General Discussion
State of the Lawn
With events planned to take place on the Lawn over the bank holiday weekend, does anyone know when it will be reinstated to its original condition? It's been left in a disgraceful state by Rowlands' vehicles.
In August a lot of Vehicles have been on the Lawn so how can anyone say it's the fair that left it in the state it is today.
If all Vehicles useing the Lawn anytime of the year paid a Deposit, it would not come down to Rowlands paying it all.
Brian, I saw it myself today lovey. The Lawn is freshly churned with tyre tracks from where they have removed their fair rides. There's no denying it - perhaps you should wander down and take a look for yourself.
So do you know when it's going to be reinstated?
So you'll have seen that the mess has been caused by the vehicles removing the fair rides. It's like a freshly ploughed field.
Wet weather + big lorries on grass = mud.
It is what it is. If the weather was dry it would be fine but you cannot stop it raining.
The grass will grow back, no harm done.
I think you're missing the point. If you think that doing nothing will restore the Lawn from its current ploughed field condition, then you're being extremely hopeful.
So I ask again, does anyone know what is being done to reinstate the Lawn and what the timescales are.
(Oh for the days when we had councillors who could be bothered to use social media to provide answers...).
Leaving the lawn to dry out a bit (a lot) and then levelling the furrows, maybe a bit of re-seeding, if required.
Maybe prudent to ask a local councillor about it and then let us know the news, but to be honest there seems little point touching it when the ground is waterlogged. Best left a few weeks
Hi MRB, I'm glad that you've reflected upon your original thoughts and that you now agree that work does need doing. You're right that it's pointless doing it whilst it's still so wet, but my god it looks a mess and gives a far worse impression of Dawlish than a lack of umbrella shops does.
In my opinion I would leave it as it is, it will be fine in a month - already cordoned off so the drunks don't try to bathe in it). But if one felt the need to give someone a job and spend a bit of money, then, yes you could.
"In August a lot of Vehicles have been on the Lawn"
That may be so but not all of them weigh 20+ tonnes and park up for a couple of weeks.
The Lawn
Always in a state after the carnival, airhow, fair etc, we can't blame just one party here, a marquee kills the grass, a plank of wood left for a week kills the grass, a vehicle kills the grass, a picnic mat left down all day can kill the grass. So the point I'm trying to reach is we can't pinpoint this at one group.
Rowlands
Rowlands Fun Fair have always gone the extra mile to preserve the lawn I know from fact, they will put down wooden planks when extremely wet to move vehicles over, and they will pay for machinery etc to drain the lawn and repair where required, so a thank you goes out to Mr Rowlands and team here.
The Problem And Solution
If we want to see events continue to happen then we need a few things in place. What we can take off the lawn is oragnisers cars, caravans and any other unwanted vehicles that have no real nessicity to be there. Now if we do that I do feel the town council should offer them parking elsewhere. I would suggest that the Taxi Rank Carpark would be a great location for this and would solve many issues.
The lawn is a mess and it took a long time to get it back to looking good last year. I am sure that the fair brings in much needed income but it would be good to know whether it is worth it. The cost of restoring the lawn and other costs when the fair is on the lawn vs the amount the town makes.
I do think you should have to have permission to drive onto the lawn so it is restricted in someway. It isn't just the fair that cause the damage but they must be the biggest culprit.
We still have people visiting Dawlish and currently it doesn't give a good impression when it looks like it does.
That is just the point exactly, the fair does bring in a much needed income and it brings entertainment whether we like it or not, it's one of the oldest forms of entertainment, rides might be bigger and "better" now but in "fair"ness it's apart of the town.
I know from hand the fair people do spend money in the town, do dontate to local oragnisations and do pay to upkeep the lawn after they have been here. And your right the fair might cause the most damage, but the fact is if you walk down today, I can tell where the marque was but some of the rides have no notice to where they were.
It's a difficult one indeed, and because the lawn is a flood plane (plain) however you want to spell it and that it was once marshland, the ground below the grass is not that great anyway, the more tree's they cut down the worse I can see it becoming. But we will have to see.
@ The Observer
All very well but who exactly benefits from this 'much needed income' that the fair brings in?
Certainly not the residents.
OK, the shopkeepers benefit greatly but how many of them make a contribution to the upkeep of the lawn after raking in profits from it?
It would be nice if they did.
The people who benefit from it: The Fair Organisers, The People Taking The Booking Money, What's Left Of The Carnival, The Traders and Members of the Public who enjoy it.
and your quite right @Carer out of those who actually puts time, money and the effort to upkeeping the lawn? i can only vouch for the fair doing that themselves, and i agree totally with you, would be nice if other contributed.
All I'm getting to is we can't "wholly" blame the fair for the damage, when damage is equally done by others too, but your quite right, if all contributed then maybe repair and upkeep could be done better, or maybe the council need to up this game further.
The reality is that the fair attracts visitors to the town as does the carnival and the airshow. Traders and residents want the visitors so the town remains viable so..........a bit of churned up grass is a small price to pay in relation to the visitor numbers attending the various events. As a child visiting Dawlish on holiday, I was thrilled if my parents managed to book our holiday to coincide with the fair being in town, and, yes, I know youngsters are so much more sophisticated these days, but many still find the fair an irrestible attraction and we should not underestimate the impact of this 'old fashioned' entertainment.
The strange thing is my kids all under 18 and there friends wouldn't give the fair a second look they all say it's a waste of money. I dont mind the fair but it should be seperated from the carnival as it used to be and i see no reason why it cant be so.
Well leatash, that is your kids but that does not mean it is the same for every family that comes to Dawlish on holiday or for every family resident in Dawlish, so I don't find it strange at all. Just because the fair used to be separated from the carnival doesn't mean it should be now.
No one on this forum has so far given a valid reason for separating the fair from the carnival or provided any convincing evidence that by doing so it would be beneficial for the community. I now await the avalanche of replies from the usual suspects!!