Gala festival in Peckham Rye park

[fishbiscuits]

Humdinger Wrote:

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> The main beer supplier was Fullers, who arent exactly local independent

> craft beer brewers.

Oh OK. I didn't go yesterday, but went last year.. I seem to recall it being smaller breweries.. and also remember spending a fortune on drinks! I also seem to recall just ONE ice cream seller, with a 50 metre long queue, who had sold out at by 5pm!!

[pk]

first mate Wrote:

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> Residents living close by have no choice in the matter,

> unless of course you feel that in order for you to

> have a good time they should be forced to vacate

> their properties for the whole of the bank holiday

> and pay up to stay somewhere else?

>

>

you really think that people who choose to live near a park should then get to choose what goes on in the park?

and that people were 'forced' to vacate their homes for the whole weekend?

sounds like uptight, over-entitled nimbyism to me

i know that none of the many friends and family of mine who live nearby felt forced to leave, whether they attended the event or not!

[girlelectric]

You would think that the people complaining here have never been to an event in London in their lives. So you have never attended Carnival or a festival in Victoria Park/Hyde Park/Blackheath/Brockwell/insert any London Park/outdoor space. You live in Zone 2 London! I think it?s fantastic that we have some great outdoor events closer to home :)

My only gripe is that I know friends who live by Victoria Park in east London have been offered free tickets to events via Tower Hamlets council, Southwark step up!

[TheArtfulDogger]

PK and girl electric

I think that the issue is some people don't want it on their actual doorstep be it they are old, have young children or just don't and having a say concerning what happens a few feet away is important to them.

I have friends who live on the carnival route and every year they board up the windows and go away for the weekend as it effects their lives massively

I think if Southwark did an honest consultation (yeah I know an "honest" one would be a first) that there would be a large number who would ask for events like this to be deeper into the area, possibly on the playing fields where the circus goes just because of the noise pollution or not at all

People need to respect each other's views and wants here and not ridicule them for having a different view from others who aren't so effected by it

[binkylilyput]

True that

We live in a very big capital city

2 days noise out of 365 isn't bad at all

If measures can be taken to reduce it a little next year then great but I suspect people will always complain if the event isn't to their liking

I wonder what would happen if it were classical music or a jazz festival?

girlelectric Wrote:

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> You would think that the people complaining here

> have never been to an event in London in their

> lives. So you have never attended Carnival or a

> festival in Victoria Park/Hyde

> Park/Blackheath/Brockwell/insert any London

> Park/outdoor space. You live in Zone 2 London! I

> think it?s fantastic that we have some great

> outdoor events closer to home :)

>

> My only gripe is that I know friends who live by

> Victoria Park in east London have been offered

> free tickets to events via Tower Hamlets council,

> Southwark step up!

[pk]

TheArtfulDogger

>

> I have friends who live on the carnival route and

> every year they board up the windows and go away

> for the weekend as it effects their lives

> massively

And a few thousand people in a park with no road closures is comparable to a million people in the streets with extensive road closures? I?d of thought carnival was best used as an example of how this really shouldn?t be a big deal

>

> I think if Southwark did an honest consultation

> (yeah I know an "honest" one would be a first)

> that there would be a large number who would ask

> for events like this to be deeper into the area,

> possibly on the playing fields where the circus

> goes just because of the noise pollution or not at

> all

>

>but the area they used is less used for other purposes and better isolated

For sound - as by the large school building on the road side, in a dip in the ground and more trees to break the sound?

[jocher]

But what about the green park...now not so green.

Lets hope We are the Fair do a better job of 'making good' than they did last year.

However organised and respectful the organisers have been in putting on this event the inevitable damage cannot be avoided. The space it took up will look very sad for a number of months during a time of year when it should be looking beautiful for all to enjoy.

[first mate]

Pk, yes I do think the views of those living close to an event should be taken into consideration at least as much as those who don't, and if a proportion living close by felt the noise was loud to the point of unbearable there should be greater efforts made to reduce it next year. Some seem to feel it was louder than last year.

As for the 'over-entitled'... well pots and kettles and all that.

Pk Wrote:

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> first mate Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Residents living close by have no choice in the

> matter,

> > unless of course you feel that in order for you

> to

> > have a good time they should be forced to

> vacate

> > their properties for the whole of the bank

> holiday

> > and pay up to stay somewhere else?

> >

> >

> you really think that people who choose to live

> near a park should then get to choose what goes on

> in the park?

