Councils have been targeted in a petition to enforce tighter control over a controversial annual fair.

The Appleby Horse Fair is a divisive issue, with many supporters believing it’s beneficial for cultural and historical reasons, and it brings with it trade via tourists and visitors.

Appleby Fair Communities Group (AFCG) which launched the petition, complain that it results in high costs for various measures and clean-up, crime, safety, and pollution.

Another is the market field, where various goods are traded, but which AFCG said has ‘become a nuisance market’ with illegal activity.

At the fair this year, Trading Standards confiscated counterfeit goods totalling a value of £500,000.

A spokesperson from AFCG said: “The event we see today bears no resemblance to the event envisaged by Lord Lonsdale in 1911 when he gave Fair Hill to the town to be used for this event.”

They’re also concerned about animal cruelty, and this year a horse died due to being overworked.

AFCG said that Fair Hill, used every year by visitors, is the responsibility of Appleby Town Council as they lease it out.

The hill is used by many visitors as a place to park mobile homes and caravans, and features food stalls every year.

They asked concerned people to add their names and email addresses to a Google Form which explained the concerns and said within the first 24 hours, 184 complaints were sent.

Most went to Westmorland and Furness Council, various others went to Appleby Town, Long Marton Parish, and Warcop Parish councils.

Appleby Town Council said it’s aware of the petition and will respond to individual complaints.

Chair of the Multi-Agency Strategic Coordinating Group (MASCG), and Westmorland and Furness Council’s director for thriving places, Steph Cordon, explained the group is formed of various bodies and is not responsible for the organisation or management of the fair.

Its role, Ms Cordon said, is 'to manage their statutory duties and to do so in an open and collaborative way'.

"The costs associated with doing this are borne by those agencies with the statutory responsibility for delivery," she said.

The decision to not publish the event's costs anymore was because the information wasn't available at the time of publication, Ms Cordon said, but they’re working on ways to disaggregate them.

People can ‘provide feedback on the 2024 fair’ at a meeting hosted by MASCG at Appleby Public Hall on June 26, between 7pm and 8.30pm, she added.