Councillors urged to reject ‘unacceptable’ plans to install gates at Primrose Hill

Councillors have been urged to reject controversial moves to erect gates close to a popular north London viewpoint during summer nights in a bid to prevent anti-social behaviour.

The Royal Parks plans to put up the gates at Primrose Hill.

It currently shuts the park from 10pm to 6am the next day on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer and Bonfire Night, Hallowe’en and New Year’s Eve, and during extreme weather events.

It plans to install black metal gates at park entrances and remove the “unsightly fencing” it has used to shut the park overnight.

Amy McKeown from Primrose Keepers told Camden councillors the move to install gates and close the park during summer nights should “not be taken lightly.”

She said the decision was despite drops in visitors to pre-pandemic levels and would “irrevocably upend London’s relationship with one of its most loved and storied green spaces”.

Ms McKeown claimed lobbying for the park to be gated and locked came from “a loud minority of neighbours”.

She said  response to the Royal Parks survey did not reflect the make up of Camden as 62 per cent of those who replied were homeowners and 79 per cent were white, when census data showed just 30 per cent of Camden residents own their home and 60 per cent are white.

She also pointed out canvassing was done in daylight “excluding those affected by the removal of late night and early morning access.”

Royal Parks wrote to 37,000 residents and got responses from 1,222 people. Nearly a quarter said the park should never be closed, with 23 per cent saying only for operational reasons whilst 22 per cent said gates should be locked every night, whilst 13 per cent favoured the option of closure on Friday to Sunday nights from 10pm to 5am.

Primrose Keepers want the council to draw up a community management plan involving the Royal Parks, all police forces, local business, and the community.

They called for “increased, consistent and visible” police patrols and said “it is simply not acceptable to gate the park rather than adequately police the area.”

They also want more toilets and suggested the council could help by putitng some on neighbouring streets and said human waste in the area has caused “much anger and local complaints.”

Primrose Keepers also want the council to reject a planning application for the park gates.

Ms McKeown said the park was crucial for the wellbeing of residents affected by poverty and want it available for people working shifts, those without a garden and people with responsibilities or neurolgical disabilities which mean they can’t enjoy the park when it is busy.

Inspector Nick McLaughlin from the Royal Parks police said Primrose Hill is not a crime hotspot and problems are “largely a noise issue” with repeat callers reporting problems.

In 2021 there were 225 crimes, dropping to 69 last year.

He responded to disputed claims about two rapes in the area that allegations were historical and the area is not a hotspot for rape of sexual assault.

The council’s community safery manager Patrick Coulson said when there’s a case of serious sexual offence police will consider wider risks to the community and victim anonymity in their messaging about a crime.  He said: “Those offences weren’t reported because of police assessing those two criteria.”

A council report said whilst incidents occur “they are often low level and relatively low in numbers, largely concentrated in the summer months.”

Royal Parks bosses disputed a question by cllr Matthew Kirk that they made a “grotesque snub” when they turned down an invitation to attend an earlier scrutiny meeting discussing the issue – the night before they announced plans to erect the gates.

They said they asked the council’s views during the public engagement.

Chief executive Andrew Scattergood the reason for the gates is that “the main issues that have faced us have been noise issues on the Hill.”

He said there is “one group who believe hill should be open 24/7 and another group which thinks it should be closed.”

He added: “What we thought was a balanced, proportionate approach to a challenge that we face was to put in gates for the park.”

He said the closures are only during the summer nights and would be kept under review.

Mr Scattergood said it was the first time post-Covid that people had raised issues about toilets and they currently close at 9pm.

The deputation follows one in May by Eleanor Sturdy, the chair of Primrose Hill Safer Neighbourhood Panel and ward councillors Anna Burrage and Matt Cooper.

They raised concerns about a lack of full crime data and wanted better information-sharing and residents felt that when the park is not patrolled, people could be at risk if they use the park.

They were concerned that problems with crime and anti-social behaviour got worse after 24-hour policing there was cut to finish at 11pm in 2015.