I am a resident of Bedford Road, opposite the railway station side entrance.
The impact upon my daily life during such large events is huge, and is predominantly due to the inadequacy of transport links locally, to and from the venue. The W3 journeys I have taken during the darts tournament have been scary and I was forced to get off the bus at one point because of overcrowding, shouting and beer slopping from darts attendees. Once, people trying and failing to get on the already crowded bus hammered on the windows and attempted to rock the bus.
The trains get scarily full with lots of people drinking and shouting. Exiting up the stairs and along the pathways at the station can feel very claustrophobic and threatening. If they succeed in current attempts to close the pathway in both directions I think an accident with a bottleneck of visitors is possible. They seem to want to get hordes of people through two ticket barriers. Madness.
I have been abused and threatened going up the steps into my home by some guys on their way to the darts. “We know where you live now! We’ll be back”.
The streams of people going past our doors late at night after gigs, especially late gigs, is noisy and unacceptable. Bottles and rubbish thrown into front gardens.
Having my car moved during Soap Box because I wasn’t back in time (although I was back in good time according to the handouts) and then not knowing where my car was.
Funnily enough I’ve never had a problem when the Knitting and Sewing show is on...
Extra private bus services to Finsbury Park or Wood Green, directly from AP would be good. Lots of them, not just one every 15 minutes.
Crucially, I propose a re-opening of the old railway line that serves AP directly. Is this a viable possibility? Or a route carved through to the existing station that did not pass through a quiet residential neighbourhood. Surely not impossible.
So, how will extra events affect me? HUGELY AND BADLY.
B Klein Bedford Road N22 7AU
Replies
Beverly, so sorry to hear this type of abuse and threatening behaviour goes on - its horrific. You have every right to feel safe around your home and not be threatened like that. Having buses pick up and drop off at Wood Green certainly sounds like it might help.
I wonder if you've already contacted Ally Pally direct to complain? They should be made aware how badly some of their 'guests' are behaving, and maybe they've got the power to re-arrange transport to the palace for certain groups? There's an email address and phone number on this page http://www.alexandrapalace.com/get-in-touch/ Might this help? Sorry if you've already done this and I'm just stating the obvious!
Beverly, the problem with that meeting I fear may have been the same as when the issue was raised at our Residents Association's AGM last year. The moment you mention reducing/blocking events at the Palace you lose the support of all stakeholders, even the residents. If the Palace can not raise the funds to pay for itself, the alternative will be to sell it off, possibly with a chunk of the park with it. That is the worst scenario for most of us local residents and we who live near the park and the Palace are greatly concerned for the future of both. So we accept a degree of inconvenience, even occasional disturbance to our lives.
Your problem is that the disturbance has reached intolerable levels. You will need to engage constructively with the Palace Management, the Trust and the Council (plus other residents, beyond Bedford Rd) in order to get a hearing and gain support. You may not get everything you wish for, but you will secure some improvements. Then some more...
I apologise if this sounds patronising ( I fear it might). But I am this blatant because I do believe you have a huge problem that will only get worse unless it is taken on board and it won't be if you are seen as intransigent nimbies. The moment you drop the demands for the events to be curbed, you will see the change in attitude.
Also, worth engaging with our community police. They have always been very helpful and supportive. Try all three of the councillors, Friends of the Park, etc...
My neighbour, Leila, has been in direct consultation with AP and the Council for quite a long time, and has passed on my experience and provided them with video and audio evidence of disturbance. She has found them and the Council to be essentially unyielding. AP needs to clear a debt, Haringey needs them to clear the debt, therefore the gigs are likely to go ahead whatever we say. I think she and her partner were thinking of selling up because of it.
Beverly's donated an excellent pot to the station. To be precise, the Friends IS a Rail User Group, and the station manager has been very keen that we should become one, as Great Northern will listen to all our concerns. I don't know how much chance there really is of stopping events at the Palace, but improving the station and the use of Bedford Road, as Indijana says, may be the best way forward.
