they are a small organisation, whereas the district council has an annual spend of around £30 million.
“It feels like West Suffolk Council, particularly over the last couple of years has abdicated all responsibility for our town centre and economic development in the town. It could and should be doing far more.
“In 2019, we had an award winning Christmas fayre in its seventeenth year. Now, that has all been washed away and we have a council hiding behind red tape and health a safety to say it can’t be revived.
“We all know there were parking and traffic issues for the old fayre but those could be addressed.
“Nothing dispels the fact that the fayre was a national draw, alongside the likes of Bath, Winchester, York, Stratford-upon-Avon. The fact we have let that slip is a disgrace.”
Mark Cordell, CEO of Our Bury St Edmunds, said: “The Christmas Fayre was a huge success but we appreciate that wasn’t the unanimous view of all business and residents.
“It created traffic problems so that people couldn’t get into town and difficulties for business for example that needed appointments, such as hair and beauty salons.
“The majority of businesses were supportive however and for some it was very profitable.
“We have accepted that the Christmas Fayre in its previous format is unlikely to return.
“Consequently we are working with partner organisations to try to provide a diverse offering for the five to six weeks in the run up to Christmas and have exciting plans in this regard for next year.”
Diane Hind, Mayor of Bury St Edmunds, said: “Bury is a wonderful Town with a lot to offer, and our shops, market traders, and other businesses and activities need our support throughout the year, and especially at Christmas.
“Just a few weeks ago the BID organised a great event around the switching on of the lights, it was a fabulous day, better attended than I’ve ever seen, and the weather certainly helped.
“To support everyone a spread of events over a number of weeks is clearly the way to go, and of course a single event can be so easily sabotaged by the weather.
“I hope a Christmas Partnership formed between the Town Council, Our Bury St Edmunds, the arc, Theatre Royal, the Cathedral and others will see collaborations for 2025 and beyond.”
Cllr Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “The Christmas Fayre grew significantly over a number of years to the point it became too big and not just in terms of the impact to the road infrastructure.
“It meant that it became subject to national legislation and requirements around security and health and safety.
“That impacted the cost of running the fayre turning it from something that broke even, to something that if it continued, would have a very significant cost on all taxpayers across the whole of West Suffolk.
“That’s why the decision was made by the previous administration after the 2019 fayre, to no longer hold a four-day event but instead to work with town centre partners to deliver a series of events spanning over five weeks in the run up to Christmas meaning a more sustained benefit to shops and other businesses and helping keep the number of visitors to the town at a safe and manageable level.
“The same issues led to other places including Lincoln stopping its Christmas fayre.
“West Suffolk doesn’t just represent Bury St Edmunds, but Brandon, Clare, Haverhill, Mildenhall, Newmarket and many, many villages.
“We recognise that our markets are important part of each of our towns which is why we are investing £300,000 over three years to support traders, increase events and attract more footfall. These include additional markets in Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds in the run up to Christmas as well as building on the success of our Makers Markets.
“And we recognise we are one partner in all of this which is why we created a £192,000 town centre fund using some of the money we were allocated under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, helping Business Improvement Districts and town councils in their plans to support town centre businesses.
“This includes £57,500 to Our Bury St Edmunds and £21,000 to Bury St Edmunds Town Council.
“This investment in our markets and the work of our partners is about helping all of our towns throughout the entire year, rather than in one town over four days.
“West Suffolk Council will continue to work with our partners and residents to build on the excellent work already taking place.
“New ideas for how we can improve the Christmas experience are always welcomed, and I’d be very happy to hear from residents and others with their thoughts.”
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