Residents call for large park to close at night following rape and fatal stabbing

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents living near a borough’s largest park have called for it to be closed at night following a spate of crimes in the area, including a fatal stabbing.

Lewisham council has opened up Beckenham Place Park 24-hours-a-day and stopped locking many gates to the park, as well as removing some gates and fences entirely.

But residents who live near the 98-hectare park, which features a swimming lake and an 18th century mansion, say the 24-hour policy is attracting criminals to the area and making the park feel dangerous.

Last summer, a man died after being stabbed in the neck in the park. Then in May this year a woman said she was raped in nearby Warren Avenue Playing Fields, which is less than a 15-minute walk from Beckenham Place Park.

The fields are in Bromley, but like the park is owned by Lewisham council.

Residents also say they have heard neighbours complain of an uptick in drug dealing and antisocial behaviour around the park.

Rod Reed, a landscape gardener who lives nearby, said he wanted to see the park locked at night, and increased security patrols.

Mr Reed, 63, said: “I was in favour of opening up the park but nobody wanted a 24-hour park. We didn’t anticipate it was going to be a free-for-all and anyone could come in the middle of the night.

“It seems to be something they introduced during the pandemic and there was no consultation at all. The thing we pointed out to them is it’s an accident waiting to happen.

“We’ve had reports of drug dealing and people aren’t happy that public safety has been compromised. You can’t see something on CCTV if they are wearing hoodies.

“We are saying: have some patrols in the early evening, close the gates and restore the security that we had.”

Many residents, like Mr Reed, live in neighbouring Bromley and feel Lewisham council has sidelined their concerns because they don’t live in the borough.

The park’s lake opened to swimmers in 2019, following a £4.9million restoration funded by the National Lottery, but the council had to temporarily close the park just four days later when two children almost drowned in separate incidents on the lake.

The lake is monitored by CCTV but residents fear people could still sneak into it after hours.

Lewisham council said it took concerns about safety in the park “extremely seriously,” and had dedicated staff on site every day, as well as additional security during peak times such as bank holiday weekends and during warmer weather.

A council spokesman added: “The main vehicular access on Beckenham Hill is locked at night. The vehicle gate at the lower end of the park close to the properties in the Beckenham Place Park Road is locked at all times unless there are exceptional circumstances.

“Any change to the locking regime could negatively impact many park users who enjoy the current access arrangements that allow them to use the park before 8am.

“We are planning to hold a community meeting at Beckenham Place Park very soon to listen to all views from our park users.”

Pictured top: Rod Reed wants Lewisham council to review its 24-hour access policy at Beckenham Place Park (Picture: Robert Firth)