Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
WELCOME to Finsbury Park.
THIS (above) is the main welcome-sign in Finsbury Park c. 1PM on Monday 27 April 2026.
It faces the busiest, Seven Sisters Road entrance:
Like everything in our park, this is now the maintenance responsibility of the Events Team, who control all park spending. Haringey Council claim they spend £1.8 million on our park.
Tags for Forum Posts: Finsbury Park, Seven Sisters Road, entrance, sign
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Jamie Harper
-
Finsbury has become a Bonanza. This will remind some of the opening credits. With luck the once forLorne Greenes will send those Labour outlaws packing.
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton
-
Clive, He's looking for Hoss and little Joe.
-
-
I always think we're quite lucky with the amount that gets spent on the park on certain things - particularly playgrounds, skatepark and sports areas, for those who use them. I don't mind putting up with the events and festivals for that.
It's just a shame that maintenance never seems to feature in the planning. The newest playground (Richard Hope) is starting to look really shabby already. The other day it had:
1) A cracked slide (someone had boarded the top of the slide, which had clearly then been removed as no one was repairing the slide, now leaving protruding screws as a bonus feature);
2) At least 3 missing swings
3) The decked area near the seesaw (the one with the destroyed tyres) which seems to have no purpose other than housing an electrical feeder pillar.
4) Landscaping neither curated nor properly wild.
5) The bridge surface has become so slack that it acts as a catapult for small children (which I definitely didn't discover by leaning on it as my 2yr old crossed it...).
I could go on. Maybe there could be some sort of community scheme where the roadmen (formerly of various benches around the park) who now ply their trade at the skatepark could use their spare time between serving customers to do some repairs and maintenance at the playgrounds instead of scrolling on their phones? If the police can't/won't do anything about all that, we may as well create some sort of mutually beneficial ecosystem at least?
Any views from prospective councillors about this, given forthcoming elections?
-
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
-
It's just a shame that maintenance never seems to feature in the planning.
———
Yes. The lack of maintenance stems from the lack of willingness of the council—based up in Wood Green—to maintain land at the extreme south of the Borough, where roughly two-thirds of the benefit would fall upon residents in two other Boroughs—Hackney and Islington—which abut our park's boundary.
The park maintenance deficit is channeled through the Events Team, who are prepared to spend: if it benefits their customers.
The pictured Welcome sign is a case study in council Events Team practice.
A while ago, there was another Welcome sign on a patch of grass between the Seven Sisters entrance and the present sign (above). That earlier sign became so dilapidated that Haringey Council did what it often does when something falls into disrepair. It was simply removed.
Was this because it was visible to incoming Wireless ticket-holders, could not be disguised and was an embarrassment to and for the council's big customer (Live Nation)?
By contrast, the remaining sign (pictured) is able to be concealed from Wireless ticket-holders because during the Event, it's safely hidden a nine foot high steel wall.
Outside the "Events Season", its visible to normal park visitors. However, as they are non-paying members of the public, they're a lower priority.
© 2026 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
