Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Finsbury Park - consultation on holding more 'large events' in the park
People may be interested that the council is planning to increase the number of "large events" (like the Stone Roses concerts) in Finsbury Park. The consultation ends on 10 November.
In theory the number of large event days - for 10,000 to 50,000+ people - could increase from the current maximum of 5, to a whopping 18 days (six events of up to three days each). These are likely to all be at weekends and result in a large part of the park being fenced off for the purpose. And this is in addition to the four fairground and circus events, each lasting up to two weeks.
But beware the consultation document is sugar-coated. The consultation questionnaire asks for views on an increase from five to six large events. On the surface this seems reasonable - but it isn't. The Stone Roses gigs in June counted as two event days. In future this would be just one of the six events so 12 or even 18 large event days could be held in the park.
No account is taken of the impact of large events on the community: loss of park space, traffic chaos in the area, litter, anti-social behaviour and crime. Not to mention the damage that can be done to the park if 50,000 people trample over wet grass for several hours. It can take months to recover.
The council talks of generating £165,000 in income from event organisers which can be spent on parks. Generating income is to be applauded but the business model seems to be really weak. And the income target does not include the council's own costs of cleaning up and repairs not to mention the additional policing costs that we bear as taxpayers. They also say that £20,000 will be set aside for community based events in parks. Can we really be bought off that cheaply?
Fill in the questionnaire now and be sure to strongly support the continuation of five event days only (Question 1).
The council wil be making a decision on the policy on 17 December.
Tags for Forum Posts: finsbury park, finsbury park events
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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Thanks for the reminder Alistair. I have just filled in the questionnaire, strongly objecting to the proposed plans for extension of events. I must admit to a sense of futility about this though, as I believe the consultation process is likely to be devoid of meaning, with interested parties on the council shooing in the changes regardless of local opinion.
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Permalink Reply by Churros on
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I disagree. I attended the Area Forum last week and I think the council is prepared to listen. They obviously see it as a way of making more money but with local elections only six months off it's THE perfect time for residents to make their feelings known. Some of the Labour councillors will be looking over their shoulders and won't want to alienate their core vote.
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Permalink Reply by Helen on
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The Council Tax we pay for local services should be used to look after parks. Why should companies be allowed to fence off large swathes of public space and prevent us using it just because they have lots of money and want to make more.
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You raised two points.
At present there's nothing to prevent a 2 or 3 day event (provided the council is prepared to hire out the park). But there is a limit on no more than five separate days of 'large events'. The Stone Roses gigs in June was two days back to back. But in future this could rise to up to 18 days of 'large events' in the park as the council is proposing to set the limit to six large events of up to 3 days in duration each. And as the set up and dismantling of large events takes up to a week on each side of the event the disruption to local park users would be substantial.
Secondly, the scale of the event does generate extra cleaning, anti-social behaviour, traffic problems etc. You'll have noticed how many police and additional services are deployed for games at the Emirates. This is paid for by Arsenal. But for a similar sized event at Finsbury Park (lasting potentially 2 or 3 days) the council - and police - do not get extra funds for this. The fee will contribute to this, but in the past the fees paid have barely covered the extra costs incurred. So in the end council tax payers like you and me will subsidise the event promoters unless a commercial fee is charged. And its not.
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