We know a lot of residents are only just finding out about the proposed camp site and there have been thoughts and discussions taking place in person, on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and in the local news. We also know that not everyone will be able to attend the public meeting.
In a bid to ensure as many people as possible get their concerns raised please leave your comments below, we will try to ensure all get answered and reported back here.
Please remember to keep it ‘family friendly’. Any comments deemed inappropriate or personally offensive will be moderated.
Just had a leaflet through my door introducing a temporary CPZ in streets around Low Hall campsite during London 2012®. It only applies between 10 and 11am, then 3-4pm. Phoned up LBWtF for explanation about the point of enforcing those limited restrictions and was told that to have granted a longer restrictive period would have “required consultation” of around 3 weeks, and there wasn’t enough time.
In November, they were expecting up to 10,000 extra visitors; 28 weeks to consult about parking, but did nothing. I can only conclude that LBWtF official planning policy is to actively avoid consultation on decisions that affect local residents wherever possible. How very disrespectful.
I am also a resident of Markhouse Ave, and I have had no information from the council at all about this camp ground. I would have hoped that we would at least be told by now what the plans are for parking etc. Markhouse Ave is one of the closest roads to this site, and at the lower end closest to the site, is not a CPZ, but at the top end it is . So, if all these campers are not allowed to bring cars onto the site, where are they going to park ???………. Markhouse Ave and Lower Hall Lane of course !!!. This road is already congested enough, as well as a bus route, so will the council be giving us temporary permits for us, the council tax paying residents , to be able to park even vaguely close to our own streets ??
Im not against the site in principal, but it does seem like the council are just going to leave local residents to fend for themselves, then come out with a load of typical excuses after the event.
I hope I am wrong, and that the council will indeed at the very least inform the nearest residents of what is planned.
Just FYI LOCOG are taking legal action against Camp In London for falsely claiming they are ‘approved’ by LOCOG in order to gain profit from the Olympics.[Website Editor: We, at the website, have no confirmation one way or another as to whether LOCOG are or have investigated BEC Ltd. Visitors to this site should satisfy themselves as to the validity of this statement]
Andy, re: your comment “I personally know all the directors of the company… They are good honest hardworking people…”, errr… not that honest then, eh.
Personally I don’t object to a campsite for people working for or attending the Olympics to have somewhere affordable to stay. I object to it being a ‘festival campsite’ and object to LB of WF choosing a company to run it who have no experience of running anything similar, who have been rude to members of public, and who have made false claims on their website in order to make money.
Please make you sure you get your premises license objections in before the 16th March (Friday). They can be emailed to licensing@walthamforest.gov.uk
Low Hall field is open space and not built on for a reason:
http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/thames-water-coppermill-advice.pdf
So, unless they provide somewhere to go inside and shelter if there’s a gas leak at the waterworks, WBWF is knowingly putting the lives of 10000 visitors at risk. Still, maybe it’s worth it for some fireworks and token events at which Council staff can hand out evaluation forms…
From what I can make out a license has not yet been granted. Do you have the resources to make a unified response, including a petition and formal letters from all concerned residents? If you make a letter template for people to copy and send to you, these could all be sent together.
According to Waltham Forest licensing policy:
The following “interested parties” may make representations to the licensing authorities in any application for the grant variation or review of a premise licence:
• A person living in the vicinity of the premises in question;
• A body representing persons living in the vicinity: for example, a resident’s association;
• A person involved in a business in the vicinity of the premises in question;
• A body representing persons
And:
4.7 Prevention of Public Nuisance
4.7.1 Licensed premises have a significant potential to impact adversely on communities through public nuisances which can arise from their operation…
4.7.2 Public nuisance in this context includes such issues as noise and disturbance, light, odour, litter, anti-social behaviour and fear of crime, where these matters impact on those living, working or otherwise engaged in normal activity in an area.
I imagine the license will be granted anyway – the Council’s website is already advertising the camp site with entertainments and more – but it would be worth mounting a proper campaign.
any chance someone could record tonight’s meeting for those unable to attend?
