Downton Cuckoo Fair – 2nd May 2026

Dear Residents of The Borough, Green Lane, South Lane, Gravel Close and Long Close East,

The day of the Fair is fast approaching and whilst the set up of the Fair is much the same as in previous years, with our volunteer team supported by security personnel to deal with issues etc. inevitably there will be some inconvenience for residents within the road closure. I am writing simply to apologise in advance for this, and to thank you for your customary forbearance and patience.

ROAD CLOSURE – As a reminder, please note that the road through the village from the A338 to Tannery Bridge will be closed to vehicular access, via a Section 21 Road Closure, from 8:30am until 6.00pm. If possible the road will be opened sooner.

HOSTILE VEHICLE BARRIERS – We will have special purpose hostile vehicle barriers at The Bull and Tannery Bridge locations. By their very design they limit the ability for ad-hoc access to the road closure area and thus for vehicle movements during the fair.

EMERGENCY ACCESS & PAVEMENT TRADING – Please be aware that the Cuckoo Fair is required to maintain access through the village for Emergency Services. In the event of evacuation, incident or when emergency vehicles are driving along The Borough, Fair visitors would need to move onto the pavement. Please keep the pavements outside your property free of obstructions eg stalls or cars for safe use by pedestrians.

HOUSEHOLDER EVENTS – If you plan to hold an independent event on your own property to raise money for a charity or for personal benefit then you should carefully check your household insurance, licensing and tax liability. Your event is considered outside of the Cuckoo Fair and so will not come under its management or insurance etc.

CAR PARKING – As a resident living within the road closure, please find enclosed a parking pass enabling you to park your car free of charge in one of the car parks provided by the Fair. Note that these passes are issued to enable residents to move their own car from roadside parking to the Fair’s car parks so they can use them during the Fair. The Fair reimburses the car park operators for each resident’s car. The passes are not intended to be used for personal visitors or staff. If you require an additional car parking pass, these are available but may incur a charge of £10, please call the number above.

Please ensure cars are moved early and well before the road closure – car parks are open from 6.30am on Saturday and The Borough gets very busy with arriving stallholders. The following car parks are available – Barford Lane and Trafalgar School (which are accessible from each end of the village during the road closure, so that travel is possible to and from the village during the Fair) or the Cricket Field and Baptist Church (which will not be accessible during the road closure). Please park on the grass at the Baptist Church car park. Please leave an emergency contact number clearly visible inside your car windscreen. The car park managers have asked us to remind you that all cars must be removed from the car parks by 6.00pm Saturday as the car parks will then be locked until after the Bank Holiday Monday. No cars to be left in the cricket field over night.

CARER ACCESS – Please let us know if you require a visit from a carer (including details of their name / expected time) and we will ensure that the Barford Lane/Trafalgar School car park managers are aware of this so the carer can park there. They will have NO access by car to your premises as the road will be closed.

EMERGENCIES – If there are any issues during the Fair please contact the Cuckoo Fair Event Control on 07768 877639. This number will only be answered on the day from 7:00am to 6.00pm.

INFORMATION – please see our website for more information – https://cuckoofair.co.uk/info-4-residents

Yours sincerely

Edna Pike

Delivered to local residents in April 2026

This year’s Cuckoo Fair is on Saturday 2 May. The Borough will be closed to all traffic from 8:30am – 6pm, but may open earlier if the crowds have cleared.

There will be at least 60 new stall holders this year, including 20 who live within 10 miles of Downton. Over 40 of these stall holders will be selling work they have handmade. Many food vendors are returning, but there will also be a new Thai street food vendor, two new coffee stands, and boba tea.

Residents will be issued with a non-transferable parking voucher for the day. Visitors using the car parks will be charged £10 per car, with the proceeds going to the local charities/schools that manage the facilities. The X3 buses will be running (as usual).

Toilets in the Memorial Gardens will be closed, but other toilets (including accessible ones) will be available and well signposted around the site.

The Fair Committee works hard to run the Fair as a non-profit making event and has to deal with escalating costs, as well as the requirement to adhere to all health & safety protocols, local guidance, and policies. The ongoing support and cooperation of the local community is always welcome and much appreciated. The committee is, once again, grateful to local company Toomers Limited for their generous donation and providing key safety equipment, and to Batt Broadbent Solicitors for kindly sponsoring the Day Leaflet. For further information visit cuckoofair.co.uk.

Published in InDownton (Spring 2026).

ROAD CLOSURE
FOR
DOWNTON CUCKOO FAIR
SATURDAY 2nd MAY 2026

ORDERS UNDER SECTION 21 OF THE
TOWN POLICE CLAUSES ACT 1847

Dear Resident

I wish to advise you that I have applied for a Road Closure Order under Section 21 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 as detailed in the Schedule below:

SCHEDULE

STREETS	DATE	TIME
Downton – B3080 The Borough from The Headlands to Church Hatch including Gravel Close, South Lane and Green Lane	SATURDAY 2nd MAY 2026	0830 – 1800 hrs

I attach a map showing the extent of the closure.

If you have any objections to this road closure request, please send them by 27th March, to:
By email trafficorders@wiltshire.gov.uk
By post Traffic Orders Team, Sustainable Transport, Wiltshire Council, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, BA14 8JN
Note: your objections must include your name and address or they cannot be considered. However, you have the right to request under the Data Protection Act 1998 that your name and address be withheld from public inspection or inclusion in any published report.

Yours faithfully

Bev Cornish
Company Secretary, Downton Cuckoo Fair Ltd

Published in InDownton (Winter 2026)

The Core Team have had their first “Cuckoo Fair 2026” meeting which mainly focused on the list of possible improvements which had been fed back by all in our Post Fair wash up meeting. We do this every year as this informs us of areas where we can improve the Fair to make it even more enjoyable for our visitors.

Of particular note was that all of our new volunteers who joined us in 2024 to help organise the 2025 event wish to return to help organise the 2026 event. This is great news and the date is set for the 2nd May.

Next year will see the overall format being much the same with hopefully plenty of new stalls and attractions. Over one third of all the stalls this year were new to the Fair and this was testament to the skill of our new Bookings Manager who recruited these stalls to the Fair.

We have had to moderately raise the cost of most of the stalls for our exhibitors due to pressure on our costs. It is quite a difficult balance to agreeprices for all our stalls etc (our major source of income) in October without knowing our true costs until much nearer the Fair. We have to budget forMedical Cover for around 18,000 people, we have to ensure we buy therelevant insurance and we do provide added security. Adding to this we bookthe entertainment, marquees, bins, toilets and we run off 5,000 copies of ourDay Leaflet.

It is estimated that the cost to lay on the Cuckoo Fair next year will be around £45K but we are encouraged that this allows our schools, churches, pubs, clubs and charities to raise their much needed funds. Trafalgar School for example operate one of the car parks and they raise much needed funds from the car park charge.

Finally we would like to thank the generosity of local business Toomers Ltd foronce again sponsoring the Fair and providing the road barriers. Equally ourthanks go to Batt Broadbent Solicitors who are again sponsoring the printing ofour Day Leaflet.

Should anyone wish to volunteer their services around or on the Event Day please contact us at cuckoofair.co.uk/contact-us.

Published in InDownton (November 2025).