Daffodil weekend - Fowlmere residents' update

Thriplow Daffodil Weekend and Fowlmere working together

Daffodil Weekend is all about our local communities working together. It is a truly unique event: it takes over 350 volunteers to run the weekend successfully and raises money for local charities and good causes (see below for details about how to apply for a grant). However, the event does cause significant disruption both within Thriplow and in the surrounding villages – Fowlmere in particular is affected by increased traffic through the village.

Traffic management and road closures

We are working with your Parish Council to mitigate the increased traffic and rogue parking as much as possible. In particular the traffic management and road closure schemes in effect over the weekend are designed so that the event traffic bypasses Fowlmere. Inevitably there will be an increase in traffic through Fowlmere and some visitors will attempt to park in your village which we strongly disapprove of. To manage this extra traffic we will place cones through the village at "pinch points" and put up "residents only" parking signs. The aim of this is to minimise as much as possible the impact on the Fowlmere residents. It would be great to work with you to improve this system for future years.

The usual road closures will be put in place. These are designed to control access to the event itself. These road closures do not stop the full legal right of access should people have non Daffodil Weekend related business in the village e.g. picking up newspapers from the shop etc. If you are exercising this right please refrain from visiting the toilets, marquees, stalls etc which are being funded by the charity. The road closures are in place from 9am to 5pm on the Saturday and Sunday. The entry charge (tickets in advance) only apply to people walking, cycling or driving in who intend to attend the event. Car parking in the village is charged at £1 per car

Applying for grants from Daffodil Weekend

Every year, a proportion of the profits from the Weekend go to a nominated external charity. This year it is being split between two nominated charities, Royal Papworth and the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The remainder of the funds raised is distributed to local charities in and around Thriplow. The allocation of these funds is determined by the Thriplow Daffodil Trust, which assesses the applications they receive from local charitable organisations. For 2023, we would encourage village-based charities to apply for a grant by completing the online application form that can be found on the Thriplow Daffodil Weekend website https://www.thriplowdaffodils.org.uk/charity-application-forms-2022.

Buying tickets on line

We are moving to online ticket sales only so we can control the number of visitors in the village. Numbers of visitors have to be controlled to meet the requirements of the Event Management Plan (EMP) in line with covid safety and social distancing requirements. Tickets for the event can be bought in advance online here: www.tickettailor.com/events/thriplowdaffodilweekendcountryfair.

A discount code is available for use by Fowlmere residents to recognise that the village experiences some disruption as a result of the event. This will be publicised through the village Facebook groups. Please do not share this with others outside of the village as the success of the event depends on its fundraising for local causes. Any Fowlmere resident that has made an advance booking at full price can get a refund by emailing daffodilweekend1@gmail.com with their ticket code prior to rebooking with the discount.

Volunteers gain free access to the event – and we are always looking for more volunteers!

How does Daffodil Weekend raise money?

The event makes money for charity solely from admission tickets, the tea rooms and selling pitches for stalls. Daffodil Weekend does not make any money from purchases from the stalls or other retail outlets and only a very small amount from car parking (car parking this year is a nominal £1). The event costs just under £50,000 to stage which has to be fully recouped before any charity money can be raised – this £50,000 goes to cover the cost of marquees, toilets, insurance and pay for attractions etc. Admission to Daffodil Weekend is by ticket per person in the car parks or village gateway

Again, please let me apologise for the disruption that the event causes- and I really welcome the opportunity to work with you all to make it as inclusive and fun as possible. We are keen to hear your views and suggestions about Daffodil Weekend. You can do this by emailing us at daffodilweekend1@gmail.com, or you can contact us through the website https://www.thriplowdaffodils.org.uk/

Best wishes

Paul Earnshaw

Chairman, Thriplow Daffodil Weekend