I’m not sure if anyone will have a recording device, other than mobile phones but if we can do it we surely will.
Isn’t Camp in London (Big Events Camping) also responsible for putting on Pacifica Day on 4 Aug and Zimfest on 11 Aug both shown as being at Low Hall Sports Ground?????
Yes, both of these ‘festivals’ are being held during the Olympics and are ticketed events for non-campsite users at £25 per head (I think) BEC Ltd have offered 500 free tickets for residents however neither they nor LBWF have explained how they propose to distribute them.
i think that the council have not thought about this and have just seen pound signs.it is also very wrong that food and drink can only be bought on site,how dose this help local businesses? what is to stop travellers taking over the site after the olympics has finished?will they try and make this yearly thing?
I am shocked that despite living very close to Low Hall Sports Ground I had absolutely no idea that the council had agreed to lease it as a campsite in the summer. I am extremely concerned about the impact that this vast number of campers will have on the area, in particular the transport, parking and noise nuisance that will be an inevitable result.
Unfortunately I cannot attend the meeting tonight, but would be grateful if you could pass on my comments, in particular my concern that this should have been agreed without informing or consulting local residents
I live in Low Hall Lane, just 2 streets from the proposed camp site, and like Amanda I am shocked that the council has made no effort to inform or consult local residents on this. (I only found out about the plans this morning from the local residents group who set up this website – many thanks for that!)
In a general sense, I am not opposed to the idea of a camp site being set up for the Games, but giving the contract to an organiser whose stock-in-trade is binge-drinking and sexism suggests questionable judgement, and there seems to be little evidence that the impact on the local area has been seriously considered. Inviting 5-10,000 people daily to come into this quiet area is bound to cause noise and litter, and to put a strain on local transport services such as the W19 bus, which numerous people rely on to access healthcare services at Whipps X.
I am also very concerned about parking problems. Waltham Forest says that people will not be allowed to come by car, and on the Camp in London website it is claimed that a temporary CPZ will be in place in the local area. However, the only evidence of a temporary CPZ proposed by Waltham Forest for the Olympics that I can find any evidence of is the zone that covers Leytonstone and Leyton, and stops at its northern edge at Lea Bridge Road. If parking is left uncontrolled between Lea Bridge Road and the Walthamstow Market area, it seems inevitable that the whole area will be used as a car-park by anyone smart enough to check the (lack of) restrictions on-line – thereby causing major problems for local residents.
It may be the case that Waltham Forest is able to offer satisfactory answers to these concerns, but given that they could not be bothered to notify local residents – either of the plans for the site, or of the public meeting – I am not left with a lot of faith. I will try to attend this evening, but may not be able to make it at such short notice, and would appreciate it if somebody could pass on my concerns about transport, parking, and lack of consultation with local residents.
I have just found out that this is happening. I live near St.James Park and the summer is already busy with people enjoying the park into the morning hours. We deal with litter and people hanging out and being loud. I am outraged that the council hasn’t even notified local residents by letter. I am very worried that my property will not be safe. The council or the police has never cared if we complained. So typical as we are only paying council tax….
how tight is security going to be? as the fence behind the pavilion is only a metre high, and is easy to hop over, and what with holes in the fences from the little copse at the far side of St James’s park it will be wide open. the few people of whom i have talked with that live in my road have raised concerns about the risk of being Burgled! as the new double glazing which was put in a few years back by the council is the very basic. it was reported in the Waltham Forest Guardian, that the doors are easily opened…
what was to happen if an elderly person forgets to lock her door?
what is the law for camping on public land?
say if some of the campers wish to stay on the proposed site! once the games are over what then? fun and GAMES?
It is extraordinary that the council seem to think that local residents will not be inconvenienced, at the very least, by what is in effect a massive festival with up to 10,000 visitors daily, taking place in our neighbourhood, not just for a weekend, but for almost a month.
I live on a nearby road and neither myself nor anybody I know has been consulted.
I am sure that many people, like me, would happily accept visitors staying in our neighbourhood, but not in this way. One only has to consider what kind of people will be attracted by daily music until late in the evening and a huge bar serving cheap alcohol all day until midnight to realize what this will mean for people living locally.
