Private events take over public space despite Camden’s promise of ‘diversity and inclusion’

Residents in Warren Street and Whitfield Street had to endure two large scale commercial events in July as Camden Council’s events’ department hired out a street and a public open space for promotional stunts by large sports and recreation brands.

While some residents had advance notice of the public realm takeovers, many residents only found out about it when The Fitzrovia News published news reports.

Camden claims to be delivering “diversity in the public realm” but is approving more and more private events in public space, with Warren Street and Whitfield Street seeing a succession of commercial activities approved by the council’s events and film office.

Without contacting residents, Camden granted permission for promotion company Family Ltd to take over Warren Street between Whitfield Street and Conway Street for a fashion show by Asos. The event needed several roads to be closed for 24 hours a day from 2 to 4 July.

During early June leaflets were distributed by Family Ltd to residents and businesses saying that the event would be taking place and it would be “positive” and good for the area. The leaflet stated the event was given approval by Camden Council and The Fitzrovia Partnership business group.

However, when we contacted The Fitzrovia Partnership, a spokesperson sought to distance themselves from the operation.

“While The Fitzrovia Partnership was aware of this event, we were not directly involved in its planning or management. The approval and coordination of activities in public spaces is handled through the appropriate local authority channel,” they said, referring to Camden’s event’s team.

Many residents told The Fitzrovia News that they did not receive any advance notification of the Warren Street event.

Family Ltd gave assurances to local residents that noise and disruption would be kept to a minimum, and any power generators used would be “silent” and environmentally-friendly.

However, two large and noisy diesel generators were used as well as a petrol powered cleaning machine. Large diesel powered cranes were also brought on site to lift lighting rigs along with large trucks to haul equipment in and out.

“The Council really doesn’t care or stop to think before giving permission to commercial operations to take over our streets. I had to shut the windows on a hot day to keep the noise and pollution out. This is really not fair,” said one resident.

Pavements were flanked with steel barriers reducing the width of the footway and making access into and out of homes difficult for residents.

The three-day road closures and parking suspensions caused chaos in the surrounding streets as delivery drivers fought for space to unload and parked on the pavements to deliver goods to local businesses.

Despite assurances from Family Ltd, loud amplified music was played throughout the event and music was even played after the event when the logistics crew were taking down equipment.

Residents who spoke to The Fitzrovia News did not see how any of this was of benefit to local people.

Then only two weeks later on the evening of Friday 18 July we had reports of equipment and fencing being delivered to The Warren public open space at the north end of Whitfield Street.

The open space was fenced off for Nike and Lego to run a marketing activity over two weekends. Amplified music and a public address system could be heard from as far away as neighbouring streets.

No notice was been given to local residents and no notice was placed explaining why the public open space was closed.

Pre-booked promotions were advertised on a website and invited parents and guardians to bring their children aged 9 to 14 years old for a 90-minute slot for a play and sports experience, and to try on a pair of newly-released football boots, on condition they allowed their children to be photographed and filmed for promotional purposes.

The open space remained fenced off until Tuesday 29 July. Only part of the site — a small seating and children’s play area — remained open.

An investigation by The Fitzrovia News found that two temporary event notices (TENs) were submitted to Camden’s licensing department for the two weekends.

The Fitzrovia News understands that Camden used a legal loophole, advising event organisers to submit a TEN application to use the public open space.

The procedure allows the application to be submitted without any right for the public to comment.

Despite Camden encouraging local residents to sign up for email licensing alerts, TENs are not part of the alert system and community groups who monitor licensable activities do not get advance notice.

Both of these large events were private and corporate. Yet Camden claims in its Diversity in the Public Realm Strategy that it is “committed to addressing inequalities, building community strength, and increasing diversity and inclusion”.

“Camden says one thing and then does the opposite,” one local resident told us.

However, Camden Council offered no apology or contrition for its actions.

“Camden is committed to making sure our public spaces reflect the diverse needs of our communities, and we work to balance cultural, community, and commercial use,” said a spokesperson.

“In both cases, organisers were asked to notify residents and businesses in advance, and we understand this was done. The Asos event used low-emission, silent [sic] diesel generators due to technical demands, and part of the space remained open during the Nike and Lego event, which also raised vital funds for youth projects via Fitzrovia Youth in Action. We received positive feedback from both residents and local businesses, with many saying they benefitted from increased trade.”

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