The view from Primrose Hill when the sun goes down [Rajiv Bhuttan]

A GROUP which wants to see Primrose Hill kept open at all times says a new survey on anti-social behaviour is loaded in favour of locking the park and should be abandoned.

The Royal Parks is sending researchers to the park and says it is canvassing views on the scale of the issue and what should happen next.

This follows the gating of the park at night following complaints from some nearby residents that it was being used as a party destination during the Covid lockdown, attracting noisy revellers and drug dealers.

Opponents to the gates say that these measures should not become the norm forever and that the park – with its much-loved view across London – should be open again.

A Royal Parks annual report said “visitor numbers and behaviour are back to pre-pandemic levels”.

The Primrose Hill Keepers group formed with the aim of reducing problems and encouraging businesses to play a helpful role. It called for better toilet facilities and stewarding, but not gates.

Amy McKeown, one of the organisers, said: “This is the worst thing the Royal Parks could have done, because it just makes it more divisive. We need to know how the survey results are going to be used. It is a poorly constructed survey and people could fill it out more than once.”

She added: “Crime statistics for the park are now very low and the main offence recorded was climbing over the fence to get into the park. What we wanted to see was a programme of events on the hill over the summer.

“We suggested yoga, even morris dancing. I can guarantee that there won’t be ravers on the hill if there are morris dancers there.”

The Royal Parks needed to say whether there would be a full consultation on future use of gates, she said, and that saying there were not enough police to deal with any issues on surrounding streets was not acceptable.

“You can’t just say an area is unpoliceable,” she said. “This is a divisive issue and the survey will just start it up again. We want a managed public space, not a closed off public space.”

The New Journal asked the Royal Parks how the survey was going to be used, and whether any results would be binding on future strategy.

A spokesperson for The Royal Parks, said: “The survey has been created in response to the anti-social behaviour reported by residents. It seeks to collate comprehensive feedback from across the community to fully understand all views on behaviour in the park. The survey invites people to share feedback on whether they do or they do not experience anti-social behaviour and includes free space for respondents to describe detailed observations.

“In addition, we want to meet residents and park visitors face to face and there will be four sessions in the park for visitors to complete the survey with a researcher.

“This is an information-gathering survey run by an independent research agency and not a public consultation on a defined proposal. The survey data will be analysed together with additional information to help understand how the charity can continue to work with the police to appropriately manage future park access.”