GALA Music Festival 2024 Consultation

[first mate]

I agree with you Saranne. It is also flies in the face of the council's commitment to a greener and pollution- free environment. Occupying the park in this way is the opposite of green. It is a demonstration of rank hypocrisy by this council.

 

"For everyone who 'lives near the park and doesn't mind it' there are 10 who do and who are really concerned at the creeping privatisation of our public spaces, not to mention the environmental damage.  The public consultation last year revealed overwhelming lack of support but they went ahead anyway.  The majority of those who attend are youngsters down from Shoreditch and not locals - if you are anywhere near Peckham Rye station during the festival you will see hordes of people arriving by train and streaming up to the park.  This is about so much more than individual preferences and whether or not we like having 'jolly' events in the park.  There is a significant question of public accountability and transparency around use of our council tax and the willingness of the council to disregard the views of the majority of local people. Please do use the consultation to express your views"

Edited December 4, 2023 by first mate

[Lebanums]

On 30/11/2023 at 20:16, Saranne said:

For everyone who 'lives near the park and doesn't mind it' there are 10 who do and who are really concerned at the creeping privatisation of our public spaces, not to mention the environmental damage.  The public consultation last year revealed overwhelming lack of support but they went ahead anyway.  The majority of those who attend are youngsters down from Shoreditch and not locals - if you are anywhere near Peckham Rye station during the festival you will see hordes of people arriving by train and streaming up to the park.  This is about so much more than individual preferences and whether or not we like having 'jolly' events in the park.  There is a significant question of public accountability and transparency around use of our council tax and the willingness of the council to disregard the views of the majority of local people. Please do use the consultation to express your views

I'm not questioning your point on privitasation of public spaces but I am very local (2 streets away). I go most years & tend to see lots of people from the neighbourhood, there are also people that come from all over the UK and not just young. It is a very diverse and inclusive festival who also raise funds for local charities and on one of the days support local bands.

[Saranne]

 

 

3 hours ago, Lebanums said:

I'm not questioning your point on privitasation of public spaces but I am very local (2 streets away). I go most years & tend to see lots of people from the neighbourhood, there are also people that come from all over the UK and not just young. It is a very diverse and inclusive festival who also raise funds for local charities and on one of the days support local bands.

Hi Lebanums. I agree that it's popular with some people, but for me there are bigger issues. One is the lack of access for people who don't have gardens yet live in our extremely urban area and for whom the Rye is off limits for 4 weeks. Plus the significant (and lasting) damage to our precious green space is dreadful.   And let's not forget - this is fundamentally a private profit-making venture not a charitable one!

[PeckhamRose]

So how many of you attended the meeting at the Blakes Bar above the Clockhouse last week.  It was interesting.  I think they were a little stunned by how much information we had gleaned about their company and plans.  The Friends of Peckham RYe Park members and the  Chair was there and said it was awful just how little the park would get from the money being made by the Council. The two Southwark Events Officers were there listening to it all. Someone raised the really important issue of all the diesel trucks chucking out heaps of disel whilst it's all going on, right near kids playing grounds too as it was being set up.  And others made great points about the damage to wildlife habitats.  The doubling to SIX days and nights was discussed, and the company's weak and rather patronising argument that one of the days will be for older and younger people who can be let in for free, was laughed at.  As I said before, research the company, do some work, and please make your observations known to the council by the due date.     We said, it is OUR park, bought for the public for all our enjoyment in 1894 (I think that is the year; I attended the centenery in 1994 with Tessa Jowell and others dressed in Victorian dress where a rather poor and now rusty looking plinth celebrates the point), and for a section of it to be closed off for a month, and six days of noise and disturbance is not reasonable, or fair.  

