Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The Open Arms - Finsbury Park - five days a week from 17 May to 17 September
Yesterday I saw a notice fixed to the Finsbury Park Manor House Gate giving notice of a licence application for an event in the park – The Open Arms. When I got home I had a look on the Council’s licensing application web site. The information was as on the attached screenshot. I then did some further searching on the Council web site and found further details - see the attached file.
To sum up the area to the north east of the Mckenzie Gardens (the garden near the lake) is going to be let out for four months from 17 May to 17 September. The event will take place on five days a week – Wednesday to Sunday.
The event description is:
“The Open Arms is a performance-led pop-up occupying Finsbury Park for summer 2021. As a recipient of the Arts Council England’s ‘Culture Recovery Grant’, we will be looking to bring to life an activation that celebrates and supports the rich pool of talent living within the borough. Essentially we providing a stage for local performance in the midst of rapid venue closures.”
It will involve live entertainment; live (amplified) music; food stalls and a bar. The area will not be fenced and access will be free and not ticketed. The organisers anticipate a maximum of 200 attendees at any one time.
I can see some potential problems. Whilst the idea of free entertainment is nice, there is the problem of the music noise. Local residents could be faced with having to put up with this five days a week for four months. The Council document states:
“Due to the low numbers within the venue at any one time (200), it is anticipated that any noise levels emanating from the onsite performances will be kept to a minimum, with minimal effect on park users, and local residents”
However, there is no information given as to noise levels permitted and how the Council are going to monitor this – if at all.
A second issue is the number attending. The organisers say 200 at any one time. However given that there are no controls on numbers there could be any number turning up, and as the numbers increase the amplified noise levels go up inevitably as people want to hear the music.
A third issue is the application to sell alcohol. With completely free access to the bar will there be any checks on under-age drinking?
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, the open arms
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Adrian Hackney on
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I've also said I would attend. The Friends boycott will not be 100% so we should take notes, report back and not agree to anything pending the licensing meeting.
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There is now a petition online for those wishing to object. https://www.change.org/p/haringey-council-stop-the-pub-in-the-park
The Metropolitan Police publishes crime statistics for local areas. Fear of crime within the park is not imaginary. The figures for February are shown in the image. Generally there is an upturn in crime over the warmer months
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Permalink Reply by Konrad B on
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With only a few days to go before the Haringey Licensing Committee meeting on 4 May (and after the deadline for representations - 8 April) the organisers have submitted additional conditions which they want the committee to agree to.
These include a fence round the entire event area; control of entry; no off sales. Most importantly the maximum number of attendees (not including staff) has increased from 200 to 700 at any one time. This increase makes a mockery of the licensing application procedure as the increase involves a substantial change in the nature of the event. In March, the Council officers informed the Cabinet member responsible for the hire agreement that the “Due to the low numbers within the venue at any one time (200), it is anticipated that any noise levels emanating from the onsite performances will be kept to a minimum, with minimal effect on park users, and local residents.” Will the noise levels for a crowd of 200 be adequate for a 250% increase to 700 - I doubt it. The Council should be cancelling the hire agreement as the change is too great to ignore.
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Message received in the last hour from Haringey Licensing:
"This is to inform you that the application for the Open Arms has been formally withdrawn by the applicants Assembled Gala."
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Permalink Reply by kotkas on
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Great - glad that we avoided what was undoubtedly going to be a massive eyesore and quite disruptive to visitors to the park and the surrounding area
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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on
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Islington Council Planning Dept wrote to Haringey about it, objecting on eight grounds. Link to full letter here. Salient text below.
"We therefore raise the following concerns:
1) The lengthy timescale and duration of events during the entire Summer period in a public
park (Wednesday – Sunday until September 2021) causing a negative impact on the
amenity of the park and wildlife/ habitats;
2) The loss of use of the public open space and quiet enjoyment of Finsbury Park as an open
space and park to residents and park users;
3) Loss of amenity to residents in terms of noise disturbance and anti-social behaviour;
4) Concerns over increased crime, disturbance, ASB and general safety of residents and
users of the park as a direct result of the proposed events, gatherings and sale of alcohol
during events;
5) No information regarding the control of numbers attending the events and no enclosure/
controlled access details to the event space area identified on the site plan;
6) Insufficient provision of toilet facilities including accessible facilities and litter bins;
7) Insufficient details on the access and egress from events and any controlled drinking zone;
8) Negative impact on the essential business of local businesses including shops, restaurant
and cafes within the surrounding area.
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Just above these 8 points Islington writes
"Further to our previous correspondence . . . .,"
I read the previous correspondence (now removed) which stated "Islington does not wish to comment".
So Haringey is not the only borough that needs a kick up the protocols.
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Permalink Reply by PeterPiper on
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I wonder what happens to the £270K grant the applicants obtained from the Arts Council now that they have withdrawn their application for their "promotions" in Ruskin Park, & Finsbury Park. Will they have to reimburse the Arts Council for some of it? It's public money, i.e., tax-payers money after all.
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The grant was made under the terms of the Culture Recovery Fund. A set of Ts and Cs from October 2020 are here.
Page 12 is a bit of a mess because the numbering goes awry. But it includes this
We will terminate the grant agreement
and/or recover the grant in our
absolute discretion, if any of the
following events occurs:[ . . . . . . . ]
you do not carry out the Plan with
reasonable care, thoroughness,
competence and to a standard that
would be expected for your level of experience.My guess is that drafting all the reports and drawing up the plans and applications and dealing with the various local authorities, only to be frustrated by pig headed local nimbys, probably used up the best part of £270,000
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Whether you agree with the proposal or not, that last comment is disgraceful.
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I'd have thought that a professionally competent outfit would've had some insurance cover for such an eventually that has occurred. No?
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