Forum topic: Friends call for more consultation about events in Broomfield Park

In the wake of the successful campaign to cancel a planned 24-day long fair (see this earlier report), the Friends of Broomfield Park (FoBP) have called on Enfield Council to establish a better system of consultation about future events in the park.

FoBP co-chairs Kim Lumley and Chris Kaufman have written to Councillor Guney Dogan, the cabinet member for the environment, expressing disappointment about not being invited to the recent meeting between the council and "4 Not 24" campaigners and more generally communicating their unhappiness about lack of consultation and about Broomfield Park's status since 2016 as "suitable for all events, including large-scale events", ie those with attendances in excess of 5000 persons a day. They argue that Broomfield Park is a small park surrounded by residential streets, very different from parks which the council classes as "Major", eg Trent Park and Enfield Playing Fields. The co-chairs write that, though the Friends were consulted about two proposed "Major Events" in 2018 (neither of which went ahead), they also "feel strongly that there should be a further level of advance notification and consultation with the Friends organizations before booking Medium events and that these should include circus and fairground events".

The FoBP letter also raises concerns about the council's suggestion, in its letter to the "4 Not 24" campaigners, that it might resume rotating events between the sports field and the western end of the park. The co-chairs point out that use of the top field for events has in the past resulted in damage to paths and grass and in particular mention the death of 13 lime trees as a result of damage caused by a circus. These trees, forming part of a double avenue, had to be replaced at great expense.