EXCLUSIVE: Giffords Circus walks planning tightrope over workshop
By Simon Hacker | 31st January 2025
A picturesque farm set in Laurie Lee country which is home to the celebrated Giffords Circus has locked horns with planners over a workshop built without their permission.
In addition to livestock rearing, equestrian use and a recent vineyard, Fennells Farm, near Slad and three miles from Stroud, has been the base for Giffords Circus since 2014 and, the circus says, is "where the magic happens". Tickets are sold for preliminary shows at the farm before the circus goes out on its annual tour.

Now celebrating its 25th year, Circus-goers are told: "Sat high on a hill, Fennells Farm overlooks the bucolic Slad Valley and market town of Stroud down in the valley below. This is where the magic happens, the circus shows are created, and rehearsals take place every spring before the show opens.
"Fennells Farm is a magical place, it looks like a farm at a first glance, but in the barns, there are props, costumes and a team of dedicated employees all burning the midnight oil to get the show on the road."
Stroud District Council is now considering whether a 140 sqm workshop at the 86-acre farm, built in the past year, can remain, applicant Toti Gifford having instructed Cheltenham-based SF Planning Ltd to gain the retrospective permission.

SF planning said the workshop which was "recently constructed" was "crucial for the efficient and sustainable operation of the farm, providing a dedicated space for on-site fabrication of farm products, equipment maintenance, storage, and other essential farm-related tasks."
The agent added: "Its construction was driven by a genuine need to enhance the farm's operational capabilities and maintain its economic viability, with no suitable alternative structures available on the farm to accommodate these critical functions."
Fennells Farm, the agent stated, also had "a diverse planning history reflecting its evolution as an active agricultural and equestrian enterprise. The wider property (including the Circus operating base and farmhouse in separate ownership) has seen various developments over the years, including extensions to the main dwelling, construction of agricultural buildings, and improvements to equestrian facilities."

Planning files show that a bid for a workshop at the farm was lodged in 2024 but subsequently withdrawn. The current application requests "a single-storey structure with a pitched roof, constructed using concrete blocks for the walls and a timber roof frame, then covered in timber and tin respectively - as appropriate to the rural and AONB context".
SDC has asked Bisley With Lypiatt Parish Council to consult on its views and respond by February 18.
● Toti Gifford and his late wife Nell co-founded Giffords Circus in 2000. The circus has been based at Fennells Farm in Lypiatt since 2014 and plans its first 2025 events at the farm from April 17.
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