Agenda item

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Open Spaces regarding the ‘Bringing Communities Together’ 2018 event and the proposed details of the 2019 event. The West Ham Park Manger introduced the report and highlighted to Members that the 2019 event was proposed to be extended by half a day.

A Member questioned the extended length of time it had taken for the report to be produced by Officers. The Director of Open Spaces replied that further time was required to collate all the information essential for the report to provide Members with a complete picture of the issue.

A Member of the Committee raised the issue of under representation of different faiths amongst the organisations connected to the event and questioned if other organisations had been approached. The Director of Open Spaces confirmed that local organisations representing a variety of faiths had been approached but, due to various issues including funding, only those listed within the report were able to be included. The Rev Cannon Alex Summers commented that he would look into the prospect of increasing the involvement of the Parish of West Ham with any future ‘Bringing Communities Together’ events.

A Member highlighted the issue of sustainability and suggested that the City of London Open Spaces department do more to encourage this with reference to the ‘Bringing Communities Together’ 2019 event. The Director of Open Spaces confirmed that the department had worked to educate visitors on the use of public transport and highlighted the fee for using the car park.

A Member questioned if the number of rides was too high for the event. The Director of Open Spaces replied to this confirming that the number of rides had been limited at sixteen and further requests by the provider had been refused. Further to this a Member asked what effect the rides would have on the condition of the park highlighting the impact that rainfall and the rides could have on the grass at the park. The Director of Open Spaces explained that ride provider used temporary surfaces which mitigated the effect of the rides on the Park’s surfaces by spreading the load of the rides more evenly.

A Member questioned if the event caused the park to exceed the capacity of West Ham Park. Replying to this the Director of Open Spaces clarified that the event was expected to have between five hundred and six hundred visitors whereas West Ham Park has been used for a school sports day which involved around seven thousand children and therefore the event would not exceed the Park’s capacity. In addition, the Director of Open Spaces highlighted that the plans for the 2019 ‘Bringing Communities Together’ had an allocated area of the Park, the rest of the Park would remain as free space. Following this a Member noted the possible disturbance caused by the event and questioned when the rides were required to close. The Director of Open Spaces confirmed that the event would close at 8pm and ride providers would vacate promptly after this time.

RESOLVED- That: -

1. Proposal to repeat the event in 2019 is agreed; and
2. That authority be delated to the Superintendent to finalise details of the 2019 event, event fee (including deposit and reinstatement), cancellation policy and pricing structure for fairground rides, food and other items to be sold by stall holders.