>

> and that people were 'forced' to vacate their

> homes for the whole weekend?

>

> sounds like uptight, over-entitled nimbyism to me

>

> i know that none of the many friends and family of

> mine who live nearby felt forced to leave, whether

> they attended the event or not!

[pk]

first mate Wrote:

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> if a proportion living close by felt the noise was loud

> to the point of unbearable there should be greater

> efforts made to reduce it next year. Some seem to

> feel it was louder than last year.

>

But what if a proportion, maybe even a bigger proportion, think it was fine?

> As for the 'over-entitled'... well pots and

> kettles and all that.

>

What is it you think I?m claiming to be entitled to?

It?s not my event, I?m just suggesting that for two days a year I don?t believe that people are being forced from their homes or that it?s a terrible imposition on those close by many of whom attemdded

[first mate]

Pk you think it's fine, others don't. It's not as though there is a call for the event to be terminated. Instead, some are asking for the volumes to be reduced or the noise better controlled. I fail to see why this should be something you could not support. Again, it is well known that being subjected to high volumes of unwanted noise is torturous and I do not believe we should so readily dismiss the fact that some residents found the noise levels way too high.

[taper]

I couldn't hear much up the hill towards the Horniman. But when I walked my dog on the park that evening, the noise up towards the adventure playground and Ivy House end of the park was deafening. Dissonant and cacophonous too - the result I think of the different music from different zones merging in the park. It sounded like an out of tune John Coltrane being accompanied by a Soviet Tank division. P1sser if you live nearby. Perhaps though the crowd has tramped down the undulations and uneven ground caused by the last one. In which case I'm all for it.

[pk]

first mate Wrote:

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> I fail to see why this should be

> something you could not support.

applying your views above, surely you think that it's because I think that square is round and that using torture tactics to drive people from their homes is good?

but in reality, I don't support it because I have a different opinion to you

and because I think that talk of square being round and of torture and of driving people out is over the top nonsense

and because I think that the benefits of thousands of people enjoying a day or two of music in the park is worth the relatively minor level of inconvenience and annoyance suffered by locals, of which I'm one, for about 0.5% of a year

[fishbiscuits]

Would it be better if the stage was in the middle of the park, rather than right at the edge? On the downside, it might mean that the event needed to be moved to a more heavily used section of the park.

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Fishbiscuits, I don't think so, it was louder in the SE near Harris Girls than it was on the western side closer to the stages. The wind also seems to be a factor.

Renata

[malleymoo]

I don't think anyone is saying no events at all. It is a real pleasure to see the park being utilised. When I first moved to the area over 22 years ago it was really under used. For me there just needs to be more consideration given to how to minimise the impact on the neighbouring areas. if I understand it right (it is ages since I did physics) sound travels in straight lines so I suspect he lack of screening is one of the reasons why holding the event on the common area would be more problematic. It's a shame pointing the speakers downwards didn't seem to have more of a positive impact. It would be really interesting to know are there temporary screening options that could help?

Edited to correct a predictive type error

[Lemming]

If you go to festivals (especially ones with multiple stages) you notice how the sound moves around in waves and washes. Atmospheric conditions, wind and so on push it this way and that. Same reason an aeroplane can be in the same place overhead on two different days, one day it's loud, the next you can hardly hear it.

We live 'pretty close' to where the speakers were positioned. Last year (on the Monday) it was fairly loud sitting in the back garden; this year we hardly heard a thing. So it may be that those that were dismayed with it being 'louder' this year just got unlucky with where the sound went.

From a (purely selfish) punter perspective, we were really impressed with the sound inside the event on Saturday. Loud enough to enjoy properly, but still able to talk the the person you were standing next to without having to shout. Ideal really.

You can do your best with speaker placement but there's no magic wand to stop volume and frequency - especially bass frequencies - other than to reduce them. Unfortunately this sort of music requires enough volume to be enjoyable. When it's not loud enough, it's a disappointment, enough to spoil the experience.

For some people (and I think we're only talking about a minority) this sort of music will ALWAYS be too loud. They'd only really be happy if you turned it, well, off.

[first mate]

Sorry pk, it is minor in your view. You are choosing to disregard the views of those who does not find the impact minor. Clearly you have no inclination to take any other view seriously or to find a compromise. I would add, that at a large scale event, like a music festival the majority will naturally live further away, if not in a different borough, and clearly will 'suffer' minimal impact. Those closer to hand who decide to attend obviously do not have a problem with noise levels as they have made a choice to participate. That leaves a proportion of residents living near by who do find the noise levels too great. It is hoped that at future events a way can be found to protect their interests too.

