fishboy

Slant

There's always a large flock(?) over the area of back gardens surrounded by Colyton / Dovedale / Marmora / Scutari, but no idea if / where there are any nesting boxes. We'd love to have one, and often have swifts zooming close by, checking out possible sites.

I would have thought the cost of erecting X meters of metal barriers would be the same irrespective of location, plus given the issues with access now due to the "bunds", it would also be easier given the ample direct access the common provides? The reason I've heard from the organisers is that their footprint has been tailor made for that part of the park, so it's not possible to fit it anywhere else. Which is a ridiculous argument given that they've already altered / extended it due to the space they've 'lost' from the "bunds". The reason I've heard from FOPR and others is that as the common is public land (or similar) it requires permission from the Home Secretary (or similar) due to ancient grazing rights or something. Oddly it doesn't seem to have affected the circus, the steam fair, the dog show etc etc etc Yes, the wide path where Parkrun starts & finishes will become a controlled crossing during the build, and completely closed off during the festival. Also, when I asked about the reason for the extended footprint onto the sports pitch, they said it was to replace lost space where the bunds are, which they used to store equipment. However, they were unable to explain where this storage area now was on the new plan... And when asked about the loss of the sports pitch due to the extension & access road, they said the council had assured them there were no matches booked for that period. But what about the kids, families, who play on them? No answer...

So following the box ticking and predictable ignoring of the 'consultation' and 'stakeholder meetings' the foregone conclusion has been reached, and the journey towards a two weekend festival, with ever increasing numbers and expanding boundaries, begins... --------------------------------------------------------- Re: GALA Music Festival – event application ref: SWKEVE000820 - NOTICE OF DECISION regarding event consultation We write to inform you that the event application submitted by Assembled GALA Ltd to hold GALA Music Festival and On the Rye Festival in Peckham Rye Park on the 23 - 26 May 2025 has been approved. The consultation findings report is provided again for reference (please see attached). The issuing of the events licence is subject to the following: That the event operator delivers the event in line with Southwark’s Outdoor Events Policy That the event operator delivers the event in line with the conditions listed in the Event Licence Agreement That the event operator delivers the event in line with the conditions attached to the Premises Licence That the event operator obtains any other permission or licence required in relation to holding the event That the event operator delivers the event in line with the Event Safety Management Plan, of which all elements must be approved by the relevant members of Southwark’s Safety Advisory Group If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Best wishes, Charlie Simm On behalf of Southwark’s Events team

A couple more PR / tickbox sessions are being offered by the organisers (the expression "reaching out" really makes my skin crawl), again presumably without any council representatives attending. No sign of the results of the consultation yet, or when the meeting is to decide whether to grant the licence... To whom it may concern, We are reaching out to invite you to our upcoming Residents & Stakeholder Drop In Sessions for Gala 2025. We are hosting two drop-in style sessions to facilitate more in depth conversations, allowing us to run through our plans for 2025 and to discuss how we are going to address your feedback. We look forward to meeting you in person and discussing our event plans for both Gala and our new community day, On The Rye Festival, in more detail. Lunchtime Session: Time: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Date: Monday 17th of March Location: Watson's General Telegraph, 108 Forest Hill Rd, London SE22 0RS. Evening Session: Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Date: Monday 17th of March Location: Watson's General Telegraph, 108 Forest Hill Rd, London SE22 0RS. As these are drop-in sessions, you can arrive at any time during the below sessions - but it would be greatly appreciated if you could advise on an approximate arrival time. If you would like to attend, please respond with: Your name Your address Your estimated time of arrival We really appreciate your feedback and taking the time to attend our engagement meetings. Yours sincerely, Community Team | GALA Festival community@thisisgala.co.uk

I can't recommend this site highly enough - https://www.ftla.uk/index.php It's a group of legal people who give (free!) advice on these issues. Often they can spot where councils haven't followed correct procedure, which can be grounds for appeal. Have a search for similar cases on there (there's usually an offence code which helps) and you may find someone in the same situation who had a successful appeal. One big issue with many councils is the information given online about how much your fine currently is, and what date it will increase - it's often incorrect, and tribunals have regularly upheld appeals because of it. Lewisham recently declined to contest my appeal at tribunal, mainly because of this issue. It's definitely worth checking out some other cases on this website, and asking for advice. It's so frustrating when the fine far outweighs the 'crime'...

It's not the end of the world, no, and I don't think anyone's got anything against people gathering to enjoy music in an open space. But people having zero care or consideration for that open space and a private company not honouring their responsibilities is the real issue. Excluding local families from the best area in the park for a month, then leaving it as a littered wasteland for the rest of the summer really isn't acceptable, is it? And just to make it clear what is left behind...

Hopefully a final post on this thread (for now...) Alerted by the horrible sound of a chainsaw this morning from near the cherry tree, I scuttled over to the park to make sure there hadn't been another "misunderstanding". The contractors were removing a 'double' tree from the triangle area nearby. I asked them about the cherry, and they confirmed that they wouldn't be removing it. We were then joined by a very worried looking man who turned out to be the tree officer for the park. He had apparently been on a walk around with members of FoPRP, had also been alerted by the proximity of the chainsaw, and was also relieved to see it wasn't the cherry being removed. He also confirmed that they wouldn't be removing the cherry, but that it was diseased in the lower trunk / roots and therefore would fall over at some point. To this end they are investigating methods to provide it with some support, to hopefully prolong it's life. He definitely understood & appreciated the importance of & affection for this particular tree. Hopefully someone from FoPRP can provide us with updates as & when they occur. I've suggested before that maybe Gala could contribute some cash towards it's protection, especially as they caused some damage to it last year...

