Saranne

Does anyone believe this will actually be redone at the contractor's expense? I agree with you that this is in direct contravention of their own green spaces strategy. Catherine Rose strikes again - she is actually in charge of the Neighbourhood, Leisure and Parks department and is overseeing this fiasco with complete disregard for local stakeholders or -as people have pointed out here - council tax payer expense. Her department operates without any regard for local opinion or consultation. Just awful.

Hi Lebanums. I agree that it's popular with some people, but for me there are bigger issues. One is the lack of access for people who don't have gardens yet live in our extremely urban area and for whom the Rye is off limits for 4 weeks. Plus the significant (and lasting) damage to our precious green space is dreadful. And let's not forget - this is fundamentally a private profit-making venture not a charitable one!

For everyone who 'lives near the park and doesn't mind it' there are 10 who do and who are really concerned at the creeping privatisation of our public spaces, not to mention the environmental damage. The public consultation last year revealed overwhelming lack of support but they went ahead anyway. The majority of those who attend are youngsters down from Shoreditch and not locals - if you are anywhere near Peckham Rye station during the festival you will see hordes of people arriving by train and streaming up to the park. This is about so much more than individual preferences and whether or not we like having 'jolly' events in the park. There is a significant question of public accountability and transparency around use of our council tax and the willingness of the council to disregard the views of the majority of local people. Please do use the consultation to express your views

I'm really sorry to hear about your dog but it isn't confined to one breed - my dog was attacked by a dangerously out of control whippet called Freddy and only escaped because my husband wrestled the dog to the ground. The owner - a grey-haired bloke (who looks like the Grandad from Only Fools and Horses) didn't apologise or even acknowledge what had happened. I have a picture of him and he is a regular on the Rye so I am reporting him to the RSPCA as they sometimes have better follow-up than the police.

Also highly recommend Andy. He's just finished putting up a couple of curtain poles. Really meticulous job - we're extremely pleased and will definitely use Andy again. Highly recommended