• SEEMS like half of your correspondents want Primrose Hill park closed overnight and the other half want to keep it open.

There is a third choice: a night shift of one or two police officers patrolling on foot would ensure peace and quiet without penalising the many people who enjoy spending a hot summer evening on the hill.

A word from a uniformed officer will deal with the vast majority of anti-social behaviour. In the unlikely case of a more serious problem, they can radio for assistance.

Do I hear people say that we can’t afford this? I recall the Royal Parks estimating the cost of gates at £160k to £300k.

On top of this there is the cost of a security detail each morning to open the gates and each evening to warn people to leave the park and lock up. Amortised over a five-year period, this must add up to somewhere between £50k and £100k a year.

The London Assembly website gives the fully burdened cost of an “average PC” in 2019/20 as £65k a year. A PC doesn’t work 365 days in the year, of course, but this is mainly a summer problem.

I doubt if we need regular patrols during winter months, so a figure of £65k to £130k a year for a regular police presence at night seems like a reasonable guesstimate – more expensive than gates, but worth it for a solution that should please all concerned.

JOHN COTTRELL
Regent’s Park Road, NW1