LFUG call for BBQ ban
Members of the London Fields User Group (LFUG) are calling for an outright ban on barbecues that damage grass on the Fields. LFUG supporters raised the issue at their meeting in September and were concerned that cheap barbecue trays used in the park are destroying the grass in many patches in the areas most popular with picnickers. The grass is often burned through to the roots and as a result will not grow back easily.
It was reported that London Fields was the only green space in Hackney where rangers don’t enforce by-laws banning barbecues.
LFUG supporters also suggest that park users should be strongly encouraged to bag up rubbish and “leave no trace”.
Members of the Group have also attacked the decision to allow the commercial exploitation of the park after the recent Secret Cinema event took over a large portion of the park for a screening of the cult film ‘The Warriors’ and charged £20 a head entry. The group insisted on being consulted before any future events were given permission.
E8Link:easteight.com/424
for a map
What Hackney council should do is provide barbecues that are fixed to the ground. It’s done in many parks and even apartment complexes in America. Of course that introduces a whole nother problem of people cleaning the grill when they are done. I agree there should be signs encouraging people to dispose of their things in the bins or take them home with them.
I think it’s great that people can have a barbecue in the park and quite like seeing the smoke rising up and the festival atmosphere on hot summer days, it’s just a shame that people put their barbecues directly on the grass without giving thought to the fact that if everyone did that the whole park would be a charred wreck….. why not a ban on those disposable barbecues, rather than a blanket ban (similar to what RDA says above). The fact that people leave rubbish is just rude & selfish!