Northwick Park K-POP Festival organisers respond to local residents

 

  

This is a response sent to concerned residents who had objected to the K (Korean) Pop application to hold a Festival in Northwick Park in the summer LINK.

 

Dear Resident, 

 

Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns regarding our application for a premises licence in Northwick Park. I appreciate that this can feel like a very daunting prospect for our neighbours and I wanted to write to you to try and alleviate some of your concerns. 

 

Firstly, I wanted to introduce the people behind the application. 

 

Magic Sound are based in Brent and are promoters of touring artists from the Far East, primarily in the genre of Korean pop music, known colloquially as K-Pop. Within the UK this genre is very popular with females between the ages of 10 and 24; as a result, our audience is very much a family audience where under 18s are not permitted to attend without parents or legal guardians. 

 

Magic Sound have engaged The Event Umbrella (TEU), who are experienced event producers working extensively in public open spaces across London to manage event delivery, both in the planning phase and onsite through the installation, live and dismantlement phases. 

 

Further to this, TEU also works on behalf of other local authorities managing the application process for the use of public land in respect of event hirers. These dual roles, as both producers and approvers for events on public land means that TEU understand how crucial it is to protect residents and mitigate against impact on the local community. 

 

The premises licence that is applied for proposes the use of the park for one event in 2025, for a maximum of 3 consecutive days and for future years for a maximum of 6 event days, with no more than 3 consecutive days. However, the current event plans for 2025 are for a two-day event taking place on the Saturday and Sunday, 7 – 8 June. 

 

A key aspect of the conditions of the premises licence application is that a number of documents must be presented for scrutiny by the responsible authorities including the Metropolitan Police, London Ambulance Service, Brent Noise Control, London Fire Brigade, Transport for London and others. These documents include security and crowd management plans, noise management plans, litter and waste plans, to name but a few. If these documents do not live up to scrutiny then the event would not be able to proceed. 

 

In this email I will address the three main causes for concern – noise, security (including alcohol) and litter – but also speak a little bit about traffic management.

1. Noise. A professional noise impact assessment is being carried out over the coming weeks that will be used to create a noise management plan to minimise disruption to residents. This management plan will be in line with The Noise Council Code of Practice on Environmental Noise Control at Concerts and will set levels at which music can be played. These levels will reflect the nature of the space the event is occupying.
2. Security / Ingress & Egress / Alcohol. A full security and crowd management plan will be developed, not just for the internal footprint of the event, but for the external areas including the local transport links. SIA stewards will be deployed to fixed positions to monitor and manage crowd behaviour and response teams will be dedicated to the surrounding roads, should issues arise. Additionally we will be working extensively with Transport for London to manage the ingress and egress of people through the stations to the park. Given the nature of the event proposed for 2025, it is unlikely that excessive alcohol consumption will be an issue but that does not mean that the sale of alcohol will not be managed in accordance with best practice. Korean food, music and culture are the focus of Magic Sound events, not alcohol. SIA will be located at the bar and response teams will monitor consumption across the event footprint and the wider park area.
3. Litter. Waste management at the event is again not focused solely on our footprint, but also across the park, along footpaths and residential roads. Teams of pickers and cleaners will be deployed across these areas to ensure that they are maintained and that we leave no trace at the end of the event.
4. Traffic. Another concern that I know our neighbours will have is the management of traffic inside and outside the park; whilst this isn’t a licensing objective, I appreciate it remains important. A traffic management team will be a crucial part of the advance planning process. They will be looking at how they protect residential parking, manage event related traffic whilst minimising disruption to existing park users and ensuring that taxi drop offs are carried out at a designated point with the least impact on houses.

 

Each of these four keys areas of concerns will have dedicated response teams when the event is live. Residents in the surrounding area will be issued with a dedicated contact number where they can report concerns or issues as they are happening. We will then deploy the relevant response team to take the appropriate action. 

 

I would like to finish by saying that whilst we know that events have not previously taken place in Northwick Park and therefore it is unlikely that one can take place without any change to park users’ daily experience of the park, we are committed to listening to our residents and working with them to reduce the impact insofar as is possible. I know the use of spaces in this way is controversial, but they do absolutely benefit the local authority financially and for those residents who have an interest in attending them, they offer an experience and chance to make memories with their families close to home. 

 

We will be offering residents the chance to attend consultation sessions and we have a direct email mik@magic-sound.co.uk where you can contact us to ask any questions. Further to that there will be chance for free and discounted tickets, as well as opportunities for people to get involved with the event. 

 

Yours sincerely, Victoria Hazell Show Producer

 

 EDITOR'S NOTE: Although the above says that it will be a 2 day event the licence application states:

The intention is for MIK to take place over a weekend (2 days). Whilst dates are pending at the time of writing, the speculative dates will be the 7 – 8 June 2025, with approximately 10 days prior for construction and 5 days following for derig,

 

Love Chalkhill Festival Sunday 28th July Noon-8pm

 

Love Chalkhill Festival, Chalkhill Park, August 14th Noon-8pm

 

Neasden Winter Festival Saturday Dec 18th from 3pm

 

Heart of Wembley Festival Saturday July 7th 1pm-6pm

From  Wembley Futures

On Saturday, 7 July 2018 Wembley Futures will be hosting the third annual Heart of Wembley Festival. This vibrant community event will take place from 1pm-6pm on St Johns Road, off Wembley High Road by Primark. St Johns Road will be closed to traffic for the day, allowing the community to reclaim a street in the town centre for the festivities. The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Celebrating Family’, and the festival will truly have something for everyone in families both big and small.

