Earlier this year, it was reported that the City of London was seeking to raise money for maintenance of its commons from festivals and other private events.
This sparked concerns from local people, especially those in West Wickham, about the future of Spring Park and West Wickham Common.
The article claimed that leaked documents from the City of London Corporation revealed secret plans to host festivals and more private events on the commons they own to raise money to fund their maintenance costs, and that each common would have a fundraising target it would need to meet. This led to concerns from the local Assembly Member Thomas Turrell AM and Councillors that the land could be damaged, poorly maintained, closed off to local people at weekends, and that large-scale events would bring noise and traffic disruption.
Councillors were concerned that the report also claimed that the City of London would not fund any shortfall in the maintenance budget should the commons not meet the fundraising target. Responding to questions on this topic at March’s Bromley Council meeting, Councillor Will Rowlands (Portfolio Holder for the Environment), warned that Bromley Council could not fund any shortfall as it does not have the money and does not own the commons.
Thomas wrote to the Corporation’s Chairman of Policy (the de facto Leader of the Council) and Chris Hayward to raise these concerns. The letter was co-signed by West Wickham Councillors, Hannah Gray and Mark Brock.
In March, a response was received, which ruled out holding festivals on either Spring Park or West Wickham Common, as the Corporation agreed that neither site was appropriate.
Following this letter, Thomas arranged a meeting with Councillor Rowlands and the Chairman of the City of London’s Epping Forest and Commons Committee, Benjamin Murphy CC, Deputy Chairman Christine Haines CC, and some local rangers to discuss the plans in depth. At this meeting, the Corporation confirmed that while they were looking to modernise how the maintenance funding was done, they would not be setting common targets in acknowledgement that not all the commons owned by the City were suitable. They cited biodiversity and the residential setting of Spring Park and West Wickham Common as reasons why these two commons were not fit for large-scale events.
Thomas Turrell AM welcomed the positive outcome of the meeting, saying:
“I thank the City of London, in particular, Chris Hayward, Benjamin Murphy and Christine Haines, for the positive way they engaged, listened and addressed our concerns about these proposals and their impact. I am especially pleased to see the City of London committed to both protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of these local spaces for future generations. Beautiful green, open spaces like Spring Park and West Wickham Common are part of the DNA of Bromley. They are why people come to live here. We must protect them. I am pleased that the City of London shares this commitment and is keen to continue to work with Bromley to achieve this. In all, this is great news for Spring Park and West Wickham Common, great news for our local environment, and great news for the local people.”
