Give residents free tickets to make up for noise nuisance, local LibDems tell The Royal Parks
June 1, 2008 6:23 PM
Local LibDem campaigner Stuart Bonar says that local residents suffering Hyde Park's summer of disruption should be entitled to free tickets to concerts scheduled to take place in the park
The Royal Parks should give local residents 2,000 pairs of free tickets to events planned for Hyde Park this summer to make up for the noise, disruption and loss of access to open space, say the local Liberal Democrats.
Events are planned for Hyde Park on 12 days between early June and mid-September, with the capacity attendance of each event ranging from 5,000 to almost 80,000. On 10 of these days, which will include weeknights as well as weekends, events are scheduled to continue until 10.30pm.
Rehearsals and sound checks will also be taking place on preceding days, which will add to the nuisance and lack of access experienced by residents.
Letters from The Royal Parks setting out the details of the events have been delivered to local residents in recent weeks.
Commenting, local Liberal Democrat campaigner Stuart Bonar, said, "I have lived within a stone's throw of Hyde Park for a few years now, and I do get annoyed that we lose a huge chunk of it every summer to private events. To those of us who live nearby, this is our local park, and yet it seems to get cordoned off for weeks at a time, with us shut out. It can be a real nuisance. I remember one year a desk in my flat swaying from side to side from the vibrations caused by the music!
"If we are to have these events, why not make a real gesture to local residents and offer, say, 2,000 pairs of free tickets to those living closest? I am sure that that local residents like me would be more willing to put up with the hassle if they had the chance to head over and enjoy one of the events for free."
Stuart has emailed Mark Camley, Chief Executive of The Royal Parks, to suggest the idea to him. He added, "I'll understand if it's not possible this year because contracts have already been entered into, and so on, but I can see no reason why this would not be possible in future years. I think that local residents are good neighbours of Hyde Park, and we treat it with love and respect. Let's see a little of that returned to us."
The LibDems are suggesting that individuals on the electoral register in one of the Westminster City Council wards bordering the park - Bryanston and Dorset Square, Hyde Park, Knightsbridge and Belgravia, Lancaster Gate, and West End wards - should be able to apply for one of the 2,000 pairs of tickets. With the combined capacities of all 12 events over 435,000, this would account for less than 1% of each event's capacity.
Stuart commented, "This would buy so much goodwill from local people, but would account for less than one in a hundred tickets."
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