Rows over London Fields ‘quietway’ and BBQs are battles in war for space
Griller warfare: litter on London Fields following the heatwave that led to a call for a ban on barbecues. Photograph: Hackney Council
Whose space? That’s not a rhetorical question. If furores in London Fields over proposed road closures and barbecues reveal anything, it’s that a growing population brings with it growing pressures and competing demands.
Both stories are about space and how best it should be used.
A scheme presented as a progressive plan to create more space for cyclists entailed closing roads to through-traffic.
It wound up pitting residents against ‘fume free’ campaigners hoping to banish cars. The Town Hall, which tried to steamroller through its plans, has now been forced into a quagmire of consultation. Meanwhile, the wider tussle between motorists and cyclists for space is nowhere more evident than in Hackney thanks to the sheer number of bikes.
Then there’s barbies. Residents were themselves left fuming when London Fields was trashed by inconsiderate grillers. Now the council will pay private guards to patrol this public space.
But hang on, London Fields is common land, which means anyone is free to use it – and more use usually means more mess.
With Hackney now the eighth fastest growing local authority in England, according to new government data, space-related quandaries are only going to get more acute.
Public space does not need protecting from the public. Sophie Linden tried to push through her Public Space Protection Order as a way of trying to contain the public, but was met with an effective opposition that promised to camp out in front of Hackney Town Hall. She climbed down, but has clearly not given up her anti-public efforts. She has been promoted by Sadiq Khan to police the public across all of London via the GLA. Ever since the enclosures public space has been acquired privately, and commoners contained. The post-war planning system contained the working class from building in the countryside, and still does today. PSPOs will be back, and most forcefully in Labour Party led Local Authorities who are adept at using their discretionary powers to contain the population.