[TonyQuinn]

I didn't find the noise a huge problem. It is what it is. And festivals are part of our rich pageant. And they have to take place somewhere. So why not the Rye. The problem with this festival is I didn't know anything about it until i ran past it on Thursday. Why did they not give locals a chance to get in on a discount or advertise it locally. I saw nada.

[Humdinger]

Those moaning would actually find themselves to be worse off if there wasn't a festival on their doorstep, because it would mean that this time next year, they will have to find something else to moan about instead. Perhaps emergency services sirens will be next on the moan list. I mean, how dare every once in a while a loud noise occur near where i live in a busy metropolis, its noise torture i tell you!

[first mate]

Well, however you wish to frame it the point has been made and it will be up to the council and organisers to address or ignore it next year.

[pk]

first mate Wrote:

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> Sorry pk, it is minor in your view.

compared to

a million people on the streets in notting hill

or three nights in a row for two weekends in a row (one gone, one coming) on a much bigger scale in victoria park

or many nights with 70 thousand people in hyde park

or many other music events held in London each year

I'd say it was, as outdoor music events go, minor

in fact i'd say it represents some middle ground between having a multiple huge events (as some places do) and having no event at all, as there are people who want less noise and earlier finishes, there are those that would rather see more such events on the rye and ones that go later and louder - maybe the current event represents a compromise?

> Clearly you have no inclination to take any other view seriously

I'd didn't realise the talk of squares being circles and torturous noise abuse and people being forced out of their homes at great expense was intended to be serious!

> I would add, that at a large scale event, like a music festival the majority

> will naturally live further away, if not in a

> different borough, and clearly will 'suffer'

> minimal impact.

I'm sure you've got no idea where the majority of people who listened to music on the rye came from (in the unlikely event that you've got any facts, please share), but obviously some people came from out of southwark/London/England just like people from southwark attend events in other boroughs, towns, countries and 'suffer minimal impact' when in e.g. hackney or reading or overseas

that's how the world works - people live somewhere and sometimes do things or go places nearby and sometimes go further away. maybe even you sometimes visit other areas?

I think that's a good thing and that people should be accepting of people coming near to where they live even if those people enjoy themselves and 'suffer minimal impact', sometimes they might suffer more 'serious' impact when southwark residents 'suffer minimal impact' by visiting an event elsewhere

I must be very fortunate as despite living in various locations over the decades of my life, some close to and some further from parks, I've managed to avoid the serious impact of music events

[RichH]

Peckham Rye Park/Common has been used for public music performances for over 100 years. Anyone remember the old band stands? There have been many similar events to this weekend's "festival" / "gala" in recent decades. I wonder if the proportion of complaints has been broadly consistent from the early 1900's to today? Overall I think events of this nature are a good thing and a benefit to the borough as a whole.

Anyway, last weekend I could hear a repetetive "thump, thump, thump" roughly half a kilometre away from the centre of the site, but it wasn't too bad and, as Lemming mentioned above, it's difficult to control precisely to where the sound will propagate.

On this occasion I simply masked the repetetive thumping by putting some Nina Hagen on the good old Hi-Fi and adjusting the volume accordingly ;)

[Loutwo]

The moment well to do (and let?s face it) mostly white people miraculously ?discover? previously ?neglected? working class London neighbourhoods, these issues occur. Twenty years ago no one would have dreamt about having a festival in our back yard. But surprise, surprise the moment the trendy fashionable types want to live in and spend time in our neighbourhood, we all have to be ?thankful? that a private company is using our public spaces to host these events for these people. Regardless of the noise and environmental costs for residents.

You may think I?m banging the same old drum, but I think I have a valid point here. At what stage do residents get to have a say on what happens in their own back garden? Are our high streets now a free for all for out of towners to defecate and vomit in after a night of partying? Does our park only get partially annexed once a year or maybe in time money talks and they can have the whole space for various times during the summer?

The old elephant in the room, the G word strikes again, but we all have to keep pretending that?s not relevant, and that we should all be grateful people come here to have fun and new shops/restaurants should now only cater for their tastes and not anyone else.

Louisa.

[Lemming]

Loutwo Wrote:

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> You may think I?m banging the same old drum

As long as it's around about 126bpm - carry on.

[jimbo1964]

'The moment well to do (and let?s face it) mostly white people'

Bit racist.