The problem is that the world has changed very much since those days. It isn't as safe or peaceful, and there is far more traffic. On that heath for example, I've heard there are now drug users/sellers, prostitutes and their clients, homeless addicts of various kinds, needles, roaming vicious dogs etc, even in broad daylight. But for most of my teaching life, the teacher would take his/her class out and was 'advised' to have a second adult to bring up the rear so to speak. In Glasgow I had 48 pupils aged nine, and we went out on foot to the museum with just the school secretary as second adult. But back to the Coco-nutters, I honestly don't suspect it's a ploy to ban it on anti-racist grounds, just an anxiety about road problems and traffic dangers. I seem to remember that quite recently, the Straw Bear Festival at Wittlesea had a similar hiccup with the local authorities and the procession route. Wheatman may be able to explain the ins and outs, but it did have an effect on the day of reducing the fun a bit.