Primrose Hill: Evidence is the park is peaceful

• ONE has to ask, why might the ground be so much muddier now, if it is, (I agree with Sir Keir about Primrose Hill gates, May 27)?

Might it be because we have just had the wettest May on record? Might it be there’s been increased usage during lockdown?

If so:

a) that is surely to be welcomed, everyone in lockdown has learned how valuable it is to have access to outside space and government policies for the pandemic were written to enable it; and

b) the problem will resolve itself in due course, without recourse to gates.

The problem of overflowing litter bins has already been resolved by park manager Nick Biddle.

Additionally there are litter-picking groups by school children and residents, which the letter writer Sarah Astor is welcome to join.

She can also join the volunteer task force that will be patrolling on busier days to encourage people to keep the park clean, safe, and open.

As for her point about unpleasant behaviour, local people, wanting to gain a proper perspective, have been filming the park at night and the evidence is published for all to see on Facebook (see “Keep Primrose Hill Open”).

It’s peaceful. A survey has been undertaken showing the park is a resource used at night by dog-walkers, disabled people, star-gazers and parents with insomniac babies, among others.

There have been complaints about raves but they are not substantiated: for example, the CNJ keeps printing the same picture from 2020, from one night when revellers got out of hand. Noise nuisance, yes, but raves? No.

While there are regulations against amplified music and all manner of anti-social behaviour, there is little enforcement.

The park’s own wardens are not empowered to enforce the regulations and rely on the police to do so. Ms Astor’s concerns would be better directed at them.

The cost of gates, estimated by the Royal Parks themselves at £300k, could employ additional officers – Sir Keir Starmer take note.

This much is clear:

1. It’s safer for everyone when the park is lit at night and there are people in it.

2. Just as littering can be dealt with without recourse to gates, so can noise. If the present regulations were enforced, the problem would disappear.

3. Crime and anti-social behaviour is a national problem, a London-wide problem, and not a problem caused by Primrose Hill that justifies special measures to deprive users of access for the first time in 50 years.

Finally, any attempt to remove access to a public facility must involve consultation with local people. Who are they? The park users within walking distance include those from Kentish Town to West Hampstead, from Hampstead to Marylebone.

The park is not a private garden for those who might self-select themselves as an “us” who are entitled to use this gorgeous place.

MARTIN FISHER
Edis Street, NW1