A campaign group battling to stop music events being held in Finsbury Park has launched a CrowdJustice Case page to raise £8000 to fund an upcoming legal challenge.
Friends of Finsbury Park has long been fighting to prevent Wireless Festival, which has been held in the park by operator Live Nation since 2014, from being held in the park. This is due to concerns over noise, anti-social behaviour and the 45,000-a-day footfall.
Following the High Court’s dismissal of a judicial review last year, the campaign group turned their attention closer to home, and in July submitted an application to Haringey Council to review Live Nation’s licence for Wireless.
The review has been given the go-ahead and will unfold in front of the Haringey licensing sub-committee on 15 and 16 October.
Tom Palin, leader of the campaign group, is hopeful that the fundraising target, to pay for a legal team to present their case, will be met. “We’ve got 30 days to reach a target of £8000, which we need as soon as possible”, he said.
“In order to apply for a licence review, you have to have evidence. That’s what makes it difficult for groups like us to challenge the council. But we are hopeful that we’ll raise the funds needed to pay our barrister, solicitor and noise expert”, he added.
The group is armed with the findings of a noise report it commissioned in 2017, which found that last year’s festival exceeded the acoustic limits set by Haringey council in their Premises Licence noise limit.
The Friends hope that the licence will be taken away from Live Nation and that Wireless, along with other large-scale events, will be blocked.
“We hope at the very least to impose stricter conditions on things like bass frequency and crowd control, and to get safe exits from the park to the tube station”, Mr Palin said.
The Friends have also received representations from both Haringey and Islington Councils, which set out the residents’ concerns about Wireless. “Everyone is talking about it. It isn’t just a park campaign doing this”, Mr Palin added.
Wireless Festival declined to comment.
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