Residents start petition to save Christmas carnival at Newbury Racecourse

Newbury Racecourse residents who are in favour of having a six-week Christmas carnival have launched a petition to save it after the plan was kicked out by West Berkshire Council last night (Wednesday).

More than a hundred people have already signed it just hours after the decision was made by councillors who felt the plan was not fair to residents at the site.

The petition, posted by Simon Maidment on Facebook, says: “Most of the residents on the racecourse are in favour of the carnival. After the 18 months we have all had it will be a little fun, especially for the children.”

Councillors unanimously rejected a bid for a six-week Winter Wonderland by producer Underbelly, including a big top, ice rink, funfair and stalls, because they considered the traffic and noise concerns to be ill thought through.

Dozens of other racecourse residents had objected to the scheme in writing to the council claiming noise, light and traffic over a sustained amount of time was not acceptable.