Eel Brook Common festival can go ahead – but with provisos

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy service

An application for a food and drink festival in west London has been approved for one year only following concerns over antisocial behaviour and the number of potential attendees.

More than 60 residents, local groups and ward councillors had objected to A1 Hospitality’s plans to host the event on Eel Brook Common in Fulham.

The festival, which is designed to take attendees on a ‘journey of discovery’, will include entertainment such as music and comedy as well as food and drink. A children’s area is also envisaged, as are various stalls.

The submission to Hammersmith and Fulham council had drawn concerns over the potential for antisocial behaviour, the 4,999-person cap applied for, and the principle that a section of the common would be unavailable to local residents without a ticket while the festival was on.

One wrote to the council’s licensing team that the proposal ‘is being helicoptered into the common with no thought for the residents and no benefit to the common, it is simply a money-making scheme that is ill-considered and with no cultural or community benefit’.

The two Conservative councillors for Parsons Green, Cllr Jose Afonso and Cllr Adrian Pascu-Tulbure, also objected. The council’s licensing team and the Met Police had initially opposed the application. Both of these were later withdrawn following an agreement between the police and A1 Hospitality to add a series of conditions to any approval.

At a licensing sub-committee meeting on Tuesday, Malcom Hunter, representing the Eel Brook Common Residents’ Association, described the proposal as ‘the wrong event in the wrong place’, and said the impact would ‘not be particularly positive’ on the area.

He further referenced an event in Reading held by a separate company owned by A1 Hospitality’s Director, Toby Mullins, which had reportedly resulted in people urinating and smashing glass in nearby streets.

“This is an events company that the BBC has run reports on negatively, and we would ask whether we think therefore if this company is suitable for Eel Brook Common,” he said.

Paul Webster, a resident living in a road by the common, said: “You will find that the event itself will probably execute okay. However, you will get a lot of people on the green drinking and there will be a lot of unsociable behaviour.”

Harrison Hide, head of events at A1 Hospitality, told the committee it would be food and drink-focused with low-key entertainment.

But Conservative councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan said: “I feel there is a valid concern from the residents that the event does not quite fit the local use of that park, because it’s mostly used by young families and children.”

Mr Hide said the festival would be appropriate for young families, with children’s entertainment included in the plans, and that measures would be put in-place to ensure effective safeguarding.

The sub-committee approved the application, though only for one year over a weekend in either August or September.

Conditions stipulated as part of the agreement include no alcohol to be brought into the event by attendees, that A1 Hospitality work with residents to finalise the layout, and that litter patrols be carried out.

Pictured top: Eel Brook Common (Picture: Google Street View)