London revellers are fuming after the famed Primrose Hill park, one of the best spots to catch the New Year’s Eve fireworks, was slammed shut. The park, which drew a staggering 30,000 spectators last year, is now barricaded with hoardings and fencing, sparking outrage in the capital.
Primrose Hill Shut Down for NYE – Residents Up in Arms
The Camden favorite, rejecting the usual open access, will remain locked from 8pm on December 30 until January 1. Unlike previous years, solid fencing now seals off entry, leaving would-be fireworks fans high and dry.
Amy McKeown, a local and volunteer with the Primrose Hill Keepers, hit back, calling the closure “grotesque” and “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,” McKeown said.
Police Say Closure Not Due to Budget Cuts
The Metropolitan Police shut down the Royal Parks policing unit earlier this year amid a £260 million funding shortfall, raising fears the closure was safety-linked. However, police insist the decision rests solely with the Royal Parks charity.
“It is not accurate to suggest the decision was necessary as a result of the disbanding of the Royal Parks policing team,” a spokesperson said.
Despite budget doubts, 145 officers were deployed to Primrose Hill last New Year’s Eve, with the Royal Parks team making up just 15 of them.
Safety Fears Triggered by 2023 Tragedy
Concerns ballooned after a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed during the New Year’s Eve fireworks at Primrose Hill in 2023. The killer, aged 18, was jailed for at least 16 years.
The Royal Parks charity warned that crowd management would be “severely diminished” without the police unit. They stressed the gathering was unorganised, offering limited public safety controls.
“We have therefore decided that Primrose Hill will be closed and locked from 8pm on December 30 until January 1,” the charity confirmed.
Locals Fear Impact on Community Life
Usiskin noted the park’s popularity has surged, especially post-pandemic, making policing trickier. She fears the shutdown will damage local pubs and restaurants and predicts many will ignore the bans, scaling fences to watch the fireworks.
McKeown compared the barricades to festival barriers, lamenting the drastic change from an open celebration to an exclusion zone.
“We have gone from an open event to a huge amount of resource being used to keep people out of the park,” she said.
