Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
After 11 years of Event income, c.£10 million is not enough to pay for a single drinking water fountain in our public park
If we exclude the Pandemic year, New Labour’s policy to exploit Finsbury Park has been running for 11 years.
Leaders have bragged how much Event Income they squeeze out of our park by their hire policy. The most recent figures mentioned were £1.2 million and £1.3 million. Previous leader Cllr Ahmet dissembled when she claimed that every penny went back into the park.
Labour’s “Event Seasons” may have generated a total of roughly £10 million over 11 years. The Full Council declared a climate emergency seven years ago and the possibility of more— and more intense— heatwaves was predictable, then.
However, there is still not a single public drinking water fountain in our park. There is a tap (below).
When questioned about this a few years ago, the Head of Parks & Leisure (Simon Farrow) was completely opposed to the idea. Others who were present will remember his list of objections.
#PublicHealth
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Here is a tap at the side of the park office/yard that may be available to the public:
1—location shot; basket ball courts in background
2—just another tap in the wall
3—The Altar of water
4—"Please pull tap back to turn off water"
Photos from this morning, 9 July 2026
Tags for Forum Posts: Drinking Water, Events, Events Team, Finsbury Park, Haringey Council, New Labour policy, Water Fountain, heat wave, income, tap, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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The Head of Parks is Level 4 (as above; ncluding pension contribution, annual cost £131,000) reports to either the
Director of the Environment or to the Director of Resident Experience (the total cost of either one is likely to be at least £198,000); they are two of only four staff members now reporting to another employee in the new tier, the
Corporate Director of Environment and Resident Experience (£££,£££), who reports to the
Chief Executive (£225,000 - £230,000 p.a. no pension contribution)
Source ~ these figures are likely to be out of date and probably increased since 12 months ago. Also, it is difficult to keep track of the top staff tiers due to the shuffling in the last 18 months, caused by the all-new layer of bureaucracy.
Parks are just a sliver of the council's total responsibilities. Is there a more top-heavy council Administration in London?
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Meanwhile, our Finsbury Park is denied a drinking water fountain on grounds of cost.
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