A recent trip to London provided a welcome reminder of how protective communities can become of their green spaces.
I was staying with my brother and his wife in Battersea, an area in the south of London that is best known for its statuesque power station (an imposing Grade II-listed structure from the 1930s that is currently being converted into swanky flats), the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which is one of the best-known rescue centres in the UK, and its park.
Battersea Park is a 200-acre public space with a rich history and a diehard fan base. It is located on the south bank of the River Thames and was first opened to the public in 1858. It is home to over 4,000 trees, some of which date back to the 19th century, and is dotted with charming features ranging from a lake that attracts swans, herons, cormorants and a host of other animal life, to the grand-looking Peace Pagoda, a Buddhist monument, and the Thrive Garden, which has been designed, created and maintained by Thrive, a not-for-profit organisation that uses gardening to bring about positive change in the lives of people with disabilities or ill health.
Because my brother and his wife live directly across from one of the park’s main entrances, and have a six-month-old baby to entertain, quite a few mornings during my visit were spent meandering through the park with my baby nephew. I encountered all the standard elements of British park life: erstwhile joggers, enthusiastic children honing their ball skills, families walking their multiple dogs, and even a group of artists painting watercolours of Battersea Bridge.
But there were also unexpected interlopers. Last weekend, the park played host to the final of the global Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully electric racing series, and preparations for the event were well under way during my morning walks. Thousands of concrete blocks, topped by high metal fences, were being laid along the track, swathes of the park had been closed off to visitors, and there were workmen and vehicles everywhere.
All the locals I met were incensed by this. The annual event, which attracted 60,000 spectators and is supposed to take place in the park for the next four years, was greeted with uproar. The discontent of local residents is posted on the official Battersea Park website for all to see: “Well, the promise of the Battersea Park Formula E event causing ‘a few days’ disruption’ can now be taken with a pinch of salt, with large areas of the park out of bounds for regular users and the whole place looking like a noisy, ugly building site.”
But the event is also a major revenue earner for the park, with a reported £1 million (Dh5.8m) funding pot having been created by the event organisers to make improvements to the park over the next five years.
The woman who approached me to sign an anti-Formula E petition was having none of it. There ensued much debate over the rights and wrongs of turning parks, which are essentially public property, into commercial entities, even if this provides much-needed funding – and ensures that those spaces are around for the public to enjoy for many more years to come. It was a debate I saw and heard repeated in local newspapers, at cafe counters and on every other park bench.
I didn’t feel comfortable signing the petition, but thousands of others did. And it was refreshing to see people taking such a deep interest in their park. The space is viewed as the heart of the community and is used daily by people of all ages and creeds.
People feel a connection to their park, and are not ashamed to defend it when they feel the need arises. It was an important reminder of why such spaces are vital, wherever in the world they may be.
Selina Denman is the editor of Home & Garden
sdenman@thenational.ae
