Outrage at ‘grotesque’ fencing around London park to stop New Year’s Eve revelry

People living near Primrose Hill have told of their anger after opaque green hoarding was installed around the park in an “unprecedented” measure to prevent revellers from entering to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

The Camden park has panoramic views of the capital and in 2024 an estimated 30,000 people celebrated New Year’s Eve there – but this year it is shut, with the gates locked from 8pm on Tuesday until 6am on New Year’s Day.

Some of the park has been cordoned off with solid hoarding and temporary fencing, while other parts have just the temporary fencing to prevent would-be spectators from entering.

Amy McKeown, a local resident, said she left the area on Monday to celebrate New Year’s Eve with family elsewhere.

“I have left the area,” she told the Press Association. “It is too grotesque to see.”

Ms McKeown, who is part of the Primrose Hill Keepers volunteer group, added: “The park has never been closed like this.

“This is completely unprecedented.

“This is a public park where people should be able to come to watch the fireworks. This is exactly what we should be encouraging people to do.”

The Metropolitan Police announced in November that it would disband the Royal Parks police, which helped respond to serious crime in green spaces including Hyde Park and Primrose Hill, as it tries to plug a £260 million funding gap.

But a spokesperson for the force said: “The decision to close Primrose Hill on New Year’s Eve is one taken by the Royal Parks, not the police.

“It is not accurate to suggest the decision was necessary as a result of the disbanding of the Royal Parks policing team.

“Officers from that team made up just 15 of the more than 145 officers who were deployed to Primrose Hill on New Year’s Eve last year. This is similar to the makeup of deployments in previous years.”

There had been concerns about the safety of celebrations at the park after a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in the neck on Primrose Hill at the New Year’s Eve fireworks viewing in 2023.

Areece Lloyd-Hall, 18, was jailed for a minimum of 16 years in November for murdering schoolboy Harry Pitman.

The Royal Parks charity, which manages Primrose Hill, previously said that the capacity to manage crowds of the size usually watching the fireworks event would be “severely diminished” in part due to the closure of The Metropolitan Police’s Royal Parks Operational Command Unit.

A spokesperson for the charity said on Monday: “The decision to close Primrose Hill on New Year’s Eve was not taken lightly. Last year an estimated 30,000 people visited Primrose Hill to view the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Eve firework display.

“This was not an organised event with an event organiser but a gathering in open parkland and we have limited controls that we can deploy to ensure public safety. Therefore, we have decided that Primrose Hill will be closed and locked from 8pm on December 30 until January 1.

“We have been working closely with the Metropolitan Police by encouraging anyone without a ticket to the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks to make alternative arrangements.”

Catherine Usiskin, who has lived in Primrose Hill for more than 40 years, said the fencing around the park was “an overreaction”.

“It’s just ridiculous,” she said.

“It’s such an over-reaction. You can’t close down society.”

Ms Usiskin said that Primrose Hill, part of which is in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s constituency, has become a lot more crowded since she began living there.

“I understand it’s more difficult to police,” she said. “But since the pandemic there has been hysteria over Primrose Hill.”

She said the closure will be harmful to restaurants and pubs in the area, but believes people will still try to gather in the park by climbing over the fencing.

Ms McKeown said the hoarding is similar to barriers used at Glastonbury.

“The 2024 was successfully policed and went by without incident,” she added.

“We have gone from an open event to a huge amount of resource being used to keep people out of the park.”

Commander Nick John, who is charge of the Met’s New Year’s Eve policing, said: “The Royal Parks are urging people not to try to gather at Primrose Hill this year and we would echo those calls.

“Please make alternative plans. Anyone trying to access the park will find that it is not possible.”

Scotland Yard confirmed there would be a police presence in Primrose Hill to “respond to criminality” but added that preventing access to the park is not its responsibility.

The Royal Parks declined to comment further.