There appears to be little or no benefit to the local community, while imposing a huge burden of noise and nuisance.
We have been told constantly that the Olympics will be of great benefit to local people and East London in general, when in fact it appears to be little more than a massive rip-off, channelling taxpayers’ money into the pockets of private businesses, while imposing an intolerable burden on those it was supposed to benefit.
I oppose this ‘Camp’ in the strongest possible terms and urge the council to act on behalf of those whom it is supposed to represent, and to reconsider the matter urgently.
I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE PARKING IN THE NEAR BY ROADS LIKE THE ONE I LIVE IN
THAT IS CLACTON RD AND SOUNDRING ROADS WE CANT PARK NOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THIS CAMP SITE WERE ARE THEY GOING TO PARK IF WE CANT PARK IN OUR OWN ROADS WE CANT PARK AWAY FROM WERE WE LIVE AS THIS IS A PERMIT PARKING ONLY
I have written to the Leader of Council with FOI requests as I am concerned about what is happening. Is this really just a method for the Council to get some quick cash to pay for the so called Big6 Events, which cost £1.5m and nobody was asked about? How come this company can advertise the campsite when they don’t have a planning licence yet? (If enough people object will they still rubber stamp it).
Also why do we have to pay to park at the Town Hall to attend a Public Meeting?
What a shame that a basically good idea is being undermined by this disastrous choice of company. I hope WF Council will see sense and remind themselves that the needs of local residents, not to mention the long suffering allotment holders, should be taken into account and a more responsible approach taken to letting this important contract.
What a shame that all those nimby’s on this site seem determined to ruin a once in a lifetime festival such as this.
I personally know all the directors of the company and am shocked that anybody could say a bad word about them. They are good honest hardworking people with a track record of running successful events for decades in London. They have the experience to run a good clean family event and I have every confidence that they will pull it off, despite your selfish best efforts.
Hi Andy,
I’m sure you’ll find no one is disputing that the directors are hard working people who have experience in running successful events in London. Those NIMBYs you refer to are local residents, some of whom will have the festival site located in their backyard, have no knowledge of their track record as the hastily convened public meeting did not give any comparable examples.
If you read through the site you will notice that the majority of the complaints are directed towards Waltham Forest council and not to individuals. What you see as a once in a lifetime event, people who live a few metres from the site see as a 22hr a day festival site catering to upto 10,000 revellers for a month. Are you honestly saying that if it were located next to your back garden you would be overjoyed not to have had any notification about it until the lease had been signed?
Some might accuse you of being selfish in demanding that the residents who will be inconvenienced by the festival site ‘put up with it’ but I’m sure that’s not your intention.
It appears from my reading of the comments on the site that only the negative view is being taken by local residents. You are living in our capital city at a time of great national pride and excitement, surely it would be highly unusual if this did not lead to a busier neighbourhood for a few weeks!
I didn’t expect you to agree with me, as you obviously run this site. Nimby stands for “not in my backyard”, given that this is exactly the attitude portrayed on this site, what else am I to think?
Why not attend the festivals, enjoy the experience and make the most of it? If it was in my backyard, I would be delighted as nothing much goes on round here.
Surely if you want the quiet life, living in central London is not the answer. I don’t it is selfish for the local residents to be tolerant for a couple of weeks so that thousands can benefit, the greater good etc
Luckily we don’t yet live in a state where the council has to run every single decision it makes past local residents, otherwise surely all activity would grind to a halt?!
Earplugs are relatively cheap and widely available after all.
Well, as you can see, all comments are displayed so if there were more people excited to have the festival site located where it is, they would appear here together with yours.
Just because I administer the site doesn’t automatically make me a NIMBY, if you care to look at comments left by residents on the Waltham Forest Guardian site, numerous people point out that they don’t disapprove of the idea of the site, merely the size and nature of the way it has been thrust upon them by the council.
