Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park events
Just got a double-page colour-printed A4 leaflet through the door about events in Finsbury Park. In line with the usual council 'information' it it completely positive - the graphics showing a pie-chart of money and how this is distributed for the benefit of the park and it's users, and is full of photographs of happy people enjoying themselves in a beautifully maintained park.
One of the items purchased is a £55K tractor and seed-spreader used to restore the grass after it has been trampled to bared mud at the concerts - something I think should be the responsibility of the concert-promoter not the council, as of course it also involves manpower costs paid for by Haringey.
No mention at all of the nuisance value and noise pollution to those living around the park.
The pie-chart does not show the actual fees to the council, although adding up the segments I get £755,000. Is this the annual total made from events, or just from Wireless? If so, is this value for money, do you think? How much profit are the events organisers making from these gigs?
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, finsbury park events, wireless festival
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cynthia griffin on
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Yes I got this this today as well and its made me sufficiently cross to do some research .
The figures and pie chart are the info given to the overview and scrutiny committee on Finsbury park events. Its report went to the Cabinet meeting on the 15 December if you want to look it up.
I agree with Maddy that the presentation is poor. Some basic maths show the percentages have been rounded in an inconsistent way and failing to add it up or say what the 755k was leaves it open to question. It appears it is the total parks income.
There are a number of things about the leaflet that made me angry
The first is that the O and S report identified that the income target for the parks service was set at 295k last year, with 255k to come from Finsbury park. That means the Council didn't need to raise 755k, but having done so it then shows how it spent the money.
I'm a great fan of the improvements to the ball courts which doubtless wouldn't have happened with out this money BUT- it must have had plans to keep the track in good repair , ditto the depot, ditto buying parks machinery ,,, so one wonders if that spend got brought forward to mop up the cash
The report highlights the big weakness in Haringey's events policy in that it focuses its limits on the number of performances in a given period of time. The rest of us are a bit more focussed on the amount of time 40% of the park is going to be closed to prepare for this event... which is a lot more than a couple of days at the weekend. So it would be good if we could get the policy revised to put limits on the amount of set up/ clean up time needed. I think most of us can cope with a bit of noise - its the sustained appropriation of public open space that causes the problems and grass does not regrow fast
More worrying is how difficult it is to find out what figure has been put into the budget for next financial year as an income target for the Parks Service . I'm sure its more than the 295k and dependant on events like wireless to hit it.
I am very aware of the amount of financial trouble the Council is in - after all we are all now paying an uplift for Adults Services BUT
smaller events add value to the local community and tend to be open or affordable or both
there are other ways of funding capital investment in parks and places community groups can apply to to fund events
the current policy has a disproportionate effect locally .
the environmental impact and damage to the park isn't recognised.
the success measure the council uses is the number of formal complaints it has . There is a message there
Big event companies do make a lot of money form events like this but they play off one council against another in terms of finding a suitable venue.
And the council thinks funding a 4 page glossy handout delivered to every household is going to convince us this is a good thing remind us of how cash strapped they are ...
I think I should rejoin the friends of the park
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Cynthia,
I read your comments with interest.
I too have seen the leaflet of Haringey-London, distributed today. I expect that it will provoke more interest in both Finsbury Park and in the Friends group. I also expect that the Friends of Finsbury Park will comment in due course.
think I should rejoin the friends of the park
The Friends now have hundreds of Members across three Boroughs. Although the Friends' long-time Patron is the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Corbyn (MP for North Islington), the Charity—and not-for-profit company—is not political party-aligned.
Joining is free and it can be done conveniently, here.
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Thanks Tris
there is no mention of the environmental impact monies in the leaflet and if I join the friends I will certainly ask them about it. The O and S review report led to a number of decisions including one to produce more comms info to tell local residents about how the money is spent. I think that is why the leaflets have been produced - fits with the reported time line to do so - and you'd lose your bet on that basis. The report and decisions are in the public domain and as I said the information is in the report. Given your level of inside knowledge can I ask where you get it from ? is it somewhere in the public domain where I and others can access it ?
My gripe isn't about the music - its about the amount of time it impacts on the park. According to the leaflet its June 30th to 15 July to accommodate a 3 day event .
if the Council is running a properly constituted licensing process the friends shouldn't need to waste everyone's money with a legal action because they and we will have had an opportunity to comment on the licensing application and make representations about it. Any action will be dismissed at the first hearing if it has no substance and the council will probably be awarded costs. But if the Council isn't doing its job properly then they are letting us all down - both as residents and ratepayers. Its the Council's job to manage its finances sensibly. There are probably cheaper ways to talk to us all than send out 4 page glossies.
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Yes...an explanation about that missing £40,000 is notable by its absence Tris
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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on
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With no consultation & none of promised stakeholder meetings @haringeycouncil have confirmed Wireless Festival. https://t.co/fJIlj9xwRN
— Friends of Fins Park (@FinsParkFriends) March 18, 2016
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There have been no (Council-controlled-) Stakeholder meetings since June 2015. Thus far, the Council have been unable to find a Councillor willing to Chair such a meeting.
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Music festivals are 'destroying Britain's parks': Campaigners say councils are ignoring residents' wishes with commercial ventures that turn grassland into mudbaths
Article in today's Mail Online.
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