Friends of Finsbury Park in Fresh Challenge to Concerts

This from the Enfield Indy:

A music festival that attracts thousands of people to the borough could be banned due to a licensing challenge.

Friends of Finsbury Park (FoFP) have lodged the challenge in a bid to stop Haringey Council from holding Wireless Festival in the park following complaints over crime and anti-social behaviour.

The group claims the council has failed to uphold the licensing objectives relating to the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance

Martin Ball, a trustee of FoFP, said the scale and the extent of the event were not appropriate for a venue like Finsbury Park.

“People have been talking about noise during the day and night, disturbing their kids’ sleep. It is wrong at any time. The noise is clearly too loud.

“Fireworks going off at the end of the night might be great if you are there, but not if you are in a neighbouring home.”

Mr Ball claimed the council was trying to use the income generated by the event to make up for its underfunding of the parks budget.

The organisers of Wireless Festival sold 135,000 tickets for this year’s event, which was held on July 6-8, making it one of the biggest live music events in the UK.

A maximum number of 50,000 people are allowed to attend the event on any one day, meaning large areas of the park that are normally open to the public have to be fenced off.