BUSINESSES have been making the decision whether to stay open or close after a four-day horse fair arrived in town.

The “JR Price Drigfair” arrived in Drighlington on Thursday, with the event advertised to begin on that day and run until Sunday.

The event page said: “Everybody welcome. All stallholders, market traders welcome.

“Beer tent, seafood, horses. Horse-drawn welcome.

“This will be a very good do. Plenty of trade.”

The horse fair is taking place on private land off Wakefield Road (A650), in Drighlington, near the Old Brickworks Brewers Fayre.

There has been confusion over whether businesses were advised to close due to the large numbers of people expected to attend. 

Prashad, on Whitehall Road, and The Railway on Birstall Lane, have made the decision to close.

Both have cited the vast amounts of people descending on the village as the reason for shutting.

The Railway Drighlington said on its Facebook page earlier this week: “Unfortunately we are left with no choice but to have to close our doors this weekend from Friday until Monday.

“Leeds Council have authorised a horse fair to take place in the village this weekend and as a result the local authorities have recommended either security staff or closing for the weekend due to the sheer volume of people set to attend.

“We are extremely disappointed to have to do this and it is definitely not something we had planned for, however the manageable environment for our staff and comfortable dining experience for our customers must come first.”

Meanwhile, Prashad said on both its Instagram and Facebook pages last night: “Drighlington welcomes a horse fair to the village this weekend, and whilst we’d hoped to remain open, we’re unfortunately unable to operate normal service due to the influx of footfall in the area.

“Following the guidance of the local Council, we’ve made the tough decision to close over the weekend.”

Leeds City Council told the Telegraph & Argus that it has not directed businesses to close during the event and is working with West Yorkshire Police to ensure the event runs smoothly.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “The Council has been in direct contact with West Yorkshire Police regarding this event and has been assured that everything is in place for it to run with as little disruption as possible."

They added that "no businesses in the area have been told to close for the duration of the event" and added: "We will continue to work closely with West Yorkshire Police to ensure that local residents are not impacted by the event taking place.”

Meanwhile, The Spotted Cow on Whitehall Road has decided to remain open, with amended opening hours.

The pub said on Tuesday it was yet to make a decision due to a lack of information but two days later said it would stay open, with the business closing three hours earlier than normal on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “We are aware of this event, which is taking place on private land, and we are in contact with the organiser and our partners at the Council.

“Officers from the local neighbourhood policing team will be on patrol in the local area in line with their normal deployments.

“We have no lawful or legitimate basis to oppose this event and we have not given any advice to businesses in the area to close.”

The Telegraph & Argus tried to contact the organiser, but could not reach them.