Buxton carnival funfair not going ahead, organisers confirm

The fair, which is a popular feature of the Buxton Well Dressing and Carnival event, will not be coming to the Market Place this year.

James Mellor, own of the fairground rides, said the decision to not come back was a tough one but the right call to make.

He said: “It’s been weighing on my mind for a while now.

"The carnival and the wells dressing had both been cancelled and with the Delta variant of covid doing the rounds and the pushback of lockdown restrictions I couldn’t see a way we could safely come to Buxton this year.

"I wouldn’t want to bring the fair to the town and then we see a surge in case numbers – people would blame the fair for coming.

“I also didn’t want to bring a smaller fair and it not be as good and ruin the reputation of both the carnival and the fair.”

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James is the third generation of the Mellor family to own the fair which comes to Buxton and says he is honoured to be part of such a community event.

He said: “The Wells Dressing in Buxton is known up and down the country, it has been going for hundreds of years.

"It’s also great it still has been going in recent years when so many other carnivals have stopped.

"That’s because the team behind the carnival is a great one and they want it to happen.

"I love coming back to Buxton and seeing the familiar faces over and over again which is why it was such a tough call to say we aren’t coming.”

James says he has had lots of people contact him in recent weeks to check the rides were still returning.

He said: “People are going to be disappointed and so am I – it’s a lot of money to lose for the second year running but it’s the right thing to do.

"We will be back for carnival next year and we will be putting on a fair to remember which will be bigger and better than before. We will most certainly be back with a bang.”

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