"Attacked in Finsbury parked [sic] this morning"

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John McMullan on October 17, 2015 at 10:12

It's OK Clive, the council are doing every thing they can to push the feral people out of Haringey. I'm surprised you oppose them sometimes.

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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on October 17, 2015 at 10:40

Doesn't matter.. FerRal Norf Londoners or not, any old slur will do.

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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on October 17, 2015 at 10:41

Boundaries are convenient administratively. However FP abuts not one, but two other Boroughs. I think it's an example of how boundaries sometimes don't work in the public interest.

I wonder if privately, the Council holds the view that, in terms of income generation, roughly two-thirds of the impact of major events falls on the residents of other Boroughs (and so it matters less).

On the other side of the coin, the private view is likely to be that roughly two-thirds of any money spent on our park is wasted on residents of other Boroughs.

It's a lose-lose proposition and the results are becoming apparent to residents of all three Boroughs who live near our park.

(BTW, by "private view" I mean to exclude the PR statements from the perpetual Good News machine that informs us how good everything is. Particularly objectionable was their recent untruthful claim on Twitter that, following the last concert and a few half-baked repairs, our park was "good as new").

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on October 21, 2015 at 7:21

There are some examples of community run parks, in Lambeth for instance, but I don't know if there are any restrictions on Finsbury Park that might hinder this. Interesting article below from the London Councils website.

http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/our-key-themes/environment/local-e...

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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on October 21, 2015 at 8:48

Thanks Michael, helpful. I'll pass it on.

With the right will, Councils can make an excellent job of running a park. That's the ideal, although (and before my time) I believe the GLC ran all London's parks and well.

The proof and best example of this is the excellent Clissold Park, nearby in Hackney. It's really an exemplar. Hackney have an obviously attractive, well-maintained park that shows. They also benefit from good relations between their Friends Group and the Council – and a Mayor that cares about parks (It's almost incidental to note that it abuts no other Borough and is surrounded by Hackney land).

Anyone who doubts claims about the attention given to Finsbury Park should compare each park in turn – they're separated by just a five minute walk.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on October 21, 2015 at 9:36

I agree about Clissold. It really is an excellent example of what a park should be. Maybe it would be good to get some information about how it's run and see how that compares to Finsbury Park. Management costs, staffing, income, community involvement and volunteering; that kind of thing. Hackney is no doubt going through the same budget crisis as Haringey so what is it that it does that makes Clissold so successful?

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Permalink Reply by SarahC on October 23, 2015 at 19:48

I remember reading this piece in the Guardian a few years back and being quite shocked at how little he was paid for what is actually a huge job with very long hours. I don't know how things are run now but I can't imagine they're better.

I used to live near Finsbury Park about 18 years ago and it was really horrible - it seems terrible to have improved it massively and then let it go again.

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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on October 23, 2015 at 23:05

Michael, clissold get inner London funding and spends it on staffing. Finsbury doesn't get the funding Nevertheless, the money Finsbury Park makes is hundreds of thousands more than clissold gets. The reason why clissold Park is better is because they have more staff.

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Permalink Reply by Ruth on October 23, 2015 at 9:59

I have more or less given up with Finsbury Park now which is sad but it's not as nice, well kept as it used to be even 3 or 4 years ago. A lot of money was spend on Finsbury Park about 8 years ago, a lot of improvements but they've got to pot given the way it gets used as a concert venue in the summer and that staffing/cleaning have been cut.

I go to Clissold instead for a bit of park experience even though Finsbury much nearer. 

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Permalink Reply by Sharon on October 23, 2015 at 18:45

Same here - my horrible incident involving a flasher/attacker in broad daylight in summer was pretty much the last straw for me. I now take the bus down the Clissold to feed the ducks/have a wander/grab a coffee unless I have at least one other person with me. Even walking along the New River makes me very anxious and stops me enjoying being outside, which is really rather sad. 

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Permalink Reply by Alice Mezzo on October 17, 2015 at 10:46

More of the money made from the park should be spent on the park. Does anyone have the figures about what the park earns and what is spent on its maintenance?

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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on October 17, 2015 at 12:52

Last year Finsbury Park made close to a million pounds. this year will probably be a little more. They employ very few staff, and have 1.5 full time litter pickers. for a park that size they need at least 10 permanent full time front line staff.

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