A popular music festival is set to hold a bumper six-day programme on Peckham Rye Park this year.
GALA festival 2022 was a three-day event but the 2023 offering would take place from May 26 to 28 and June 1 to June 3.
Parts of the park would be cut off from May 15 to 25 while the festival is constructed.
Event organisers have promised to treat the park with the “utmost sensitivity and respect” but some park guardians say the plans are “not acceptable”.
http://southwarknews.co.uk/news/culture/local-volunteer-group-warn-of-music-festivals-impact-on-peckham-rye-park/
A spokesperson for the park volunteer group Friends of Peckham Rye Park (FoPRP) said: “It is not acceptable that residents will have noise and disturbance for six days.”
“Although not the fault of GALA, we are aware that the park benefits very little from this event – in fact so little it is hardly worth bothering about,” they added.
Chair of FoPRP Liz Brough told the News that some debris from the 2022 festival was never cleared up.
But Southwark Council has said the event’s profits would be used to improve the park and support FoPRP.
The council’s parks and leisure chief, Cllr Catherine Rose, said: “A number of benefits are proposed, including a broader range of free and subsidised tickets, as well as 1,750 more tickets for local people.
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“They [GALA] are also suggesting: opportunities for local businesses to provide services, for local traders to trade, local artists and creatives to showcase and local people to be employed, at the event, subject to planning and licensing approvals.”
A spokesperson for GALA Festival said: “We work year-round with the council, local residents and our partners to produce a safe and responsible event that treats the park and those who are affected by our use of it with the utmost sensitivity and respect.
http://southwarknews.co.uk/news/community/violence-will-not-have-the-last-word-candlelit-vigil-held-for-man-killed-in-peckham-rye-park/
“To this end, in 2022, we undertook a sustainability report looking at the impact of GALA on the Park, and the steps we take to minimise this.”
The festival has been held on Peckham Rye Park since 2018 and showcases a variety of music including bands, electronic music and jazz.
Southwark Council has urged local residents to contribute to a consultation on the proposed events. Details of how you can get involved will be released in due course.
