Plans to hold a community pancake racing event in Burnham-On-Sea town centre have been cancelled after concerns were raised by businesses about the impact on their trade.
It had been proposed that the races be held in College Street later this month instead of the High Street to appease traders, but town councillors have voted against the suggestion at their latest meeting.
“I asked for feedback from those in the area where the pancake race was proposed to take place around the Baptist Church and I received some positive and negative feedback,” Burnham’s Town Centre Manager Bev Milner Simonds explained.
“One letter in particular raised concerns about that location and so I distributed that to councillors and asked for feedback on what I should do next. I did not receive any feedback in time, so unfortunately I have cancelled the pancake race this year. This event was very popular last year with participants and some traders.”
Cllr Peter Burridge-Clayton said: “This event has drawn objections. I think if you’re going to do a road closure it needs to be for a very substantial event and I’m not sure that a pancake race was worthy of a road closure. Objections came from the traders to all the proposed locations, so we have to listen to them as it’s their business and livelihoods.”
Cllr Martin Cox added: “I personally feel very sorry that it has been cancelled because it got great publicity for Burnham last year, but I understand that for small traders having the High Street shut is a detriment to their trade. My thoughts are that the pancake race should be held between Lloyds Bank and Nat West in Regents Street instead – that’s the area of the High Street where we get the least amount of pedestrians. I agree with the objections about College Street where the high winds are a factor at this time of year.”
And Cllr John Parkes said: “There’s no getting away from the fact that this council previously approved an events area, so quite rightly members of the public and businesses are asking why we have a dedicated events area but we don’t seem to be using it.”
The town centre pancake races were held for the first time last year, as we reported at the time – see the link below.
Also see:
Video & Photos: Burnham-On-Sea pancake races hailed a flipping success!
