Report Released Following Showground Event

Advanced notice of a major event at Market Harborough Showground in the summer was not given to prevent unauthorised encampments before it started.

The week-long religious festival attracted over 2,000 members of the Gipsy and Traveller Community, with around 800 caravans parked up on the site.

A report into the planning for the private event in July was ordered after criticism details of it were not shared by authorities sooner, with a number of pubs and some shops closing amid fears of anti-social behaviour.

The event took place at Market Harborough Showground

The Harborough District Council report says a number of meetings involving council, police and fire service officials were held prior to the event, where the organiser requested no advance publicity.

It reads: “At this meeting the organiser advised that he would not announce to the Light and Life Church community the location of the event until the day of the event starting, to prevent the community travelling early to the event and having nowhere to park.

“This request was based on experience and professional judgement from running previous events, where attendees had arrived early to secure good locations which had then led to unauthorised encampments.

“Therefore, to minimise such encampments and to prevent early attendance, which would have caused local congestion and impacts on the local community, the SAG (Safety Advisory Group) elected to delay disclosing the location until as close to the event as possible.”

The report says police visited pubs and businesses to make them aware of the event in the days running up to it, but did not advise them to close.

Fears of anti-social behaviour stemmed from when the same event was held in Oakham in 2021 and a minority of those attending caused problems, with the report blaming ‘scaremongering’ for some premises deciding to shut.

Leicestershire Police reported no reported crimes or incident linked to the event and organisers say those attending were welcomed into the town.

The report, which was discussed by councillors last night, concluded businesses will be advised sooner of any similar future event, as those attending did not arrive early even when details of it were leaked a week before it started.