A YEARLY street fair in Milverton has been moved and rebranded for 2025 to make it more flexible to organise the village’s annual May Day activities.

The Milverton Trust has decided it will in future be the ‘Milverton Fair’ and will take place on the recreation ground off Butts Way.

Traditionally, the trust has held a street fair in the village centre with roads closed on the first Bank Holiday in May each year.

But, in 2024 it warned it might not be able to continue unless more people stepped forward to volunteer to help run it.

A trust spokesperson said: “Although the street fair has a long history and draws many visitors to our village, there have been a number of challenges over the last few years which we need to overcome if we are to keep the event running.

The spokesperson said the cost of the event had increased, with road closures rising considerably so that it was now not viable to hold it in Fore Street.

Closing roads also caused considerable inconvenience to residents and motorists as traffic was diverted and required a lot of people to implement and supervise.

They said volunteers had also been subject to anti-social and verbal abuse relating to traffic flow, road closures, and logistical issues.

So, for 2025 the event will be held in the recreation ground on Monday, May 5, from 10 am to 4 pm.

The spokesperson said: “This will reduce the number of volunteers required for planning and running the event, and on fair day enable stallholders to park next to their stalls, provide a dedicated children's area, and allow us to create a performance and entertainment area.”

The trust distributes the fair’s proceeds to local organisations which apply for a grant, and in 2024 a record amount of £5,964 was raised from the event.

Grant applications can be made with a form which is available on the village website, or using hard copies which were available trust members.

Anybody interested in becoming involved in Milverton Fair should email the trust at [email protected].