Beverly,
We have some of the problems you mention in the lower part of Palace Gates Rd, though not as badly now. We used to though. Revellers would hang outside the shops and takeaways - in high spirits. These now have to close before the Palace events end. (But the local businesses have lost valuable trade.)
Since access to the station is closed when the platforms get full, people tend to hang around in Bedford Road, with nothing much to do while they wait, so rowdiness increases as minutes pass.
Widening the access path onto the footbridge to the station would help with the bottleneck. But it would not solve the problem of platform overcrowding (only extra trains would). The Friends of the Ally Pally station (www.friendsofallypallystation.co.uk) may be a useful point of contact for you. A new railway users' group is being set up as an offshoot of the Friends.
Extra buses stop at all normal bus stops and everyone gets off at Ally Pally station. If they drove directly to Wood Green tube, it might reduce the pressure on the Ally Pally station.
Finally, a holding point further up the Palace Way (with a refreshments van perhaps), instead of the crowds being held in Bedford Rd, might help.
Ferrying people away, avoiding Bedford Road, is my ideal scenario. I think AP should be actively used, but it's the local transport issue that is my express concern.
Extra buses going straight to both tube stations would be good.
As a side issue, does anybody know why the train service has deteriorated so drastically since the summer, with so many more cancellations and delays?
After this problem initially arose there was a proposal - whether official or not I can't remember - to use buses to take people to Finsbury Park, which (we were given to understand) is served by an A road or two so more suitable for large numbers of people, as is the FP station of course.
Indijiana's point about the financing of the Palace is a critical and constant one of course. Having lived here through various of its financial crises - and long ago read about how it had the highest (then) rates in the capital because of the Palace's running and renovation costs - I do sympathise somewhat with the development defenders!
No idea about the train service I'm afraid - except that I was horribly delayed en route to a meeting last week because a high vehicle had hit a train bridge further up the line...
Tessa,
I was not defending the development of the Palace as such. Some development is necessary as the building is falling to bits. If the Palace can not pay for its upkeep (with free public access to the Park that surrounds it), drastic development plans may be back on the table - casinos, executive flats, loss of access to the terraces etc included - we have been there and fought hard to prevent such schemes.
The Council have to balance the books and the Palace can not continue as an extravagant folly funded from the public purse. It has to be used for something. Surely, the borough's provision for special needs kids, so drastically cut the last two years, would be a better use of the rates revenue. The rates have to be paid by all Haringey residents and we who live in the immediate vicinity of the Palace and the Park benefit from these amenities most. Which is why we accept a degree of disturbance to our daily lives when events are held. It isn't fair to expect the Council to bear any of the financial burden when there are far more pressing needs in the borough. Except, that in the case of Bedford Rd residents, it has become an intolerable level of disturbance and some action has to be taken. My suggestion to Beverley was to engage with the Palace Trust and seek a step by step approach to tackling the problem (to see what works but also to alleviate fears the Trust may have about where the residents' complaints may lead if taken on board), because it has been my experience that more is achieved that way, albeit at a slower pace.
...and I must repeat, Leila's experience led to very little change from both the Palace and the Council's point of view, and she has been far more diligent on the matter than I feel capable of being.
Beverly, sometimes it is worth trying again.
My understanding is that the residents (perhaps Leila, or others) demanded the number of events be reduced, curfew at 10 pm imposed on the events held, heavy policing in Bedford Rd during the events... - these all translate into a loss/spend of thousands and thousands of pounds that would have to be found elsewhere. Likewise with extra buses to Finsbury Park Tessa mentions.
Having the extra buses that already operate during the events drive direct to Wood Green Tube would cost nothing. So, you could start with that. The crowd management can be the next step. And so on.
You don't have to attend the meetings yourselves - your councillors can lobby on your behalf. You just need to be clear and realistic in your demands. You have already provided the evidence to support your claims that the disturbance is impacting badly on your lives. It is the solutions sought that now need to be agreed on, then action taken.... That has not yet happened. The residents have been at odds with both the Palace and the Council on what can/should be tried.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next