Open Letter

Simon Farrow, Head of Parks and Leisure, Haringey Council

Cllr Emily Arkell, Cabinet Member for Culture, Communities & Leisure

From: The Friends of Finsbury Park

May 2024

Open Letter

Urgent Call for Better Environmental Responsibility in the Management of Events of Finsbury Park

We, the Friends of Finsbury Park, are writing on behalf of our members, to ask that, in 2024, greater environmental responsibility be given to the park's natural assets (trees, grass, plants, wildlife).

Our members and local residents would like to see evidence:

That there are no breaches of the current Haringey Council’s 3m rule against placing equipment, vehicles and structures upon mature tree root structures. If there are breaches they are documented, immediately rectified and fines issued.
A policy review for the Council to consider the preferable Woodland Trust Guidance which states a protection zone of 12x the diameter of the tree trunk, or, at least beyond the drip line of all mature trees. Grass could be kept long around such trees or wood chipping could be used to indicate this ground is excluded from the event footprint.
That Haringey Council vigorously plans and supervises: set up, spot checks during the event and during take down and shares evidence of compliance with community groups. This level of supervision is needed as the current licensing terms, which all event companies have to abide by, is woefully short on ecological protection. So until a time that the licensing terms reflect the care that the park's nature needs, especially as we face a biodiversity and climate crisis, we must have a more robust management from the council on the ground. But ultimately, we need more stringent licensing agreements developed with the community, especially given this is a historic park not an indoor venue.
The residential community is currently invited by Festival Republic to voice concerns/see the set up. Last year, having complained strongly about walls being erected within inches of tree trunks, we hope this year that this issue will be addressed by Festival Republic and all other event organisers (including Krankbrothers and Manning’s Amusements) that are given permission to hire green space in our park.
The community need also to be invited into the Kranks site and the Fairs, in particular, to show transparency around the upholding of environmental standards given the size and damaging impact of these events. The ground on the north side of the park has still not recovered from the 2023 Kranks festival, the Reservoir field is still rutted from the Tough Mudder event. The ground after the Manning’s Fair in April is scarred with deep gullies cut by vehicles driving through sodden turf.
That there will be no cutting of branches of historic trees to accommodate HGVs on carriageways or shrub beds that are home to nesting birds. It is against the Countryside and Wildlife Act of 1981 to disturb the habitats of wild birds during nesting season - February to August in the UK. Mature gorse shrub beds were cut back to a devastating effect on nesting birds in March 2024.
To ensure accountability residents would like visibility of any tree risk reports written prior to the events. We ask that the park’s natural trees and shrubs are not cut or felled to accommodate events but rather events are modified to work within the park.
If a tree is thought to be dying and dangerous, we ask for them to be monolithed not felled entirely. We would like reports to be made public to indicate type of disease, if it’s present. We have asked that trees already removed, in historic avenues, to be replaced. The avenues on the south side of the park now have significant gaps in canopy creating discontinuous corridors for bats and birds.
We ask that no chemicals are used at the site which would cause damage to the soil life and root structures of trees and other vegetation. The cleaning of equipment and toilets should not be undertaken in an historic park putting its natural assets at high risk from toxins. Any toxic leaks should result in a heavy fine to the organiser. The use of cleaning chemicals was witnessed by residents at the recent Manning’s Fair. If contractors breach environmental standards then consequences to be made public.
Guiding e-vehicles/golf buggies should chaperone HGVs and organiser SUVs through the park so they cannot overstep the speed limit - according to resident testimony the fair organisers were not respecting the speed limit on the carriage road in their own personal vehicles, of which there were too many! Speed limits must be enforced on all contractors.
That the flood risks are properly assessed and made public. The leak from the lake appears to be getting worse. The American Gardens and the North Side have been very boggy all year. Some species of tree (e.g. oak) will be damaged by ongoing conditions. On top of this, compaction from festivals will further impact their health.
We would like baseline environmental studies to be conducted before and after the events. Also that some practices will not be allowed e.g. hanging lighting from mature trees where birds and bats nest and forage, and for the position of air quality metres and readings to be made public. The use of charcoal burners etc should be banned to minimise air pollution for visitors to the park. We ask that all data before/during and after data to be transparent to the community.
Finally, we want the scale, frequency and number of events to be capped. It is not sustainable that the park management has set no limit for the growth of events. To protect the park, we want a cap to be agreed with the community.

We look forward to meeting with you to discuss how the park's management will be run to the highest environmental standards in 2024 and that the community's concerns are not brushed aside.

Please also sign this petition if you want to see the northside of the park protected from events due to the incompatibility of the number of trees there and the scale and total mass of the building that is required to host such an event.

Friends of Finsbury Park