fishboy

54 minutes ago, alice said:

If you drive a car you’re a driver. If  you ride a  cycle you’re a cyclist.  

Surely using this analogy if you ride a cycle you'd be a rider?

My point is that someone who has an interest in, or passion for, cars is generally termed a 'motorist'. So the term 'cyclist' should really be used only for those with a genuine interest / passion for cycles and cycling, rather than anyone just riding a bike as a means of getting from A to B.

Earl is spot on above - the issue is with antisocial people in general, it's irrelevant what form of transport they use.

Apologies for dragging this thread back to Gala, and for being late to the party (I was away for half-term with family) but would like to make my observations, for what they're worth.

My issues have always been with the private annexing of the best part of a public park at the best time of the year for three weeks, the thoughtless & careless actions of many of the festival goers, the impact on wildlife, and the damage & littering left behind afterwards. I have nothing against the festival per se, it's just clearly in the wrong location.

Being probably one of the closest residents to the site, I thought the noise was just about tolerable. A sound engineer regularly came to take measurements outside our property, and contacted the mixing desk(s) if & when the levels were above thresholds, which was reassuring. The most annoying noise for us was from the diesel(?) generators for two large refrigeration units which were left running 24h a day from the Weds onwards - a constant background hum which sounded like a digger / tractor running at 1000rpm. The organisers hadn't considered the impact of this at all, and admitted there was nothing they could do.

Another annoyance which hadn't been considered was the light pollution from the many floodlights left on all night, which effectively lit up our front rooms (we're on the second floor so don't need curtains...).

The organisers had assured residents that toilets & extra bins would be installed on the route through the park to the entrance. I happened to be going through the area an hour or so after it had opened on the Friday afternoon and there were no toilets, no extra bins. Unsurprisingly there was a huge amount of discarded alcohol containers all along the route, and many people ducking into the bushes to relieve themselves. It was depressing to see young children playing in & around these same bushes, as they always do on their way back from school, presumably brushing through & stepping on urine etc. When approached about these issues, the site manager said the bins & toilets were being delivered / on their way, but the damage had already been done.

Gala is no longer a small event, and having been run for several years now these types of issues just shouldn't be happening - there is no excuse, but it would appear there is also no comeback or sanctions to enforce improvements. It's also not a 'community event', however much they try to spin the benefits to local businesses / artists etc. It is a money making venture and the park is just a necessary resource to them.

I can't see any justification for extending the annexing and increasing the disruption to enable the organisers to make more money under the guise of providing a beneficial service to the local community.

So was it a LimeBike or similar, or a privately owned e-bike?

Either way I'm not sure the person should be labelled a 'cyclist' as such; they generally tend to be 'users', with no awareness or consideration for others.

I haven't seen or heard of any similar incidents, but have seen more than enough of them dumped in the most thoughtless & obstructive places, which again illustrates the sort of mentality of the users.

Sounds of plant machinery coming from the event site after the promised cutoff time of 8pm on build days. Called the hotline to be told it is the generators for two refrigeration units which can't be turned off now they've been installed. So on a lovely summer's evening we can either close the windows or have an irritating drone in the background. I don't recall constant low level noise for two days before the festival being mentioned in any of the propaganda meetings?

Received this email yesterday. I'd forgotten there had been a consultation - possibly because of the inevitability that it would have little or no effect on the council's position on the park trashing event. Interesting that they "consulted more widely than in previous years" - to get more positive responses from people not directly affected, maybe?

-------------------------------------------

Dear Peckham Rye Park Stakeholder,

Re: Event Application: ref number SWKEVE000569 GALA Music Festival  - Stakeholder consultation

Thank you for taking the time to respond to the consultation we carried out for this event.

We apologise that we are issuing this report later than planned. In addition to our usual practice of conducting the event consultation online and via email with those registered on our Event Stakeholders List for Peckham Rye Park & Common, we also contacted 4,800 properties surrounding Peckham Rye Park by letter in January, directly inviting a much larger number of people than usual to share their thoughts with us on GALA’s proposals.

