Scarborough Fair's budget for £2.2m festival of reimagined food, music and art events approved

Scarborough 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 suffered a setback earlier this month when festival director 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.