[Lebanums]

14 hours ago, Saranne said:

 

 

Hi Lebanums. I agree that it's popular with some people, but for me there are bigger issues. One is the lack of access for people who don't have gardens yet live in our extremely urban area and for whom the Rye is off limits for 4 weeks. Plus the significant (and lasting) damage to our precious green space is dreadful.   And let's not forget - this is fundamentally a private profit-making venture not a charitable one!

There is the remainder of the Rye that is still open and the rest of the park, so as far as open spaces go there is no lack of it. Maybe it is a profit making venture for the council but Gala don't have to raise money for charity, we don't get the same offers from the circus or the fare.

[first mate]

It is true the Rye is available and much more suited to large scale events. It is where the Funfairs, the annual Peckham Rye fete etc.. are sited. This begs the question why Gala is in the park rather than on the Rye? Why lose a large and very popular area of parkland in the summer months, a time for enjoying nature? Why section it off with ugly, high metal barriers, patrolled by security on walkie talkies? Why open that area up to environmental damage when, as you say, there are other more open and suitable areas that could be used and would not interfere so much with enjoyment of the park itself, by those not attending GALA?

[fishboy]

A reminder that the deadline for the consultation is this Monday 8th January at midnight.

Please make your voice heard.

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/events-culture-and-heritage/events/large-and-major-events/gala-music-festival-peckham-rye-park-and-common

So many empty promises from the organisers in the 'Community Benefits' section it's just depressing - "Opportunities" for local businesses / traders / artists / creatives / employment. The word "opportunities" here is meaningless, it just means giving them a chance to apply along with everyone else!

And "additional funding...for biodiversity projects" but no mention of how much, and at the bottom they admit they have no idea what this entails as they are actively asking for suggestions! How about just not holding it on this site (let alone for twice as long) which would do wonders for the biodiversity in the whole park?

Also they say only 239 of the 500 FREE tickets were taken up last year - shouldn't this be taken as a good indicator of how popular it is for the local community?

But there will be an increase in resident tickets available - 500 - which is 14% more than last year. For an event that they want to hold over 100% more days.

Thanks, Gala, you're all heart!

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

On 06/12/2023 at 19:57, PeckhamRose said:

The Friends of Peckham RYe Park members and the  Chair was there and said it was awful just how little the park would get from the money being made by the Council.   

1) I think the conversation about "the park doesn't make much money from the festival" is an irrelevance. If green space is to be rented out to a private company, I want the council to squeeze them until the pips squeak and make as much money as possible for all its critical services - social care, libraries, social services, housing, rat catchers, whatever. Obviously parks generally should get their fair share of that, but the fact that all the rent doesn't go back specifically into Peckham Rye Park doesn't bother me at all.

2) do we actually know how much rent the festival organiser pays the council, and how much the council spends on cleaning and restoring the park after? It's impossible to have a sensible conversation without knowing that.

3) the festival promoters are in it for the money. That's fine by me - but I don't want to hear any more of their cockwaffle about community participation or local trader opportunities.

Edited January 6 by Dogkennelhillbilly

[first mate]

I am halfway through listening to the meeting at the Clockhouse which is available in the link supplied by fishboy above. I would urge anyone who cares about our park to please listen and reply to the consultation before it is too late. It is long but well worth the listen.
 

How typical of the Council to consult in the extra busy run up to Christmas and in the New Year. This issue is far too important. It is yet another Catherine Rose special and I think it is pretty disgraceful-not to mention cowardly-  that she or another relevant councillor did not attend.

 

 

[BlueLeaf]

On 07/12/2023 at 09:35, Lebanums said:

There is the remainder of the Rye that is still open and the rest of the park, so as far as open spaces go there is no lack of it.

Claiming that the rest of the parks are usable as normal is ridiculous, taking a walk around the periphery of a music festival is not an enjoyable experience. One of the benefits of time spent in green spaces is the reduction in noise level which is out the window when this is going on. The noise pollution also has a major effect on the wildlife in the park which is usually another draw to parks for me.