As a result of consulting more widely than in previous years, we also received a greater number of responses than usual.

It has therefore taken officers longer to ensure that all responses were adequately addressed in the mitigation measures negotiated with the event organiser.

The consultation findings report is attached. The report will also be published on the council’s stakeholder engagement web page:

www.southwark.gov.uk/PeckhamRyeParkEvents

Key mitigations and improvements that the event organiser is proposing to make to the delivery of GALA music festival 2023, informed by the comments received during the consultation period, include:

·       Reducing the format of the festival to 3 live event days instead of 6, in line with previous years

·       Rectifying all historical ground damage from 2021 and 2022 as well as reinstating the ground from any direct impact of the 2023 event; GALA will be employing landscaping company BW Services Ltd to undertake the works

·       Improving the waste management operation during the event and the post-event clean-up by working with specialists Greenline Waste Management; the Friends of Peckham Rye Park will be invited to attend the final site check to ensure the clean-up is satisfactory

·       Compliance with the council’s new Events Environmental Sustainability Guide, newly introduced for 2023/24 and designed to ensure events actively contribute to the council’s commitment to being carbon neutral by 2030

·       Increasing the number of free and discounted tickets available to local residents and charities.

If you have any questions about the information provided, or wish to add further comment about this application, please don’t hesitate to contact us by 12 noon on Friday 12 May 2023.

Best wishes,

Charlie Simm

Senior Events Officer

On behalf of the Southwark Events Team

Just received an 'Invite' (what's happened to the word "invitation"?) to the next / last Gala propaganda show...

Gala Community Invite - 11th May

Hi all 

We wanted to hold a repeat of the last meeting that took place on 24th April, for those who could not attend. 

This meeting is to inform the local community of the specific measures in place around security, noise, traffic, waste, wildlife and ground reparations. It will also inform of communication methods and reporting procedures. There will be an opportunity for questions.

Meeting details are:

Thursday 11th May 
18:30 - 19:30 

The Clockhouse (the snug) 
196A Peckham Rye,
London SE22 9QA

or via Zoom

Please RSVP your attendance back to this email address ([email protected]) to receive the Zoom link or confirm your in person attendance - we have limited in person space, so please do confirm in advance. 

Many thanks, 
Yas & the Gala team. 

We've seen them every time we've been to the pond / lake for 10+ years. I think they haul themselves up on to the coots' nests as they're some of the only places to get out, as the perimeter is like a foot high wall. I've seen a coot pecking at one to try to get it to vacate her nest, to no avail. 

Back in the seventies there was a health scare that terrapins (which were very popular pets then) could pass on diseases to humans, so they were dumped in ponds everywhere. I suspect this may be how these got here - they do live a long time!

Another question is how the huge carp(?) got in there too...

This email just arrived from "GALA Community Team" [email protected]

I love how it says "a reminder" when it's the first I've heard of it! I don't think I can attend, it would be great if some here could (esp in person) to ask some pertinent questions and report back? 

Dear all 

I hope you are well. I just wanted to remind those who have not already RSVP'd that we are hosting the final Gala stakeholder meeting this evening. 

This event is intended to provide local residents with useful information about the event, that could impact on them and the detail of final measures to mitigate impacts as much as possible.

There will be a short presentation, followed by the opportunity for questions.

You can attend either in person or via Zoom. 

In person: 
Old Nun’s Head 

15 Nunhead Green, 
London SE15 3QQ

18:30 – 19:30 

Zoom: 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87471841870?pwd=dDNCYnh4RllWb0pKaTlkOTk4NE5aUT09

Meeting ID: 874 7184 1870
Passcode: Peckham

Please do RSVP  if you have not already by replying to this email, listing either 'Zoom' or 'in person'. 

If you are unable to attend but would like to book in another meeting, please reply to let me know as we plan to book in another Zoom Info meeting prior to the live event to walk everybody through the final plans. The content will be the same meeting as this one. 

