LAST night's letter from The Friends of Finsbury Park to Haringey Council

From: [personal email address]

Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2026 10:48:43 pm

To: peray.ahmet@haringey.gov.uk a href="mailto:peray.ahmet@haringey.gov.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">peray.ahmet@haringey.gov.uk>; emily.arkell@haringey.gov.uk a href="mailto:emily.arkell@haringey.gov.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emily.arkell@haringey.gov.uk>; Andy Donald a href="mailto:andy.donald@haringey.gov.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">andy.donald@haringey.gov.uk>

Subject: Request to postpone the Signing of the 5-year deal with Festival Republic/Live Nation on Friday 20th 2026

Friends of Finsbury Park (FoFP) is greatly concerned that the Council’s decision to delay the Cabinet Signing Meeting by one day—in response to FoFP’s initial objection—and subsequent pressure on stakeholders to make hasty submissions, to which officers could not realistically consider, does not discharge the Council’s requirement to consult about the multi-event park hire application (under Haringey’s Outdoor Events Policy).

The Policy expressly requires “sufficient time” to consult “all” stakeholders and especially Friends Groups. We are concerned also that the proposed Decision makes no mention of the Full Council’s prior commitment (at 21 July 2025 Full Council meeting) to review its position in relation to use of permitted development rights for allowing major events (following the High Court’s ruling against Lambeth Council in May 2025 and subsequent ruling again against Lambeth this month, on 2 March 2026).

We therefore call again for the consultation to be reissued to give all stakeholders a proper and sufficient time for response, and for consideration, in accordance with Haringey’s policy.

To proceed as you propose, would in our opinion, reinforce our view that this would not meet the criteria for a meaningful consultation.

Alternatively, we will seek legal advice to challenge Haringey’s disregard for its own policy and for stakeholders considered views.