Canterbury Faire - Land Allocation Approach
March 2008
Those who have been considering this matter are Catalina, Bartholomew, Kotek, Roheisa and Lorenzo.
Based on suggestions made on SGDiscuss, and our own discussions, SG’s Council has approved the
the following process for future Faires. Because we still have the luxury of expansion room at the
current CF site, it's basically one of "pre-allocation for groups, and post-CF review", rather than trying
to actively redraw areas during the booking season.
Thus:
* "customary rights" will be respected indefinitely, subject to efficient use of the areas concerned
* a little later this year - but BEFORE bookings open -- any existing group which believes they have
such rights will be asked to describe their area and provide a designated contact person. Obvious
examples at this point include (but are not limited to): The Mong, Amberherthe, Domus Canem, "the
Baronages" (Sigurd and Eleonora etc), Draco Viridis, "the Artisans" (Sebastian and Ceina etc), ...
* around the same time, any newly-forming group who will have four or more tents and who believe
they should be entitled to a new group area of their own will be asked to provide a contact person, size
estimate and preferred location(s)
* a site visit will determine clear landmarks for each group's boundaries -- these will allow for some
growth where possible, and are likely to be marked (e.g. with sprayed chalk lines) early on the first CF
setup day, where required
* size estimates will be made for each group area in "standard tents", based on the tents rented from the
site. The estimates won't always directly reflect the absolute area -- for example, some sites might have
sloping or vegetated portions which preclude them holding as many tents as the absolute area would
suggest.
* a map will be produced before bookings open, which shows all the group areas, plus several
"Commons" areas (quiet, moderate, noisy etc.). The latter will be unregulated, apart from the noise
description. The map will include commonly-used walkways and infrastructure such as water points,
showers and toilets.
* when bookings are opened, people who are camping will be able to select EITHER one of the group
areas or “Don’t Care/Commons area” from a dropdown list. It will be made clear that someone should
only select a group area if they are entitled/have been invited to camp there.
* if they select a group area, an email will automatically be sent to the contact person for that group, so
they can follow up if need be. Thus, the CF steward will be "hands off" as to the internal management,
layout or population of the group areas unless specific problems arise.
* where major problems arise, e.g. last-minute moves required by fire conditions, Council (or the
steward if close to the event) will act as required to resolve them.
* before bookings open in future years, there will be a further brief review carried out by Council
and/or the next steward, to allow for: possible changes in group size, perceived crowding or under-use
of a group's area at the previous CF, and the formation of new groups. If necessary, the map will be
updated to reflect any changes required.
* this approach will continue for as long as Council thinks it is working well. At some point as the
event grows, more rigorous or post-booking allocation might be needed, but we think not for a while.