George Irvin's Funfair is a regular visitor to Shepherd's Bush. In recent years they have stayed for up to a full month, but following neighbourhood complaints our Council have now scaled them back to 2 1/2 weeks, which seems like a reasonable compromise.
The big lorries that transport these funfairs cause a lot of damage to the Green, which even at the best of times feels badly treated.
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| Damage caused by funfairs last winter |
The funfair lorries that bring in the heavy equipment lay down big metal causeways on the ground in order to transport their kit, but these kill off the grass and leave scars on the landscape.
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| Funfair damage. Photo: Andrew Day |
Our Council doesn't seem to be able to insist that the funfair owners repair the damage they cause before they leave. The Council does put down fresh grass seed, but often it doesn't seem to take. It seems they cannot lay turf because it gets stolen.
If you'd like to let the Council know about your concerns, email your local councillors.
You might also email James Fitzgerald, Filming & Events Manager for LBHF. james.fitzgerald@rbkc.gov.uk, Nadia Jazaerli, Events Manager for LBHF. nadia.jazaerli@lbhf.gov.uk, and Svetlana Scheck from RBKC. svetlana.scheck@rbkc.gov.uk
Below is a handy table from James Fitzgerald, that shows when and how long the big funfairs in Shepherd's Bush are supposed to last.
And, in case you were wondering, LBHF get paid £1,300 per day and £650 each day during the set up and break down.
Is it all worth it? That rather depends on your point of view.
The Bush Telegraph offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story, email us at shepherdsbushblog@gmail.com. And don't forget to add your opinion in the comments section below.
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ReplyDeleteThe problems described in the article are bad enough, but the council seems to have problems even sticking to prior negotiated agreements with local residents. Some of us recently received this email from the council:
ReplyDelete"Apologies on behalf of the Events Team, as there has been an error made by one of the Team in the booking of this year’s funfairs on Shepherd’s Bush Green.
The officer in question had incorrectly assumed the arrangement agreed with residents in 2017 was for 2018 only, and proceeded to confirm the funfairs with Irvin Leisure based on the 2017 arrangements, adding three operational days in excess of the 14-day limit for each fair, and extending the bookings into a third weekend.
To confirm the dates for Easter, the fair will be set up as planned (Wednesday 3 to Friday 5 April) as the ADIP Government Ride Inspections are booked on those days. The fair will be non-operational (lights-out and security staffed) over the weekend and to Monday 8 April, opening to the public on Tuesday 9 April, running for 14 days only to Bank Holiday Monday 22 April.
We fully appreciate the seriousness of this error in undermining our principle of doing things with residents, not to them, so please be assured of our commitment to the arrangement agreed in 2017, as a commitment going forward indefinitely.
This commitment for events on Shepherds Bush Green comprises:
• Only two events per year.
• Each limited to 14 operational days over two consecutive weekends
• Key timings to reduce impact:
- 20:30 music turned off
- 20:45 last rides takes place (a ride cycle as approximately 5 minutes)
- 21:00 site closed, lights off
• The high thrill ride to be moved to northern side of the green to reduce sound reverberation on apartment buildings behind the petrol station.
• The hydraulic ride to be fitted with silencers
• Requested that the operator uses silent diesel generators that produce less noise than standard generators."
Hi Milopita, It's a shame the Council breached their own agreements, but at least they apologised, and took the trouble to write to locals. What we really need is a Friends of Shepherd's Bush Green to take care of our unloved green triangle.
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