THE centuries-old annual Goose Fair returns next month to Tavistock after the pandemic break with a new park and ride location, more safety and environmentally sustainable measures and high hopes for a successful event.

Cllr James Ellis, own deputy mayor, said: ‘A great deal of work goes into organising Tavistock’s historic Goose Fair, even more this year because of the two-year break caused by the pandemic. We are looking forward to another vibrant event in partnership with the borough council and other partners. There will be a diverse range of traders from near and far and plenty of fun to be had on the rides at England’s premier Goose Fair.’

The popular Goose Fair, which dates from 1,000 years ago, is organised by the town council and West Devon Borough Council, and staged on Wednesday October 12 after the only break in its history.

To reduce congestion it is traffic-free and the park and ride service previously located at Harford Bridge, will this year be redirected to a site on Whitchurch Down with buses organised by Tavistock Lions and Stagecoach. Stagecoach will run a smaller and more frequent shuttle service between Whitchurch Down and Gulworthy with drop-off and pick-up at Goose Fair, located just past Drake’s Statue.

New road signs to the park-and-ride will be produced, while residents affected by the service have received letters about the event’s traffic order implications. Trader parking will be prevented on Chapel Street during the event.

It has been confirmed the Alexander Centre adult education centre on Plymouth Road, will host a food and drink area with seating and entertainment in the afternoon. The Guildhall car-park will include artisan stalls and a traditional carousel.

There had been a significant number of longstanding traders that are no longer attending the event following the pandemic break, with many retiring or moving into a different career path.

This brought about challenges with regards to re-letting pitches because many of these traders used to have larger pitches, but the new artisan applicants usually only trade from ten-foot frontages, meaning the organisers had to find many more traders than previous years, to let out the same overall event space.

Other changes include the addition of steward marquees at all main access points and the introduction of two drinking water stations provided by South West Water, as an initiative to discourage single use plastic water bottles. The issuing of reusable cups will be considered in places such as the Alexander Centre.

Pedestrian safety will be improved with measures such as physical barriers to mitigate as best as possible unauthorised vehicles entering the pedestrianised event areas (implemented due to a 2019 incident). Organisers promised fewer fast-food vans and a ban on ‘drugs’ gear on sale.