The people behind the Vintage Agricultural Show in St Peter’s every summer called it off for 2025, claiming that the States-related paperwork was proving to be too much to cope with.
Lead organiser Ron Le Cras said that he faced ever-growing issues with arranging for big and unusual vehicles, such as steam engines, to be allowed on the roads, as well as other issues such as data protection and health and safety.
The North and West Shows are two other annual events which often have similar needs, especially for visiting performers who can bring large lorry loads of equipment with them.
But the presidents of both shows said that years of experience and a big team of people helped keep the red tape in order.
‘Paperwork has increased over the years, with the main thing now being health and safety,’ said West Show committee president Andre Mayor.
‘But we’ve been ahead of the game. We had a lot of things in place before they were made the standard.
‘The biggest thing is getting the stuff from the harbour. A lot of acts that come over have big vehicles and they need an escort vehicle.
‘We also have a big team – there are about 40 of us and we share out our work.
‘It’s a shame about the vintage show – there is a place for it.’
North Show president Emma Sarre said red tape and paperwork were not a major issue for her committee.
‘We’ve tried very hard to set ourselves up in such a way that we can roll these things out each year and we have a check-list of what we need to do,’ she said.
The show did not tend to bring over anything that was particularly out of the ordinary, she said.
‘From the ports to the park we have a few bigger vehicles which need escorts.
‘We’re fortunate because if we bring over an individual fair ride or some acts with large vehicles, they are just variations of normal vehicles.
‘We have a committee and a lot of people who deal with admin.’
She was sorry to hear that the vintage show was not going ahead.
‘We’re very much aware of how much effort and time gets put into these shows.
‘Maybe they can get some people who are willing to do the admin side of the work for them for next year.’
Another event which has a lot of large vehicles to move is Gandeys Circus, which is returning to the island on 9 May.
‘Yes, there is red tape, but it’s not insurmountable,’ said marketing and PR manager Peter Massera. ‘We have a team that deal with it.’
A bigger problem for the circus this year is the lack of a freight boat between Guernsey and Jersey to enable to it to easily get to the other island after the Guernsey performances. ‘We might end up having to go back to Portsmouth and then to Jersey,’ said Mr Massera.
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