The walk from Harrow-on-the-Hill to the festival site
Dear Editor,
We residents would wager the organisers of the Made in Korea (K-Pop) event are angry with Brent Council and may now be getting cold feet as more and more issues come to light and the risk of cancellation due to bad weather, specifically rain, is becoming clearer. Why do we have this opinion?
They didn't know (the council didn’t tell them) about the people living within feet of the concert compound until they were told two days before the consultation ended. It is believed that a parks representative has recently spoken to the bungalow residents and told them they will have to live with it! They attended the Licensing Hearing but were so upset by the proceeding that they walked out in fury over the poor questioning by the committee members from the south of the Borough, one councillor said she knew the park well having played rounders there – and how long ago was that then, perhaps 1990’s?
They didn't know that the ‘great’ Public Transport Hubs they had been told about by the council were totally unsuitable for such large numbers. They will now have to use Harrow on the Hill as the principal transportation hub, which just happens to be some 2.5 kilometres away, that’s about a 30-minute walk without hold ups, holdups such as crossing two major roads! Even utilising this station, the 15-20,000 attendees will have to crocodile through the 3mtr wide under pass to cross the A404 Watford Road, which carries circa 35,000 vehicles a day. The organisers said they are having to revisit the event timings to take account of the time it will take to get 15,000 people to Harrow in time to cover onward travel connections. Even Saturday is not particularly well serviced after 11pm.
The committee unbelievably hadn’t been informed by the council, and the ward councillor didn’t know (if his objection at the Licensing Committee was to be believed); that the playing fields have been waterlogged during periods of high precipitation, going back decades. At its worst, the edge of the Capital Ring Footpath is under at least six inches of water with no way round even using the playing fields as they are also flooded. The ward councillor inexplicably said that the footpath only started flooding a year ago, and was reported, well this is Brent isn’t it. Residents tell us that they have complained to the councillor and the council since 2022 with no action so far being taken. Users of the path can all tell you that the watercourse along the path should be draining the fields, however, due to neglect the watercourse no longer serves its essential purpose. It also should be noted that some of the recent planning consents at the hospital and the new 700 flats will all be utilising the watercourse for their drainage, which will only make matters worse unless essential improvements are made to the watercourse. But don’t worry, Brent is investigating apparently.
The organisers have been led to believe that no sporting users would be disrupted by the concert; they've now found out that Gaelic Football and one Cricket Ground will be inaccessible for three weeks from mid-May due to the positioning of the concert area. Also, during the events, all the fields will be out of use due to the setting up of entry and exit paths. Of course, there will then be many weeks after the concert area has gone, while ground renovation takes place and recovers; this recovery period will no doubt end Gaelic Football on Northwick Park Playing Fields, a clear discrimination of our fellow residents who play Gaelic Football for Parnells but have not been acknowledged by the Council. The council didn’t even think to inform the playing field users.
We could hazard a bet that the organisers are furious with Brent Council at all levels for not informing, nay, not knowing about these issues.
Apparently, the council told the organisers to use Northwick Park and not Fryent Park as Northwick is flat and had good public transport links (what a joke that is now) and has unrestricted parking in the area; this was probably well over a year ago. Oh, how Brent Council and its councillors disrespect the residents of their borough. Regarding parking, the organisers suggested at the Licensing Committee that there should be Residents Parking in the area for the events so that they can have access and get blue lights and coaches in and out!
It appears that the local councillor knew of these events long before eventually informing a small number of residents about the Licensing Application via a Whatsapp link, and we are informed that the councillor refused to share the response to the application. The Preston Councillors were not informed according to rumours and found out through their residents’ association or the Nextdoor App.
Neither Northwick Park Hospital, nor Sovereign Network Group (the housing supplier) have been advised about the events by the Council, they were not required to be notified under Licensing Law, so that’s OK, isn’t it?
The organisers said there was now a liaison group including the hospital, however, that has not begun yet and was suggested by either the London Fire Brigade or London Ambulance Service, which is more likely.
The University of Westminster have obviously been in communication with the organisers as they were to have the second weekend for their ‘local social events’, however, the organisers have now abandoned the second event weekend. Will the university now be such a strong supporter, and do they really want 15-20,000 people trapesing through there site on their way to Harrow on the Hill station just at pub throw out time at a weekend?
The Football Foundation have funded Brent’s football pitches by over £2m since 2000. Their 2024 Plan for Brent recommends that their future football development priorities for Brent include Improving grass pitches. It goes on to say that there are seven grass football pitches in Northwick Park, and it is one of their priority areas for improvement. This includes the refurbishment of the pavilion changing rooms which are currently closed due to a water borne virus. The football pitches are listed as needing refurbishment due to the lack of maintenance by the Council. This was acknowledged in a Brent report dating back to 2016, only three years after a drainage scheme was put in place funded by the Lottery, FA, and the Football Foundation.
What a very sad borough Brent has become.
A Northwick Park resident