Many thanks, 
Yas & Cornelia 

I'm sure they are, and I accept it probably is, but still worth highlighting & documenting the detrimental aspects in the hope someone might take notice? I think most people have nothing against the festival per se, just the location - why oh why can't they hold it on the Rye?!?

Out of interest, where are they advertising a six day event? And surely not for this year, as I thought they'd retracted the event(?) licence application as there wasn't enough time to organise the second weekend this year?

Very disappointing that the Premises licence has been approved. Presumably the 56 supporters were friends, family, employees & fans / followers of Gala, rather than "hyperlocal" residents.

But my understanding is that the Premises licence only gives permission to use the land, and they will still need to apply for an Event licence to hold next year's event, and possibly all future events? So it may need a more concerted effort to publicise the increased disturbance & damage the extra days will cause local residents to get maximum objections. A good way to start this process would be to document / flag up / report / complain about EVERY negative aspect of this year's event, as it would appear that Gala rely on facts & figures like number of complaints to support their applications.

One thing I'd like to do after the event is a scientific(ish) analysis of the litter left behind. I'm thinking one of those 1 meter square frames laid down and count / collect all the litter in that area, repeated at random all over the site. That way the true picture can be reported accurately, and will hopefully stir up some reaction - a bit like the Lego Lost at Sea Twitter account?

Going back to the Gala Zoom, one thing that grated was their stat that there were only 9 complaints during the festival. I think a lot of people (myself included) didn't call the hotline as they had resigned themselves to three days of disturbances, and felt nothing would happen if they did. Or they went away to avoid the whole thing, which is also a stat that should be recorded!

But it's now clear that if those stats are being used as evidence of an overwhelmingly content local population, then this year they should more accurately reflect the true picture. As such, I hope everyone fully utilises the hotline to report any festival related disturbances, no matter how small, from the first day of set up to the last of break down - or beyond, as is likely with the inevitable state the site will be left in...

I'm fairly sure the much mentioned hourly sound / noise level readings will be taken at ground level beyond the (now much higher) hoardings, which probably dampens & reduces the readings. I'll be curious to know what the readings are from, say, a second floor flat facing the park, and will be requesting these more realistic readings on a regular basis.

It is a relief, but the barriers will still be going up for a couple of weeks, the grass is still going to get churned up, the litter will still be spread far & wide, the wildlife will still be disturbed, the noise will still be barely tolerable. The pleasant & peaceful community atmosphere will still be shattered on what should be a lovely summer weekend.

How did it ever get permission to be held here?!?

Reading between the lines, this appears to be an acknowledgement that it's not been well thought out, with maybe an unexpectedly high level of opposition, so possibly won't gain permission at the moment.

But in true corporate style, and with a complete lack of consideration for the local community, they'll spend more time and money trying to spin, persuade & PR everyone into thinking it's a great idea next year and forever more.

I would still like a definitive answer from someone as to why it isn't held on the common, where all the other large events (Circus, Funfair etc) have always been held, without issues?

There is now a link on the Southwark site to the recording of the Gala zoom presentation / meeting which took place on Weds Jan 25th -

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/PeckhamRyeParkEvents

A shame it wasn't available before the deadline for the consultation period, but there you go.

Apparently it is still possible to make representations for or against the granting of a premises licence, which is for permission to sell alcohol, performance of dance and playing of live & recorded music. The application had to be restarted due to errors with the initial application, so any representations made prior to this will need to be resubmitted. The new application reference is 879391. Probably worth the effort to try to make your voices heard with this too...

I completely agree, it would be amazing to have all three sides closed off for the short periods of drop off & pick up, but persuading the council to pay for an extra member of staff to deploy barriers when they can actually generate income from cameras? It would be great to have a lollipop person on the junction of Dunstan's & Underhill too - like most / all of the other schools...

If 'ignored' means not practicable due to not having sufficient staff to deploy them twice a day, then yes.

The whole thing would be completely unnecessary if only those few parents would be considerate and community minded, rather than lazy & selfish. Very sad, but appears to be a symptom of society today.

