• A HEARTFELT lament for the beating heart about to be torn out of Somers Town.

Lockdown and self-isolation intervening, little did I think in February when I walked to the new council headquarters, at 5 Pancras Square, somewhere I dislike intensely, I would never again enjoy our beautiful little Purchese Street park, guaranteed to lift flagging spirits and reduce tension.

I am reminded of Walter de la Mare’s Fare Well – “Look thy last on all things lovely…”

It would be far too upsetting to go anywhere near the place again as this priceless treasure is about to be systematically destroyed for ever.

To stroll through the park took only a couple of minutes, yet during that short passage of time it never failed to work its magic on my mood and wellbeing.

I could actually feel accumulated stress draining out of my being, leaving me more relaxed and happier.

Sometimes I would stay a little longer, rest on a wooden bench, watch squirrels at play, listen to a variety of birdsong, dappled shadows playing on the ground.

A small tranquil oasis amid city stress and strife.

On the relatively few occasions central London has been treated to a heavy snowfall, this was the place to trek up small slopes, joyous kids screaming with excitement as they sledged down, built snowmen or engaged in a snowball battle.

In warmer weather the park was a place to run and tumble in the grass, use the play facilities and exercise.

Cynics will sneer that the park was a crime-ridden den of thieves, drug dealing, anti-social behaviour. But that was totally a manifestation of poor supervision and managed decline.

Nothing could remove the fundamental ingredients of environmental harmony.

Camden Council will never, ever, be forgiven for the environmental vandalism about to descend on Purchese Street park; for its lack of care for vulnerable communities; for its assault on the poorest ward in the borough already suffering a dearth of green open space and for the nefarious manner in which they achieved their aims.

As a Labour Party member I believe the Labour administration in Camden has brought the party into disrepute with its mishandling of this and other Community Investment Programme schemes.

They make little or no effort to calculate the human cost of their decisions. Councillors and planners ought to hang their heads in shame.

FRAN HERON
Chair, Camden Town District Management Committee