Fundamentally, a park is not a good choice for a music venue. An empty field may be, but a park is not simply an empty field. It serves a purpose in the community which it can no longer do when it's used for this sort of thing.

[redjam]

Just emailed my objection. I'm generally a fan of outdoor music festivals, but this one is just a) in the wrong place, and b) too long, in terms of the length of time it'll close off that side of the park.

It's depressing that so many local councils are jumping on this bandwagon of commercialising their local parks. I understand why they do it (£££) but it's a short-sighted policy. The irony is I have a friend who works at a big festival and he says it's becoming increasingly hard to book decent acts as they are spread so thin with all these mini park events springing up everywhere. So I do wonder whether the tide will turn in a few years as promoters realise it's not an easy way to print money. 

[first mate]

The deadline is tomorrow!!!!! Please, anyone who feels they might object do it now before it is too late. Remember, this is not an objection to the festival for 3 days but an objection to extending it. Plus, if it gets extended once, they will become emboldened to add even more days next year. 

[fishboy]

So Gala have started promoting on Facebook the three days that they presumably already have permissions for. This year they appear to be using lots of soft focus imagery of flowers, foliage and blue skies, together with text which gives the impression of a lovely, gentle, nature-friendly summer party e.g. "Back in bloom",  "nestled" in the park. No sense of irony that any & all flora & fauna will be completely trashed by the uncaring & inconsiderate hordes - one post actually shows a video of hundreds of revellers dancing / trampling the whole site!

I'm sure you're all aware that the old "Like" button on FB is now a series of emojis to enable various reactions to posts. So if you're sad 😢 or maybe angry 😡 about the content of their posts, perhaps you should let them know - isn't this what social media is for? 😊

https://www.facebook.com/thisisgala

[fishboy]

Gala have announced another of their tedious & largely pointless "Stakeholder Meetings" to tell us all what's going to happen despite any objections, nod patronisingly at any suggestions or observations, and promise to do better this year. I guess it's important for as many to attend as possible, just so they can't claim that a lack of attendance = tacit approval? I presume there'll be zero attendance from the council, as usual...

 

Good afternoon,

Hope you're well.

We are holding a 2nd Stakeholder Meeting for the proposed GALA 2024 event on Tuesday 5th March 2024 and would like to invite you to attend.

Details of the meeting below:

Tuesday 5th March

18:00 - 20:00

In person

The Clockhouse Pub,

Room upstairs (The Blakes),

196A Peckham Rye, 

London SE22 9QA

Online

Link will follow nearer to the event date.

Please email us to RSVP to the meeting. It would be great to see you there if you are available to attend. 

[email protected]

If you'd like to be taken off our Stakeholder list please email to advise.

Best,

Laura & Dan

Useful links:

Southwark Council's Consultation Mailing List - form to sign up: https://forms.southwark.gov.uk/ShowForm.asp?nc=D2O5&fm_fid=2236  

Southwark Council's Local Community webpage: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/events-culture-and-heritage/events/large-and-major-events/gala-music-festival-peckham-rye-park-and-common

GALA's Local Community webpage: https://thisisgala.co.uk/local-

community/

--

Community Team

GALA Festival

[first mate]

If this consultation ( the one on Southwark's website) is genuine then why are we not able to see the input and comments? It seems Southwark is keeping the public response under wraps, although presumably sharing those with Gala, hence a further meeting with Gala in March?

It says the Council consultation closed late January, so why can't we see what the public response was?

[Dulwich dweller]

On 06/12/2023 at 15:21, Lebanums said:

It is a very diverse and inclusive festival

In what way is it very diverse?

[alice]

Or inclusive?

[Hen123]

Yes I don’t see how condoning off a large section of a public space with giant wall can be described as “inclusive”.  

[fishboy]

On 23/02/2024 at 08:58, first mate said:

If this consultation ( the one on Southwark's website) is genuine then why are we not able to see the input and comments? It seems Southwark is keeping the public response under wraps, although presumably sharing those with Gala, hence a further meeting with Gala in March?

