Alcohol temporarily banned in London Fields
Alcohol is now temporarily banned in London Fields Park following weeks of unacceptably high levels of litter, public urination/defecation and disturbance to local people, which is significantly impacting on the local community and results in people feeling excluded from the park.
Following a successful injunction application, the ban will be in place from tomorrow (Saturday 4 July) for a temporary period pending a review hearing in court on 9 July, and will be enforced by the police and Council enforcement officers.
The Council will then engage further with local people and businesses on the issues and consider longer-term options to ensure the park is safe and remains an inclusive space for all park users.
A significant number of complaints from local residents in nearby streets and estates have been received by the Council – detailing the weekly disruption to their lives, with loud music, drunken behaviour, public urination, littering and public defecation making them feel unwelcome in the park and disrupting them at home. Examples of these complaints are included below.
Some recent weekends have seen thousands of people in the park, with DJs setting up sound systems; people urinating against trees in the park, in people’s gardens and outside their front doors; defecation in the park’s woodland; and dancing, loud music and noise continuing late into the night.
As of 25 June, the Council had issued 193 fines at London Fields for urinating, defecating and littering in May and June alone, compared to just nine in the previous 12 months. It also issued 13 antisocial behaviour warning notices in May, compared to just six in the previous 12 months.
101 of the 193 fines were issued to people who do not live in the borough, including 10 issued to people with SW postcodes, 9 with SE postcodes and others from Ilford, Bow, Poplar, Archway, and as far afield as Chelmsford, Bishop’s Stortford, Bexley and St Albans.
Young people have also told the Council’s Young Future’s Commission that the way some people behave in London Fields makes them feel unsafe in the park and concerned about the potential for spread of infection among BAME communities, who are more at risk from coronavirus.
While intended as a last resort, the injunction is aimed at limiting the antisocial behaviour caused by drinking and large-scale music events. It will prohibit people in London Fields from: consuming alcohol; damaging wildlife; possessing, consuming or selling nitrous oxide, laughing gas or CO2; playing loud amplified music; lighting fires or barbecues; driving vehicles or using generators in the park; and leaving litter.
The injunction will give the police the power of arrest for breaches of these conditions.
The Council has already put extensive measures in place to manage issues at London Fields: installing 25 large commercial waste bins at the park, opening toilets with additional cleaning, implementing additional summer waste collections earlier than usual, issuing nearly 200 fines for urinating and littering in May and June and printing dozens of banners reminding people of the guidance.
There are concerns that, as lockdown measures continue and pubs and restaurants continue to be impacted by social distancing restrictions, the issues may get even worse over the summer.
In addition to the injunction, the Council is set to recruit an additional 12 enforcement officers to support parks staff to keep London Fields and other parts of the Borough safe and clean over the summer months.
In the meantime, additional security guards are working with the Council to help manage the issues in London Fields.
The measures the Council is taking to manage behaviour at London Fields are coming at a cost of approximately £150,000, at a time when it is under extreme financial pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.
Local residents’ views: “Today I witnessed three individual groups of the public using the estate on Richmond Road as a toilet. This is unacceptable behaviour and inconsiderate for the local community as well as peoples homes.”“There are people in this building who haven’t been out for two or three weeks because we have nowhere to go, nowhere that is safe for us to exercise or get some air.”“On Saturday there was a huge gathering/ party/festival taking place in London fields, that went on to at least 3am Sunday morning. My friend told me, they were defecating, and urinating everywhere, in bins, on pavements outside people's home, in kerbs, and through the railings of Gayhurst Nursery sch. Absolutely disgusting..!!!”“We live with two small children not far from London Fields. It is our local park. But we can't go there anymore - we have to drive out of the borough (I am heavily pregnant) instead. All weekend from early afternoon it’s just people drinking, and urinating, and worse, in the childrens’ playground, in the woods (even now it is shut, they were in there today), in all of the bushes, against trees. We can't go the morning after as it’s so grim and we can't let the children run free. It doesn't feel like a place for Hackney residents anymore.”“This is disgraceful. No social distancing and you are letting people trash our park and endanger others. My son was told to f*** off when he told someone not to piss in the park.”“As a resident of the area I usually spending time there on the weekend, but at the moment I do not feel safe to do so. It looked like a festival scene, people being drunk from early afternoon on, plastic and garbage everywhere, masses of people. I have never seen London Fields that busy, not even pre-lockdown. How can you defend that nothing is being done to parents with kids, who definitely cannot use the park at the moment (I don’t have kids and don’t feel comfortable there)?”Views from members of the Council’s Young Future’s Commission, which looks into young people’s experiences in Hackney, how they view the borough, respond to its challenges and how they feel about Council services:"I live opposite London Fields, there is a lot of antisocial behaviour, drinking and parties. It doesn’t feel welcome - it feels unsafe.”"There is no social distancing - I was scared to go through there. I wouldn't want to affect anyone" "More people should be concerned about others. If they think they’re in the high risk category, they should stay at home, even if they don't have the virus they should stay at home. Today I went to London Fields and it was packed.”FAQsWhat effect do you think this will have on nearby businesses?We appreciate that this may have an effect on some types of trade. We’ve worked with businesses to encourage them to trade responsibly, including by asking some traders on Broadway Market not to sell alcohol in open containers. We are speaking to businesses about the proposed injunction, which will not ban the sale of alcohol. We’ve asked businesses to support us by letting customers know that the Council is applying for a temporary ban on the consumption of alcohol in the park. Are you anticipating a knock-on effect on nearby parks?Because London Fields has become a destination for people who are not local residents - including one weekend where minibuses were seen arriving at the park - we are not anticipating a significant knock-on effect on nearby parks. Full details of the injunction: hackney.gov.uk/london-fields
