Controversy over match day closures

by Helen Roxburgh

RESIDENTS in Highbury have attacked Islington council over handling of traffic and fans during the first five games at the new Arsenal stadium.

Controversy broke out at the East Area Committee meeting yesterday evening, with one local resident claiming that the road closures on match days were a breach of his human rights as they prevented him accessing his home.

The packed meeting included a report on traffic safety and accessibility arrangements during the first few months by Karen Sullivan, Head of Transport Planning Service at Islington Council.

Methods of controlling the thousands of football fans who flock to the Emirates stadium include closing roads two hours before a match, and for up to an hour afterwards, to allow access for emergency services and to prevent traffic being a danger to crowds of pedestrians.

However, Giles Newman, of Drayton Park Road, said that if he was even ten minutes late returning to his home, he was being forbidden access to the road his house is on by the police.

“There just needs to be a level of discretion,” he argued, giving the Committee pictures of his road on match days, which he said proved there was no threat to crowds.

“That this is a breach of the Human Rights Act is irrefutable – you’re not allowing us access to our own homes.”

He added: “We’re not talking about a motorway, it’s only a few cars.”

However, PC Richard Walker defended the road closure to the meeting on grounds of health and safety, particularly in case of a large-scale disaster within the stadium, which can hold up to 60,432 people.

“I totally, 100 per cent, stand by my point – those road closures simply must be in place,” he said.

The council’s Director of Corporate Resources David Daniels, said: “They [the police] have used discretion, and a few cars have been allowed to sneak through.”

Richard Greening, Liberal Democrat councillor for Highbury West ward, supported the measures that had been implemented.

“I’d like to record my personal thanks and congratulations to the police,” he said.

The report also added that through the last three Arsenal matches, a barrier system had been trialled on Highbury Fields to restrict crowds from walking over the fields. Concerns over this had been raised by the Highbury Fields Association, and the committee agreed to continue this method.

“This process is still going on. It’s a very steep learning curve for us all,” said Cllr Meral Ece, Chair of the Committee.

“Any adjustments put in place now will still continue to be monitored.”

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Call to bring back fireworks display

By Helen Roxburgh

A ROW has broken out in Highbury over whether to re-instate the popular fireworks display on Guy Fawkes night after the borough was plagued with violence this year.

Fire crews from Islington's three fire stations were constantly attending incidents throughout Bonfire Night, attending 21 fires across the borough. A Renault Clio on Douglas Road was set alight and completely gutted, and a door caught fire in Brittania Row after a firework was pushed through the letterbox.

An organised fireworks show has not been held since 1996. The event, which was held on Highbury Fields, used to attract up to 20,000 people, but was stopped by Islington Council amid health and safety fears.

Local people and councillors have called for the family event to be brought back for future years.
At the Islington Council’s executive meeting on Thursday 5 October, Councillor Catherine West accused the council of a “poverty of ambition”.

“I am urging the council to rethink its miserly position and do as other boroughs do and put on a decent show for all the children in the borough,” she said.

Islington Council defended their no-fireworks policy at the meeting on the grounds of health and safety. There would also be a “comprehensive” insurance cost.

However, there are many in the area, including many young families, who wish to have the event returned.

“It was really really good,” said mother-of-two Julie Charman, of Highbury Hill. “We went to a small fireworks show at Canonbury School, but we’d definitely go to the one here again.”

“We just had some in the back garden this year,” said Ken Lyons, of Queensland Road, Highbury. “But we used to like this one, we always used to go with the boys.”

Labour Councillor for Highbury West Theresa Debono said: “I think it was a wonderful idea, and it didn’t take long, it was only something like an hour."

Ms Debono added that she throught it was much safer to hold one well-organised event that would attract a majority of people across the borough, and accused the Islington council of trying to cut corners at every opportunity and save money.

She added: “I must admit that I used to go, and I miss it.”

However, calls for the show to be returned are not universal.

“Most of my customers buying fireworks would go to that event, so I would probably lose the business,” said James Andrews, manager of the ‘£1 Plus’ shop on Blackstock Road. "I would not go.”

Martin Jones, Chairman of the Highbury Fields Association, said: “We enjoyed the fireworks in the past, but it eventually got so big that the police were very nervous about the crowds.

“It became almost impossible to walk anywhere on the roads around the fields because of the crowds."

He added: “If it was possible to have a family occasion without all the attendant pop music and burger stalls then yes, I think we might be in favour of it. But not the huge commercial event it became in the last two or three years.”

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