You ask that they be tolerant for a few weeks but you fail to realise that there are people with medical conditions who will be highly inconvenienced by not only the foot traffic but the noise pollution that will be generated. this isn’t like Glastonbury or WOMAD where everyone can get drunk and whoop it up in a field in the middle of nowhere. It’s a highly compact residential area and the field is the local football pitches. There is a difference between a normally quiet back street being busier for a few weeks and up to 10,000 people staggering back at 4am.
You may think that residents don’t want the site at all and if you do you would be wrong, many of them are excited about both it an the Olympics but the fact that none of their concerns were taken into account prior to the deal being done has fostered a lot of resentment, even amongst those who want to attend.
Given that London council tax payers are already paying for the Olympics via a supplement for the next few years already, very few locals are will to spend £20+ per person to attend events in their backyard, although it has been said that 500 free tickets will be available.
Yes, earplugs are cheap and widely available but should people have to resort to that in their own homes for 30days?
I wasn’t aware that Walthamstow was in central London, perhaps you know something I don’t?
And Andy, please do tell us which events they have organised, we keep on asking but have had no response and the only events I can find online are the Church and Wicked Campers. What else have they done, I’m genuinely interested?
As Admin says, I’m all for a campsite but we have no confidence in the company and have had no consultation from the council. I take it you don’t live in east London, if you did then you would be aware of the disruption that people have already put up with for 6 years now, so to have this suddenly dropped on us on top of everything else is just plain rude. (and not to mention the rude comments from BEC that were our first introduction to them)
FYI Walthamstow is the outer reaches of London, this is a normally quiet residential / suburban area.
Echoing what Claire says above, I have an allotment at Low Hall Farm which is adjacent to Argall Way. The allotment committee were not informed of the planning of this event and did not even receive the information that was given to some local residents. This event could make it impossible for some allotment holders to get there via the Argall Way entrance.
I have no confidence in Big Events Camping due to the large amount of negative reviews that can be found all over the internet about the 2 companies involved, and have been shocked by the lack of respect they have shown to local residents, by banning people from their Facebook page (which has now disappeared) and calling them ‘ignorant’ and ‘uninformed’ when they ask questions. They seem completely unaware of the impact that the Olympics has already had on people in east London and have made no effort to soften the blow or explain how the event is being planned.
I enjoy camping and think that it could be a good idea to have a camp site in Waltham Forest during the Games, however this could have been done without the inclusion of a ‘festival’, music and other anti-social activities.
We have been told that all music with stop by 9pm, will this be extended to apply to all forms of amplification including big screens?
and on the subject of noise nuisances, could all forms of artificial noisemakers be banned from the site, from Thunder sticks, to Vuvuzelas
I also had a similar question. I was suspicious when Denis Geary was quoted as saying “All live music will end at 9pm” If there aren’t at least 50 bongo drummers with drums amongst the 5,000 campers I’ll be very surprised, throw in the odd would-be guitarist torturing Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan and combine with camp side ghetto blasters (is that too ’80s?) and whatever the 140 metre bar will be blaring out until midnight and I think it’s safe to say the live music will be the least of anyone’s problems, whether the speakers are pointed towards the marshes or not.
Will the council and organizers agree that, in order to combat the sort of raucous binge drinking that ‘The Church’ is famous for, the bar on site must have a strict minimum pricing of at least £1.40/unit in place and must not be allowed to promote over consumption through ‘special offers’ of any kind.
This pricing still allows the organizers to sell drinks to their captive audience at prices considerably cheaper than the average cost of alcohol in pubs or bars in London.
Also, drinks should not be sold on a ‘ticketing system’ where you pay a certain amout for a fixed number of drinks.
Outrageous!
Having been forced to take leave from work in central London for the duration of the games I was at least pleased to have the refuge of my allotment for those two weeks.
Now, at a very late stage, I learn that the whole area next to Cheshire Fields allotment will be filled with a campsite. The allotments already suffer every time they have the fair in St James Park with high volume of noise from music and generators as well as an increase in break ins and theft. Given that this is in the height of the summer when crops at their best I fear that we will suffer badly from the proximity of this site.
Why can’t the Council understand that not everyone wants the games and some actually detest the whole idea. Is there no refuge in London this summer?