Haringey Council is continuing to ignore concerns after another summer of music events at Finsbury Park, a residents group has claimed.
Clive Carter, co-chair of Friends of Finsbury Park, said the continuation of Haringey Council’s major event policy is damaging the park and placing a major strain on residents.
It comes as a petition to stop major events in Finsbury Park has nearly reached 2,400 signatures after a summer of live music events, including Wireless organised by LiveNation, that was criticised for poor crowd management.
Carter said: “Every summer, half of the usable area is walled off with 12 foot high walls, and residents are stopped from using the best park in the borough during the height of summer.
“The noise dominates the park, and depending on the wind, temperature and rain, the bass can carry up to two miles, and whilst some might be a great fan of that type of music, not everybody is, and even if they are, they might not want to be subjected to it.”
Carter, a former Liberal Democrat councillor for Haringey Council between 2014-2018, claimed the vast majority of the festival goers are not residents, and most of the businesses in the area close due to the antisocial behaviour caused by the festival.
He added: “We love the Park Staff, but there is no cooperation between the council and residents, unlike Clissold Park, where there is genuine cooperation between the council and the group.”
A Freedom of Information request revealed that between June and September, Haringey Council raised more than £1million through park hire charge, but the council were unable to specify the breakdown by specific events due to the commercial reasons.
Haringey Council states that all income raised through major events in Finsbury Park is used for management and maintenance costs, improving the park’s infrastructure and supporting park community events.
Councillor Julie Davies, a Cabinet member for Communities and Civic Life, said: “Working together with residents is always one of our key priorities and that is no different when it comes to major events in our parks.
“Our event stakeholder group, including residents, park user groups, business associations, ward members and officers from all three boroughs, gives residents and other local stakeholders the opportunity to hear from and address concerns directly to the council and Festival Republic.”
However, Carter says that many residents’ concerns expressed in past event stakeholder groups have been dismissed, and residents have lost trust in this forum.
Tom Nott, 23, resident and a patron of one of the Krankbrothers events held in August, added: “The events are great and it is wonderful that they happen, and they are going to happen somewhere in London regardless.
“However, the noise, the litter, and the crowd intensity is a bit too much, especially every weekend, and it was particularly bad during Wireless with the police disruption.”
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