Greenwich Park Update
Good Grief - it' sonly Monday and I'm already harping on about the old chestnuts again...
Richard was one of the furious scribblers last week. He wrote to Greenwich Council (no reply so far) and Derek Spurr at Royal Parks - who (top marks for speedy replies) writes:
"Thank you for your message regarding Greenwich Park and in particular Olympic events, I will reply in the same order as set out by you.
Our role in the 2012 events is to provide the stage and to ensure that the park is protected, the 2012 organisers are putting on the show. We will not agree to the removal or damage to trees and we will want to be assured that the park is returned back to us in the condition it was at the commencement of the event.
It will be up to the event organisers to ensure that the site is suitable for its use, the official equestrian bodies at international level have indicated thus far that it is.
The Council's role is more strategic, ours is more of a local concern -as Venue Managers.
I am not in a position to confirm the plans as these are still being developed by the 2012 organisers. The plans, set out in the original Candidature File give an indication of the site, as seen at the submission stage, this may vary, but we have not seen any revised submission so far.
The closure programme will become clearer once the organisers have finalised the event plans, we will want the closure period to be as short as possible and to keep sections open, if possible throughout.
No tree will be destroyed, we will want both the trees as the root zones protected this along with other important features, we have made our position clear in this regard."
This is encouraging stuff. But we mustn't let our guard down. The Olympic juggernaut at full pelt is a furious beast indeed. We need to be there to support people like Derek Spurr and to make sure that his position is not compromised or weakened by people in a certain govenment department who may decide to put sport and media before culture.
For those of you who have been asking about the petition,
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/GreenwichOlympic/
should get you there. Katie, who sent me the link, reminds people that you have to click on the email that they send you back *before* you have officially signed the petition (she nearly closed the window without realising…)
Richard was one of the furious scribblers last week. He wrote to Greenwich Council (no reply so far) and Derek Spurr at Royal Parks - who (top marks for speedy replies) writes:
"Thank you for your message regarding Greenwich Park and in particular Olympic events, I will reply in the same order as set out by you.
Our role in the 2012 events is to provide the stage and to ensure that the park is protected, the 2012 organisers are putting on the show. We will not agree to the removal or damage to trees and we will want to be assured that the park is returned back to us in the condition it was at the commencement of the event.
It will be up to the event organisers to ensure that the site is suitable for its use, the official equestrian bodies at international level have indicated thus far that it is.
The Council's role is more strategic, ours is more of a local concern -as Venue Managers.
I am not in a position to confirm the plans as these are still being developed by the 2012 organisers. The plans, set out in the original Candidature File give an indication of the site, as seen at the submission stage, this may vary, but we have not seen any revised submission so far.
The closure programme will become clearer once the organisers have finalised the event plans, we will want the closure period to be as short as possible and to keep sections open, if possible throughout.
No tree will be destroyed, we will want both the trees as the root zones protected this along with other important features, we have made our position clear in this regard."
This is encouraging stuff. But we mustn't let our guard down. The Olympic juggernaut at full pelt is a furious beast indeed. We need to be there to support people like Derek Spurr and to make sure that his position is not compromised or weakened by people in a certain govenment department who may decide to put sport and media before culture.
For those of you who have been asking about the petition,
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/GreenwichOlympic/
should get you there. Katie, who sent me the link, reminds people that you have to click on the email that they send you back *before* you have officially signed the petition (she nearly closed the window without realising…)
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
10:54
6 Comments:
Derek from Royal Parks gets double points as he replied super quick to my email last week as well.
In mine he provided similar reassurances and also went through some of the conditions they were placing on the organisers (including keeping sections of the park open thoughout the event (the playground, no permanent changes to landscape and no removal/damage to trees). He also mentioned that they expect to have more detail by the end of the summer.
No other responses yet.
This from Len:
Greenwich Park and the Olympics
Thank you for your letter of 25 May 2008 raising your concerns about the use of Greenwich Park for the equestrian events as part of the 2012 Olympic Games.
I am aware that the local amenity societies and a number of residents are seeking better information on LOCOG’s plans and the impact they will have on the Park and on the surrounding area.
While I have supported the Olympic bid and believe that hosting events will provide a huge boost to the Borough’s reputation and economy, I entirely support the view that we need clarity on the detail of the proposals. We need information on the construction proposals and timescales, details of the environmental impacts and assessments of visitor numbers and transport requirements. This information would allow us all to make a more informed assessment of the impact the events will have on the Park, on accessibility and the wider effects on the local community.
I have written to Lord Coe, Chair of London 2012 informing him of the growing frustration at LOCOG’s lack of engagement with the local community and asking that this should be remedied at the earliest opportunity. I will be looking to action from LOCOG so we can be in a better position to judge what the impact of hosting these events in the Park will be.
Yours sincerely
LEN DUVALL OBE AM
London Assembly Member for Greenwich & Lewisham
Good work, Smaccr. And good to get another reply, counched in terms of someone having done something. We may be getting somewhere.
Thing is, I'm not TOTALLY against this happening. If they can convince me they won't trash the place (and more importantly those trees) and if they are FORCED to look after the place, it could be good. It's just up to us to make sure we force them to do what is best for the park, whatever that may be.
OK, Phantom-I'm angry and willing...can you provide a Facebook link?
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/GreenwichOlympic/
you have to click on the email that they send you back *before* you have officially signed the petition (some people nearly close the window without realising…)
Thank God there are others, like me, who are concerned about the park in the run up to 2012. I'm sure the park will be closed for some time before the event - what else can we do about it???? I too wrote to Boris Johnson but, no reply. Perhaps I was too sarcastic about him making a big joke of everything. As a clown, he's terrific, as a mayor, well . . .
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