Showman speaks out as protests grow over site plans

Generations of the Tuby family have made a living from funfairs, and while their lorries and rides are a familiar sight around the country, they are fiercely proud of their Doncaster roots.

One of their ancestors, George Thomas Tuby, served as mayor in 1921, and was the last to live in the town’s Mansion House before declaring it too grand and returning to his caravan.

His portrait still hangs in the building, but as his great- grandson Roger Tuby admired it yesterday, a protest was being staged outside over his plans for a new showmen’s’ site.

Campaigners claim the application for a showpeople’s accommodation park, near the village of Hatfield Woodhouse, east of Doncaster, is inappropriate and unfair under planning rules.

But Mr Tuby said his great grandfather would “turn in his grave” at the thought of people protesting against the town’s showpeople and called for the campaign to end.

Controversy was sparked last December when people who live near the proposed site, currently a quarry, heard of plans which could see it transformed into a site for 10 or more families.

A public meeting was held last Tuesday, and protesters were also planning to return to the Mansion House steps today, but Mr Tuby said his community was the victim of a misunderstanding.

The 65-year-old, who lives in the Hatfield area himself, said he had tried to stay out of the argument, but felt he now had to break his silence to convince people the plan would not wreck their lives.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “I was advised not to attend any of the public meetings because they may have turned into a slanging match. I have tried not to get involved in any of that.

“But my great grandfather would turn in his grave if he knew about this Mansion House protest. He loved the town and did a lot of good for it. We try to do the same.”

Mr Tuby, himself a Freeman of Doncaster, said the site was needed because of a lack of land for showpeople whose families had expanded in recent years, leading to more demand. He added: “We are business people, members of the Showmen’s Guild, which is a huge organisation, and I don’t want us to be confused with other groups. We want to be part of the community.

“I wish that some of these people had approached me personally – if after speaking with me they still had objections I would not have a problem.”

Mr Tuby said that, if granted permission, the park would cater for the fairground industry which would involve the storage of rides and catering units and living accommodation.

But protest leader Theresa Plumb, who lives close to the land under consideration, said the application was not only unacceptable, but raised a question over planning rules for travelling people.

Ms Plumb said: “Under a rule known as Policy 13, Doncaster Council can consider applications like this from the travelling community which would be immediately rejected from settled occupants. It’s one rule for them and another for us.

“This is essentially a new village which Mr Tuby wants to build in what is called countryside policy area.

“There have been more than 700 representations against this plan, but the council is still considering it under what we think is unfair criteria. We want the application stopped and Policy 13 stopped so there is one planning rule for all.

“The planning rules are open to consultation until May 3 and we want people to object before then. We will also keep protesting against the showmen’s’ site.”

Mr Tuby said all councils were obliged to make plans for how to accommodate travelling show people and said his plan would “mop up” all the need for plots for several years to come.

He added: “At the moment the site is a quarry with 9,000 lorry movements a year. If it was a showman site that would fall to around 1,000.

“We want to give part of the site to the community as a nature reserve and want people in the area to join with us and work with us.

“I have a genuine interest in all of the Doncaster borough but especially the east side and I would never want to do anything to damage it.”

No one at Doncaster Council was available for comment.