'No problems' from a bigger circus site at Enborne

THE owner of the Zippos Circus Headquarters in Enborne has dismissed claims from local residents and the parish council that plans to allow more travelling showpeople to live on the land would cause problems in the community.
West Berkshire Council has identified the piece of land at Long Copse Farm, which is already used by circus performers and workers, as one of four in the district which could accommodate gyspies or travelling showpeople in the future.
The council says that it needs to find room for 14 permanent pitches for gypsies and travellers and a further 24 plots for travelling showpeople by 2026 to meet government guidelines.
However, an open letter from a group of Enborne residents has highlighted concerns at the proposals, including the potential impact on local schools, infrastructure, transport and access.
One part of the letter read: “The local lanes are inadequate for any increase in large vehicles. “Some people, by nature of their living, have large lorries. No mention has been made as to where all these ancillary vehicles will be stored.
“The Enborne Primary School has recently had to turn away local children as it has no space for them and is unable to expand due to the size of the site.”
Addressing those concerns, owner of the Circus Headquarters, Martin Burton, said: “Individual circus artists normally do not by the nature of their living have large lorries, often articulated and towing other trailers.
“Professional Circus artists/workers typically spend 10 months on the road, so we are talking about a likelihood of any proposed yards being unoccupied most of the year.”
He added: “HQ/Long Copse Farm has provided overspill parking, clown school visits and circus shows for Enborne Primary School children free of charge.
“School overcrowding has never been cited as a problem to date. In any event, most circus children are educated ‘on the road’, working in conjunction with the Traveller’s Education Service and would only be at the school for two months a year, during closed season.”
The proposals for the expansion to the current site are outlined in a wider document called the Housing Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) which sets out plans to build 10,500 new homes in the district in the next 12 years. The document is at public consultation and residents have until September 12 to have their say.
A statement from Enborne Parish Council said it had “real concerns” over what it described as a “major expansion”.
The statement added: “West Berkshire Council’s plans includes increasing parish residency greatly and that will create social and infrastructure problems for both settled residents in our parish and the planned expanded travelling show peoples.
“The plan does not provide funding or practical solutions to deal with this, so the parish will be responding to consultation to contest West Berkshire Council’s plans.
The DPD fails to support both residents and showpeople in the view of our parish.”
Copies of the DPD are available at council offices, libraries and on the council website. Following the consultation, the council will prepare a detailed plan to go before full council in December.