Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey Council Cabinet: tear down this wall !
IT IS NO accident that Finsbury Park now contains a ring of steel, hundreds of metres in length. The Iron Curtain that's descended in a public park is a result of the Haringey Council Cabinet Outdoor Events Policy, decided in December 2013. This lifted the ceiling on attendees to 50,000, a number that for a host of reasons, some believe is unsustainable.
The park's Green Flag Award … now on Live Nation-controlled land, behind a wall of steel
Hackney resident and top man Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones was interviewed recently in the Haringey Indy. He spoke about the Local Authority-approved steel wall and compared it with Israel's West Bank wall.
Haringey-Live Nation's wall is not the only politically-inspired wall on public or quasi-public land. Here're a few other walls where authorities, big and small, seek to divide space, often, between the haves and the have-nots:
Arizona
Belfast
Berlin (the subject of Ronald Regan's famous challenge to the USSR)
Korea (the DMZ)
CDC
Haringey Councillor
LIberal Democrat Party
Tags for Forum Posts: Cabinet, Haringey, Outdoor Events Policy, policy, steel wall
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Heather Martin on
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Thanks for continuing to highlight this monstrosity Clive. My recollection from last year is that the wall was a long time in coming down. Do we have an estimated time for "break-down" (if that is the correct term; things already look broken) this time round?
Also, if Live Nation has a rolling contract, what would be achieved by an (albeit unlikely) change of Cabinet views on this issue?
Although I have had some interesting exchanges with the Fat (site traffic) Controller over the past few days, I am approaching a sense of humour failure on this one and would gladly get as far away as possible if my finances and family circumstances permitted (I live near the Arena).
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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It takes about a week to break down, largely representing a further period of denial to the public (during build-up, it's classed as a building site).
The council granted indefinite licences to a few operators; specific events (such as the current ones) are subject to a Land Use Agreement. The Council has supplied the 2014 version, but are stalling over the current one. I've asked for it twice now.
I know how much the park means to you Heather, as a carer for your mother and I also know you're far from alone. Sadly, parks are under threat across London.
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Further to your last paragraph, I have just found out via the Council website that the Adult Social Care 'consultation' starts today. Deep joy ...
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Pav, I made a criticism of a decision of the Cabinet of the Council Majority Group (it had been Called In by then Opposition, in January 2014, to no avail).
It's unsurprising that the Majority Group's most rabid defenders would make a hyperbolic interpretation of the scenes of infamous walls erected at the behest of politicians. It would be absurd to suggest for example that the experience inside and outside Live Nation's wall was comparable to living conditions on either side of the Korean border. That barrier, and the others, were not erected by commercial interests.
I object to the principle of this wall, in a public park, even though the Council's clean-up last night was well organised (I was part of a Stakeholder Group tour that, under Council supervision, watched the exiting arrangements.)
BTW, despite its having been viewed more than two million times, I don't condone Mandem on the wall.
That is a problem for Live Nation and their guards. The 44,000 who exited last night – largely into a closed Seven Sisters Road that was shut for an hour – were overwhelming well-behaved.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I wouldn't go so far as localist, Clive, but she/he does have a point. You're taking some very ugly examples, one of which has huge ramifications for people in a very troubled part of the world and you're using it in a rather melodramatic way to highlight your concerns.
No matter how legitimate your case may be, I think you've overstepped the decency mark in bending the Israeli West Bank barrier to your will. For me, it does neither your case nor your party's standing anything but harm.
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Hugh I happen to think that, in context, the Council-approved wall is "very ugly". I'm probably not alone in that. If you read carefully, you'll see that the comparison with the West Bank wall was first made by another. Jeremy L-J happens to be an active and effective member of the Council-controlled Event Stakeholder group. However, if you believe the comparison is indecent, I can edit it to remove the picture of the Palestine wall.
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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I completely agree with Hugh. I'm no fan of Wireless either but this is completely OTT and doesn't help the argument at all.
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Some will see it, or chose to see it, as solely Live Nation's wall. I don't: it's there as a result of a political decision, that's the point I'm trying to illustrate. See link above, "December 2013".
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The Friends of Finsbury Park have never opposed concerts in the park: we have always opposed concerts of this size, including the inadequate ratio of security.
You might find the iron curtain "rhetoric" tedious, but the steel wall and the efforts to break through have seen more publicity than I could possibly manage. Some ugly scenes have been seen by tens of thousands on youtube and on television.
The wall is a necessary part of Wireless. The size of the ticket prices leads to touts, envy and as we've seen, to violence. I and others will take it up with the Council, responsible.
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So who exactly are the 'haves' and the 'have nots' in this particular example?
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Well Alison the unwaged probably can't afford the ticket prices, but that's not the point. I'm not seeking lower prices or free tickets for residents. I, and others, oppose the principle of a steel wall in a public park (there are other objections too).
This political decision, was Called In, in January 2014 where members of the public spent three hours giving evidence before a Scrutiny Committee: it was a waste of time.
The Council have already claimed that they've considered privatising the parks. Unless this is resisted, we may lose the park in other ways. I fear this is the thin end of a wedge. The continuing of parks as we've known them, is under threat.
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