My kids went to Goodrich for seven years. We walked the 650 metres / 10 mins from Colyton Road, and often noted how many parking spaces were available along Dunstans on the way. Then we would politely suggest to the parents parking on & around the mini roundabout, often blocking the dropped kerbs, that maybe it would be better if they parked just down the road a bit, where there were lots of better spaces, and walk the 3-4 mins instead? There were many responses of varying abuse, almost all of which were along the lines of “mind your own business”, “ I’m not going to be long”, or just silent ignorance. It tended to be the same 6-10 families every day, who for reasons only known to themselves obviously thought there wasn’t a problem with it, or that it wasn’t their problem.

The school regularly issued pleas in the weekly newsletter against this behaviour, but I presume the parents who do it are probably not likely to read a newsletter, or take any notice of it. The council occasionally posted wardens, but they were so conspicuous that the parents spotted them a mile off and drove on, so presumably the report went back that there wasn’t a problem.

So it seems to be a social or cultural issue with a tiny minority, which unfortunately results in actions being taken against the majority - sledgehammer for a nut? I’m fully in support of preventing anti social behaviour, but my concern with these types of covert / non-physical barriers is that lots of ‘innocent’ unwary drivers will be caught & fined, when it is not them that the scheme is designed to punish. Apologies for the long post…

For the record, the school requested (and was granted) funding from it's PTA to purchase the fun themed portable bollards, in an attempt to increase pedestrian safety. They gave up putting them out because of repeated damage to them caused by drivers trying to drop off/ pick up their kids!

It also can’t be a coincidence that every day for the duration of the event last year we had a woodpecker visit our bird feeders (on Colyton Road, opposite the park). Not seen it before or since, so there’s no way the organisers or council can say it doesn’t disturb the wildlife…

My main issue with this event in previous years has been the complete lack of post event clear up, and damage to the grassy areas. Last year there were huge potholes and indentations all over, and literally hundreds (possibly thousands) of fag butts, filter tips, cut off zip ties etc which apart from being unpleasant are a potential health hazard for animals & humans. It just shows a complete lack of consideration for the surrounding community. They seem to make a lot of promises regarding sustainability & their green credentials pre-event to dissuade objections, then just pack up & p*ss off afterwards, leaving our beautiful park looking like a cross between a war zone and a rubbish tip…

It would appear that the mother and all three goslings / ducklings are no longer resident at the lake. Does anyone know what's happened to them?

I spotted a lone man earlier in the area opposite the Harris Academy with what looked like a hand held, petrol engined leaf blower, but which was probably a vacuum type device, so maybe that's their solution? There was a lot of coloured confetti in exactly that area, so I'm guessing that's what he was clearing up. But that's the wrong spot - should be over near Colyton Road...

I emailed Renata Hamvas and Vicki Mills (Peckham Rye ward councillors) yesterday and sent a link to the video. She replied to say:

"Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I have contacted officers and have asked that the liaise with We Are The Fair to get this resolved."

But I'm surprised no one from the council appears to have checked the site to see if it is safe and suitable to be reopened to the public before the contractors left, especially before a sunny weekend.

That?s a fair point, DuncanW, it did cross my mind but I wanted to leave the site intact in case anyone from the council or organisers did go over to have a look. The purpose of the video was to document the situation.

However I?ve just gone over there again and picked up the two screws in the video. I wonder how many more are lurking in the grass though??

Also it doesn?t look any different from earlier, so it would appear the organisers consider it complete.

I agree grass will grow back, given time and left alone to recover - possibly not ideal conditions in a popular park in Summer, though. And I also hope everyone had a good time, just a shame they couldn't respect the park a little more.

I went over there an hour ago and there is still a terrible amount of litter. Not sure where you walked your dog elloriac, this was over near Colyton Road. Very sad of me, but I felt a video would show the evidence best, hopefully it's accessible (and excuse the huffing & puffing, I was crouching and walking!)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PS5PvqLiL2CYrZrd6