Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park - is this the standard of upkeep one might expect from a park which earns so much money
Finsbury Park is undergoing one of its segregations. There are large parts of it which I cannot get to. This section is a formal garden where as one can see plant beds are left empty apart from the weeds, the grass is left uncut, and the hedges untrimmed.
Unless I've missed some rewilding initiative even in the formal gardens then this doesn't look like a park that's had the money it earns spent on it.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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Surely the organisers still had to pay for the rental …
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Since the start of the council's Major Events policy in 2018, most aspects of Finsbury Park finances have been opaque.
This, is true, despite it being a public park in London, operated by an elected institution.
In early 2018, a previous council leader (Claire Kober) said in a public meeting that the council had considered privatising the park (?), implying that the public ought to be grateful that the council were imposing only hire periods.
Since then, these premises hire-periods have grown in size and numbers. Large chunks of our park are now privatised on a regular basis, which the Events Team describe as The Events Season.
Although the promoter Festival Republic (FR) did cancel Wireless, FR still managed to put on several Events in place of the three-night headlining of Kanye West.
Thus, we don't know about the status of the FR rental.
If the council had any penalty clause for cancellation (?) this may have been vitiated by FR pleading force majeure, on the basis that the Nazi-sympathiser artist was barred from UK entry by the Home Office, a factor beyond FR's control.
Councils in general have a reputation for poor negotiating ability with the private sector. Haringey council is likely to be viewed as a landlord who is desperate for business. The council lawyers may have inserted no penalty clauses or, if they exist, have no appetite to invoke them.
FR is 51% controlled by the live-music giant, global monopolist Live Nation. Haringey's deal with FR is likely heavily weighted in favour of the customer. Our local council would be even more keen than normal to assert Commercial Confidentiality.
The one time Wireless or any replacement Event was cancelled completely, was during the first year of Covid (2020). I seem to recall the Head of Parks saying the Government paid compensation of 70% to Haringey. Even during the Covid year, the McKenzie Garden flower beds were planted out.
Not this year, despite the relatively tiny cost of doing so.
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