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'We need
to rent out fields'
Town Hall argues for permission to
erect marquee on Lincoln’s Inn Fields
THE noise from corporate events held in one of Camden’s
most historic squares was “intolerable” and made windows
rattle, a House of Lords committee has been told.
Colonel David Hills, the Under Treasurer of the Honourable Society
of Lincoln’s Inn, was opposing Camden Council’s plans
to overturn an 1894 Act which bans the erection of structures
on Lincoln’s Inn Fields .
The Town Hall believes it could raise up to £65,000 a
year by letting the square for 35 private events, to pay for
“improvements” to the square.
Events had previously been held in the square but they have
ceased since the 1894 Act was uncovered. Colonel Hills said
that the events had caused considerable disruption to barristers
at Lincoln’s Inn and many residents.
He said: “The noise was frankly intolerable and the windows
of my house rattled. I was unable to go to sleep, and sometimes
the noise from the events upset some of our clients and some
of our members.
“When people are arriving or leaving the traffic congestion
can be appalling.”
He added the fields were heavily used by members of the society
and many other people.
He said: “Just this morning I saw nine dog walkers and
people doing tai chi in the fields.”
Others opposing the plans include the Covent Garden Community
Association, the Sir John Soane Museum, the Royal College of
Surgeons and even Gospel Oak resident Michael Palin.
Earlier in the hearing, Martin Stanton, Camden Council’s
head of Parks, appeared before the committee and warned that
unless it was able to rent the fields out for corporate functions,
it could “go in decline rapidly”.
The committee, which is reviewing the clauses of the London
Local Authorities Bill. Under the Town Hall’s plans the
public would be prevented from using the square during events.
Mr Stanton said thousands of pounds had been spent by the council,
in conjunction with the now defunct Friends of Lincoln’s
Inn Fields, to improve the square which had been, in the 1990s,
taken over by drug dealers and squatters.
It had become known locally, he claimed, as “tent city”.
But he warned that unless the council was given the power to
raise funds standards at Lincoln’s Inn would be difficult
to maintain.
He said: “The position the council finds itself financially
in the near future could be problematic for parks and open spaces.
When the local authority goes for spending cuts, leisure is
one of the first areas to be hit. It is an easy target.”
“If standards fall, Lincoln’s Inn Fields will go in
decline rapidly.”
He said that Camden Council had secured a £5.5 million
grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for five of the borough’s
public parks and that money was ringed fenced for the future.”
The committee sat in deliberation yesterday (Wednesday) and
a decision is expected in the next few weeks. |
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