Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

(N.B. – To be read in conjunction with non-public appendices at Item _)

Members considered an update report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath providing Members with a review of the 2018 Events Programme and the provisional 2019 Events Programme. The following points were made:

·         The Leisure and Events Manager advised Members that 115 high-quality events took place at the Heath in 2018. Three big highlights included the Night of 10,000m PB’s which was a huge joint community event, This Girl Can and the Circus.

·         In response to a query regarding previous protests against the annual Circus event, Members were advised that a risk assessment was carried out and the concern for protesters was managed very well using fencing which provided more security.

·         The Leisure and Events Manager advised that the 2019 Events Programme was already developing well. Returning events included Give It A Go which would not clash with the Football World Cup in 2019 and the international event Night of 10,000m PB’s (6 July) which would include the European Championships and the World Trials and would again be shown on the BBC’s red button. The Chairman encouraged Members to attend these popular events.

·         A Member noted that of the 86 events currently in the events calendar for 2019, 80 of them were held in the summer and questioned why more organisations were not encouraged to have events in off-peak months. He suggested looking at what other London open spaces were doing, e.g. Hyde Park’s Christmas fayre and ice skating. The Chairman stated that the 2018 Open Spaces Act allowed for different types of commercial events to be assessed again. It was noted that the large events took a huge amount of planning.

·         In response to a query regarding how much hosting these events provided, the Superintendent confirmed that costs went into the infrastructure and land and were not income generators.

·         Members were advised that events applications were reviewed by the Events Officer Group with more for 2019 expected to come. These applications are then circulated to the relevant Consultation Committee/Group for feedback.

RESOLVED – That the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee approve the proposed 2019 Events Programme (Appendix 2).