It says the Council consultation closed late January, so why can't we see what the public response was?

I was wondering if ALL the comments would be readily available to view, if they're not then does anyone know how Freedom of Information requests work, or could submit one for all the comments? I'd be very interested to see them, as I can't believe many are positive, and therefore the council should be visibly taking them into consideration.

Also don't forget that another way you can gently make your feelings felt is via Facebook "Likes" &: comments - Gala are really pushing ticket sales at the moment...

(I did point out their incorrect use of "less", to which they responded by deleting the post. But they haven't changed it to "fewer" for subsequent posts 🤦)

Edited February 24 by fishboy
Added PS

[Hen123]

5 hours ago, fishboy said:

I was wondering if ALL the comments would be readily available to view, if they're not then does anyone know how Freedom of Information requests work, or could submit one for all the comments? I'd be very interested to see them, as I can't believe many are positive, and therefore the council should be visibly taking them into consideration.

Also don't forget that another way you can gently make your feelings felt is via Facebook "Likes" &: comments - Gala are really pushing ticket sales at the moment...

(I did point out their incorrect use of "less", to which they responded by deleting the post. But they haven't changed it to "fewer" for subsequent posts 🤦)

I seem to remember it is quite straight forward - you just send them an email explicitly stating you are making a FOI request and who you are and say you want to see all the responses from the consultation. 

[fishboy]

I received an email reminder of the "invite" (I think they meant invitation...) to the stakeholder meeting from Southwark Events Team at the weekend, really informal and signed by "Charlie". It also mentioned that "The GALA consultation findings report will be circulated shortly". I replied with a few observations & questions, including whether the report would show all the responses, and if not then how can they be obtained.

[fishboy]

A welcome email from Southwark Events today, containing the consultation findings report & an appendix containing all the responses to the consultation - both attached below, and worth a read.

The good news is that Gala have withdrawn their plans to extend to 6 days, presumably prompted by the overwhelming number of objections - 108 of the 111 responses received, by my count.

The bad news is that Southwark are very likely to issue them with an events licence for the usual 3 days, which means yet again the best part of the park being annexed for the best part of a month during the best part of the year, the noise, disruption & pollution during the event, and months of post-event attempts to rectify the resultant damage (which to date have always failed - you can't 'fix' nature!)

So maybe a small victory, but still a long way to go to rid OUR beautiful park of this annual intrusion. Don't forget to attend the Gala PR box-ticking 'meeting' next Tues 5th 6pm - 8pm at the Clock House (or online) to keep the pressure on - RSVP to:

[email protected]

 

GALA 2024 and one stage shows – stakeholder consultation findings report.pdf Appendix 1.pdf

[first mate]

Good news that for this year they have dumped the 6 day event and reverted to three. Is the whole build and dismount process within the same timeframe or has that been reduced?

Problem is they have the premises licence in perpetuity, so I think they'll try to extend the event again next year and the year after that. Cllr Catherine Rose, the Cabinet member in charge, really, really wants many more events and, of course, the income, so she'll be looking for ways to make the extension happen, I'm in no doubt.
 

Be prepared to fight on!

[aggie]

Obviously I would prefer it if the event wasn’t happening at all but we must count our blessings. I’m now a bit concerned about the remedial drainage project in the park. It looks a really big deal and large chunks of the park will be out of bounds for a period of time. I can’t figure out when the work will start - let’s hope it’s not straight after GALA. 

[TreacleRabbit]

The dates agreed for this year by Southwark are:

 

“Events licence:
The GALA team have withdrawn their proposals for an up to 6 day event and
are now proposing to deliver the same 3 day GALA event as they have done
in previous years. Dates as follows:
 Build: Tues 14th May - Thurs 23rd May
 Live event days: Fri 24th May - Sun 26th May
 Break: Mon 27th May - Sat 1st June”