A TRADITIONAL family fair which has had a presence in Tunbridge Wells since the 1900s has been banned by the new owners of the Pantiles.

The Kent and Sussex Courier can exclusively reveal, Shaw's Fair, which rolls into town at Easter and in the autumn, has been told it can no longer use the Major York's Road car park.

The news has "devastated" owner Nicky Shaw, who had hoped as usual to bring his two-week crowd-pleaser to the car park in October.

He has been using the site for 22 years – as had the Andrews family before him – and the space is even known by locals as the "fairground car park," he says.

But after six weeks of trying to book the slot, for which he pays £1,200 for two weeks, he was finally told by Targetfollow on Friday the fair was no longer welcome.

Mr Shaw said: "I'm devastated. People of all ages and all walks of life come to the fair. You see the great and the good, rich and poor, even the local doctor brings his children and I give him free rides. There was something for everyone. It was a fairground before it was anything else."

The 61-year-old, who said traditional fairs like his were disappearing "left, right and centre" because supermarkets were buying up land, claimed the people of Tunbridge Wells and surrounding areas would be devastated at the news the fair's historic visit had been axed.

Mr Shaw from East Grinstead added: "People remember coming as children and then they bring their children and grandchildren along. People say to me 'I remember coming as a little baby'."

Mr Shaw claimed he was told by Targetfollow that it could make more money from motorists using the car park. He said the town had hosted the "Peanut Fair" on the common in the early 1900s before the traditional fair, which now features a waltzer, twister, big wheel, cup and saucer and the popular dodgems, along with sideshows including hoopla, darts, rifle range and candy floss came along.

Fairgrounds were being hit by the price of fuel, cost of living and the credit crunch, he said.

In addition to the rent, Mr Shaw, whose father worked with the Andrews family and brought up his son on the fair, said he covered the fair's electricity and water bills.

"Once you lose a fair's site, you've lost it all together."

Spokesman for Targetfollow Adrian Goldney, who bought the Common and the Pantiles in January, said: "The rationale behind it is it has not been as well-attended in recent times and has actually caused anti-social behaviour. We want the common to be good for everyone in Tunbridge Wells and moving forward we will have an events programme next year which will incorporate the common."

Responding to Targetfollow, Mr Shaw fumed: "There has never been any serious trouble at the fair in all my living memory. Yes, you do get the boys up there with a six pack and we try and take them off them, but we never get any trouble.

"They just show off to the girls but they'll do that in the High Street or in the town centre, or anywhere.

"Yes, we can sometimes struggle with numbers, but last year we had a £1 for every ride night, and you couldn't have fitted more people up there."

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