Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Friends of Finsbury Park to Mount Legal Challenge to Wireless
The Friends of Finsbury Park want to stop the Wireless Concert occupying "a third" of the park for two week in mid-summer
The Friends of Finsbury Park have set a course to mount a legal challenge to Haringey Council's renting out Finsbury Park for the Wireless Festival
The Friends say of the Wireless Festival, "It is almost impossible to comprehend its vast scale and the impact it has on Finsbury Park. Last year’s Wireless Festival covered almost one third of the size of the Park, surrounded by an oppressive 8ft high green metal barrier to keep Park users out, in some areas stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Many local residents don't have gardens so the park serves as a vital outdoor amenity, and as events such as Wireless Festival take weeks to set up and take down the public is denied access to what should be public space.
"Last year’s Wireless Festival, which was held over two summer weekends, attracted crowds of 50,000 per day causing massive disruption, damage, excessive noise, and antisocial behaviour in streets surrounding the Park.
Relationships between the Friends group and the Council have long been frosty. But now it appears they are breaking down altogether with meetings being cut short or cancelled and now a legal challenge. A spokesman for the friends group said "We've tried everything to get Haringey Council to enter into discussions with us, but they refuse to listen, stopping all public consultation and ignoring stakeholder groups, local residents and park users".
The group is now launching a legal challenge to stop the Council staging the festival and similar major events in Finsbury Park. I am not clear at this stage what the basis of the legal challenge is, but I'm guessing the clue might well be in a recent statement:
Finsbury Park is a public park that was formed by virtue of the Finsbury Park Act 1857; it is registered as a Grade II Historic Park and Garden and is also Metropolitan Open Land.
The group say they will have to pay up to £35,000 plus VAT for issuing the proceedings and having a one day hearing in the High Court. To raise the required monies, a crowdfunfing page was set up on Monday. As of today the page has attracted over £5,000 funding, about 12% of the total amount they may require.
Alongside the preparations for the legal challenge, the friends group have also lodged an official objection to the festival.
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, finsbury park events, wireless festival
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by DavidJ on
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I agree with John - I am in favour of the park being used for events like this - but Wireless did seem to grow too big for its boots. There is no reason that they could not be told to be in and out of the park more quickly and to take up slightly less space.
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Permalink Reply by Pat on
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They have listened to us. I clearly stated that I approved of the events. It is hardly discrimination to have the pedal power events postponed for two weeks. And the new basketball courts were much needed. From a community perpestive, it would depend on who you speak to. Most of the local community I know have no problem with the concerts and have enjoyed them as concert-goers.
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This has got me seething. With the council closing children centres across the borough due to austerity cuts, then now have to waste money defending this frivolous legal action. Maybe the council should offset the legal costs with reduced funding to parks across the borough. It makes me weep with despair.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I had a look at the crowdfunding page Hugh linked to at the top of the page. I'm not clear from it on what basis the challenge is being mounted. It's says that the claim is that the council does not have the power to hold Wireless and other similar major events in the park. Is it challenge on the basis of size, paid entry..........?
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I'm guessing the clue is in the italicised quote in the OP. I'm guessing they've found a legal basis for a challenge in either the Finsbury Park Act or the legislation governing the usage of Metropolitan Open Land.
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I've just spent three minutes looking at at the Act and without having skimmed more that the first few pages I guess you can see a basis for a case in the following provisions:
THis first part says that they may hold a concert.
This second part limits the area used and protects certain elements of public right of access.
Knock yourself out if you want to continue going through the whole (surprisingly short) piece of legislation. Attached below.
- Attachments:
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ukla_19670029_en.pdf, 3.1 MB
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Cheers Hugh. It looks like it would on the basis of size then as nothing in paragraph 7 seems to prohibit current uses. I've no idea how big an acre is though.
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It may be on the basis of size and access. Para 7 seems to grant the right in general to hold a concert and the subsequent para proscribes that right in terms of both size, in part ii, and public access in part i.
As a non-lawyer, it seems likely to me that they have a case, but I'm sure a clever defence lawyer will present evidence from elsewhere in the same legislation or from another act that argues the Council's case.
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The access clause seems to specifically relate to areas used to play games that aren't specifically designated as sports pitches. In FP I suppose that would cover the informal footie matches on the Seven Sisters road side. So people can play footie there but they can't prevent access by others - though personally I wouldn't give it a go during a match.
I had a search on the National Archives website for the Finsbury Park Act 1857 and there aren't any records. I wonder if it was replaced by subsequent law on public open spaces without being repealed (as often seems to happen in English law).
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Permalink Reply by Penny A on
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An acre is surprisingly small:
16 tennis courtsAn acre is a unit of area containing 4,840 square yards and approximately the same size as one football (soccer) pitch OR 16 tennis courts. An acre of rainforest contains up to 86 different species of tree, with the amphibians, birds, insects and mammals that depend on them.
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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on
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Well according to Wikipedia Finsbury Park is 110 acres...and the legislation states one acre or one-tenth of the open space whichever is the greater...clearly Wireless occupies more than one-tenth of the park
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