A "natural" bank on the lake island, earlier... No idea why the wildfowl chicks can't just hop up there to escape the foxes, herons, crows, cats etc...

Apparently they are considered an "invasive species" so shouldn't be transported anywhere - the volunteer who took the injured parent away was technically breaking the law. The thread is here, just shows how nothing has changed with regard to loose dogs around the lake -

One of the main reasons these goslings don't survive is because once they leave their nest on the island, they are unable to return to it's safety because of the height of the artificial bank - it's basically a brick wall, with no natural slope. So they & their parents are left to try to fend off predators either in the water or on the outer bank - literally sitting ducks. I think in the last 10 years I've only seen a handful of goslings survive to maturity, and that's with two broods per year, often six, eight, ten goslings per brood. It's very sad, and just needs the council / parks to remove some bricks to create a more natural sloped bank so they can access the safety of the island. I've asked many times, and hoped some of the Gala "biodiversity" funds could be used, but to no avail. There are signs all around the lake stating dogs should be on a lead, but many owners seem to miss them, and don't appear to be concerned that the wildfowl are visibly & audibly disturbed by their presence, or aware how much damage their dogs can do. A few years back a loose dog attacked a male Egyptian goose and injured it so badly that it had to be taken to a sanctuary. Egyptian geese mate for life, so the female has remained alone ever since.

The key thing to stress is that everything they want to do is just a PROPOSAL at the moment, and the important thing is for everyone who objects to take part in the consultation and hopefully force the council to accept what a ridiculous & unacceptable proposition it is! The consultation ends on 10th Feb - http://www.southwark.gov.uk/Gala2025

I went to the early meeting, it was just the usual attempt to placate local residents. I guess the main points were that due to the new flood alleviation 'bunds' they can't use the usual entrance opp Harris Boys to bring in equipment etc, so they & the council are proposing using the gates opp Harris Girls and laying trackway all the way across to the site. I raised the point that that section of road is always busy with cars parked both sides, they said they'd look into restrictions. I also asked if they'd considered that there will be students taking GCSE exams at that time who could be disturbed by the activity, they said they hadn't (what a surprise...) and would talk to the school. I also pointed out that the majority of damage was caused by the trackway, so they are effectively knowingly causing more damage than last year. Note that there is more trackway all around the site than previously. The increased site footprint is apparently replacing space lost to the 'bunds'. They said they used that space for storage, but curiously none of the extra space will be for storage, so it is actually increasing the size of the festival. I pointed out that the entrance area is on a Gaelic football pitch, they said the council said it wouldn't be in use at that time, I responded that it would, by families trying to have picnics & play sports with their kids because the rest of the park has been annexed. I also suggested that this was the start of the festival creeping further east, to which there was no comment. The extra day is for a "community day", details of exactly what this would entail - music, workshops, food, theatre - who requested / wanted it, and how many attendees they expected, were very sketchy. I suggested it was just a fairly transparent attempt to curry favour with the local community and make a precedent for a longer festival, rather than a genuine & honest desire to contribute something truly beneficial. There were no definitive plans to tackle the anti social behaviour, littering or environmental damage over & above the ineffective actions of previous years. Official minicab drop off / pick up will be by the Clock House, but again no way of enforcing this. Gala are constantly citing the opportunities for local acts, traders & employees as benefits from the festival, however they admitted not having any figures to quantity this. I requested they therefore cease to use these as benefits without proof of validity. I once again raised the issue of the wildlife survey they commission being woefully inadequate, as it only surveys within the site, and seems only concerned with bird nests. There are other forms of wildlife - they were unaware of the Stag beetle population in the SW corner - and lots of birds nesting in the surrounding trees which will be disturbed. Again, no response, which confirms it is just a tick box exercise rather than a genuine attempt to guage the impact to flora & fauna. That's all for now, I'm sure others have more. Basically, same as always, but bigger & longer...

It's the tree near the triangle. If the proposal for the enlarged festival site is approved (or should I say when...) it should be in less danger than previously, as the giant green shield wall will just skirt the south side of it, rather than go around it - which was where the lopping happened. It also looks like it will be surrounded by "Heras" fencing, which I think is the sort of stuff used during the recent flood alleviation works. But of course there is a huge scope for "misunderstandings"... GALA 2025 site plan.pdf

To clarify a few points- I didn't just happen to be passing, I saw the workmen setting up equipment worryingly close to the tree from my front window, so put my shoes on and headed over there as quickly as possible just in case. Unfortunately they had already lopped a few branches off in the two minutes it took me to get there. Although I didn't see them attach a notice, the wording on the notice pictured above has the same terminology that they used with me - fungal brackets - so presumably it was them. I have no idea who removed the sign, or why. Also worth mentioning that they were third party contractors, carrying out work orders from the council. I'm a bit confused by the 'mistaken tree' comments, as Councillor Renata Hamvas posted on a Facebook thread that she had raised the issue with the relevant council officers, and that the response she received is that the tree does have a fungal infection. So there seems to be conflicting info there, and I'm concerned that the tree is still in danger.