Time to ban wealthy locals from Primrose Hill
“It’s just incredible, though, isn’t it,” says local resident Amy McKeown, who runs a campaign to keep Primrose Hill open. “There they are,” says McKeown, showing the Observer a group of park life, “drinking…coconut water, perfectly quiet and peaceful.” That choice of drink provides you with a clue as to where Primrose Hill is. It’s in north London, which makes it newsworthy.
The story is that people have been using the park at night for wrong things (noise, drugs, drink, being young, fun, mugging) and others who want it used for other things (writing poetry, seducing the au pair and walking the labradoodlecockapoo) want them not to, including Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose constituency includes the park. He agrees with Conservative councillors who have been leafleting the area campaigning for gates.
“Closing and gating Primrose Hill is a nuclear and disproportionate solution for a temporary problem that could be managed by more effective policing,” says McKeown. “To suddenly walk out and see a locked gate in front of me was shocking last night,” says another local. “Where else can people go for free to relax with friends? It could not be a healthier place.”
It’s the lockdown in microcosm. The wealthy, with gardens and space, get to chill and work from home. The poorer don’t.
Posted: 24th, May 2021 | In: News, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
