The Enfield Society understands that the Council is carrying out a review of its Parks and Events Strategy originally agreed by the Council in 2017 for the period 2017/22. Since then a number of festivals, celebrations, concerts and other events have taken place across many of the Council’s parks and open spaces. The Society believes that Enfield’s Parks are a vital element in making the Borough a great place to live and work and believes that use of our parks should be encouraged. We want to see best use of our parks by all sectors of the community and all age groups. We believe that young people should be encouraged to use and value the parks so that they continue their enhancement and preservation for future generations. We therefore want the whole community to be involved in using and protecting our parks.
Many of the festivals that have taken place such as the Broomfield Park Festival in September 2019 have been extremely well attended and have helped to generate improved community cohesion. There have been many other successful events at Firs Farm, Durants Park, Jubilee Park etc.
The Society recognises that as a result of very significant reductions in the grants that are received from central government, the Council needs to generate income to support services such as maintaining the parks. As a result, the Parks and Events Strategy includes commercial events that are run for profit. In some cases, such as the concerts at Trent Park there has been local opposition to some of the events. These objections relate mainly to noise nuisance, large numbers of people attending an event and damage to the park that is often not properly repaired.
The Society believes that there can be a place for commercial events, but that these need to be carefully managed. Three changes to the existing process would ensure that opposition is reduced and that local people see the benefit of any event –
- The Council needs to ensure that the correct level of insurance/bonding is obtained. Many concert promoters are large international organisations and will be familiar with the need to secure a bond that covers all necessary repairs and damage. Concerts are often held in the Royal Parks. Following reinstatement after an event, the areas concerned are often left in better condition than before. Enfield needs to adopt a similar approach.
- The reason given for holding large events is that the Council receives income from the licence. Following any event, consideration needs to be given to local improvements. Any tree planting, tree replacement, new seats/benches, resurfacing a pathway etc should have clear temporary signage noting that the improvements result from income secured through a recent event. These visible and long-term benefits would reduce opposition to events and ensure that the community can see the benefits.
- The commercial promoter should be made responsible for all aspects of pedestrian and traffic management around the concert site, notifying local residents of any access issues in the local area, providing adequate security and ensuring that litter is kept to a minimum and removed immediately after the concert. The licence should have clear timescales for all reinstatement work and the time for setting up and removal of any equipment should be kept to a minimum. The objective must be to ensure that the park or open space is returned to its previous condition or better at the earliest opportunity.