The Stage

Licensing Act forces touring circuses to axe runs

Published Tuesday 13 June 2006 at 11:10 by Alistair Smith

UK touring circus is once again under threat, after restrictions brought in by the new Licensing Act forced a spate of cancellations this summer, losing affected groups thousands of pounds in revenue.

In the last few weeks, three circuses have had to call off or rearrange shows at the last minute, blaming a prolonged spell of wet weather and new, stricter licensing regulations.

Jolly’s Circus had to axe a five-day run from May 24 in Hinckley, near Nuneaton, while Santus Circus was forced to cancel three days at Clacton over the same period, after heavy rain waterlogged the sites on which they were licensed to perform.

Meanwhile, Zippos Circus had to call off a run near Wembley at the beginning of June and move to Brent Cross, because it was the nearest location for which the organisers held a licence. In all three cases, the circuses lost “thousands of pounds” in revenue, as they refunded tickets, but had to continue to pay staff.

In previous years, when faced with last-minute disruptions to their chosen site, organisers were able to move to a nearby field or another suitable location, often only a few hundred metres from the original pitching area.

However, since the introduction of the new Licensing Act, companies can only perform on grounds for which they hold a licence, which can cost up to £600. A new application takes ten working days to process, so last minute changes are impossible. Zippos was only able to relocate because it already held a permit for a site in Brent Cross.

The development marks a further strain for the industry, which has been hit hard by the price of the new licences and the additional bureaucracy created for what are often small, family-run businesses. Since the act’s inception, campaigners have been warning that the increased costs and tighter restrictions could kill off the majority of the UK’s touring circuses.

Martin Burton, director of Zippos Circus, explained that he had lost more money from having to relocate the circus than he had spent in paying licensing fees and warned that it was not just bad weather that can cause the problem. “People have been saying to me that the problem is just the cost of the licence, but it isn’t just the cost,” he added. “There are a million things than can cause you to relocate at the last minute and this was one of them.”