The Festival is one of the activities by Wembley Futures, one of 150 recipient groups across the UK to be awarded funding by The Big Local. A long-term innovative programme that aims to achieve lasting change, The Big Local provides a mixture of funding, finance and support.

The Heart of Wembley Festival will celebrate the diversity and community in Wembley Central through a mix of both local and professional music, talented dance performances, fragrant food, bright colours and vivid fabrics of the performers’ costumes.

The atmosphere will be charged with much vitality and vivaciousness!  Stage will feature music spanning the genres including vintage music hailing from the 1940s and beyond, the sounds of acoustic guitar, and Afro-Brazilian harmonies that recall the band members’ far flung homelands.
Drumming workshops will run all day, their rhythmic beats inviting all festival goers to come and have a try on African drums and the Dhol drums, while dancers will conjure a voyage to countries from Ireland to Nepal and from India to Cuba with intricate, traditional dance performances. For a contrast, contemporary dancers specialising in street dance will also be showing their skills to the festival crowd.

Come and taste the flavours of cooking from around the world, with vendors offering authentic Nigerian, Caribbean, and Hungarian street food as well as a range of both sweet and savoury treats from Portugal, artisan brownies, and delicious cakes. Don’t forget a refreshing drink of fresh coconut as well.

Family activities will abound, with creative craft tables, an artwork display by Elsley School, and fantastic performances from children from Brent Music, Ark Elvin School, Elsely School, and the 360 Theatre group. Become a character, an animal or simply enjoy a gorgeous design with a visit to the Festival face-painters.  With a story area, including books and a storyteller, there will be plenty to carry away the imaginations of all members of the family. Let street theatre artists and magician woo you!

Be sure to cycle up a smoothie and repair your bike, courtesy of Brent Cycling; have a chat with the always-welcoming community stalls, try some aloe products from Forever Living, and stop by the Wembley Futures stall for more details about current activities and upcoming plans for the year ahead. Wembley Central Safer Neighbourhood Police will be on hand to hear any concerns you may have.

Francis Henry, Chair of Wembley Futures, said:

I hope to see both new and familiar faces at the Festival in July. We are building on the success of the previous two years’ Festivals and look forward to a great day out with friends, family and neighbours. Heart of Wembley Festival 2018 promises to be a fun-packed day.

Alperton Summer Festival Saturday July 7th

Alperton Summer Festival 2018
Saturday on 7th July 2018
12–6pm
Heather Park 
(Entry free)

There will be live music, a petting zoo, cricket simulator, face painting and more! (All free of charge, and of course we will be showing the England game live!) We will also be announcing the winners of the My Alperton Postcard Competition and raising money for local Charity and food bank Sufra NW.

Sufra adds:
 
Sufra NW London will be all over the Alperton Summer Festival this Saturday 7 July at Heather Park. As well as our information stall, we will be flipping delicious sweet and savoury pancakes on our new stall - Oh Crepe!

Fryent Country Park Rangeelu Gujerat event next weekend

Part of Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury, will be given over the Rangeelu Gujerat Festival on Saturday 20th August and Sunday 21st August.  The Festival will run from 10am until 8pm.

The London boroughs of Brent and Harrow have the highest number of Gujerati speakers in London and the event is supported by Brent Council.

The organiser's state:

The two day event will provide a large platform to showcase Gujarat's Arts, Literature, Food, Fashion, Music, Dance, Tourism and much more. Visitors will experience an interactive walk through of market stalls, scents,  artisans and street food, live music and a kite event. The folk dancers, along with traditional costumes, perform and there is Gujarati comedy offering back-home jokes and phrases. Rangeelu Gujarat is a celebration of life, festivities and culture of Gujarat. Discover bestowing grace and elegance and gather to experience the diverse traditions and the generosity and hospitality of Gujarati people.

The event will be held on the Upper Hydes meadow and according to an unsigned notice at the park entrance this has been closed to the public until Monday August 22nd. The Fryent Way car park will be closed from August 18th until August 22nd with temporary alternative parking at Richard's West.

See map below:

Neasden? No - Never! Oh yes it is! Neasden festival on Saturday

Kilburn celebrates despite the rain and tennis

Despite grey skies, sudden heavy rain showers and a tennis match on the other side of London, Kilburn came out to celebrate yesterday at the Kilburn Festival.

Tara Brady, senior reporter at the Kilburn Times (pictured), was there with colleagues, once again in solidarity with the local community. This time the paper supported people as they battled with rain and mud, rather than the usual struggles over cuts and closures.

It was good to see all ages and ethnicities coming together, epitomised by communal dancing drawn from Brent's many cultures, and sad to reflect that following cuts in the Festivals' budget there are fewer such opportunities now.