Southwark Council are proposing to increase the number of hot plates in Burgess Park. There is a survey now available for you to complete where you can indicate whether you do not want any more hot plates or whether they should be increased in number. You can also add comments to indicate how you use the area now without hot plates.
Friends of Burgess Park do not support expanding the hot plates area. There is no evidence of need for this expansion, the pilot period was too limited as the followup report (link below) points out. There were only 49 responses recorded to find out whether there was a demand for more hot plates. The key problems like lack of toilets, drinking water, and year-round use remain unresolved, even for the initial three.
Expansion would mean losing more green space, adding more litter and intrusive street furniture, extra work for park staff, and disruption to existing activities and the Burgess Park Masterplan. We believe hot plates should be located in developments with proper facilities, not in the park.
More background information
Representatives of the Friends of Burgess Park met the hot plates project officer in Burgess Park to ask some questions and get more information.
The hot plates working group now includes Southwark Council officers and Faraday ward councillors only. No meetings are scheduled although the previous meeting notes said there would be meetings every 3 months. Latin Elephant and Pembroke House were involved although they are not now. They will be kept informed and they will be sent the questionnaire about further hot plate provision in Burgess Park. Friends of Burgess Park also received notification of the questionnaire and we asked that groups around the park should also be informed such as TRAs.
There seemed to be an automatic assumption of the need for more hot plates but there was a tiny response to the questionnaire about the pilot (49 responses). However, there was a lot of support from the working group. Based on this and a [very short] trial period, an extension proposal was put to the Cabinet and approved. A fund of £250,000 was secured for this development.
FOBP pointed out that Burgess Park needs many improvements and this money should be spent where it is desperately needed. There is no proof of the demand. There is no booking system as was originally planned, so the pilot doesn’t provide evidence of the number of users and the need for more provision.
The problems with a cooking area in the park which occurred with the original barbecues and still applies, is the very limited provision of toilets and drinking water. The proposal to increase the number of hot plates does nothing to improve this situation. There is no extra provision of toilets or drinking water. Instead there is a sign to the toilet and drinking fountain at Chumleigh Gardens.
To deal with extra litter the working group is proposing more bins. FOBP pointed out that bins already litter the area. More and brightly painted bins suggested by the working group will detract from the area even further.
At our meeting in the current hot plates area, metal spangles and bottle tops littered the area. This will only increase and extend further into the park.
The working group suggested 22 signs which will be more intrusive street furniture detracting from the green space.
FOBP asked is there extra money for extra staff to clean up? Currently, this job has been added to what the gardeners have to do. The project officer is yet to reply on this issue.
FOBP pointed out that this work is being added to the gardeners’ jobs at the expense of caring for the rest of the park. This is completely unacceptable.
In the feedback reports, the gardening team provided a record of man hours it takes to clean the hot plates including collecting and removing the oil and disposing of it commercially. This is a cost they have to cover at £150 each time.
The new layouts being proposed with increased hot plates will extend much further into the park. FOBP pointed out that they will impede the way it is currently being used. These hot plates are not in use all year nor 24 hrs/day so the space is being modified for very limited use.
Community groups already use this area on the weekends. Games are being played in this area at other times. The static hot plates, picnic tables and the increased asphalt will prevent this current use. This will affect many more park users who do not require hot plates.
It will be closer to the Old Library and will affect how that is developed and used.
This is an area next to 1st Place Nursery outdoor spaces and Chumleigh Gardens. The smell of cooking (particularly meat for non-meat eaters) will spoil the enjoyment of playtime and the pleasure of the flora and fauna and the tranquility in Chumleigh Gardens.
The project officer added a question to the survey to ask how people are currently using the area.
Reducing foliage is being proposed and has begun. FOBP believe this is because people use the bushes as toilet areas. Unfortunately, increasing the number of hot plates will only remove more plants and green space from the park and increase hard standing which is not the climate considerate option. ID Verde work to a strict contract to maintain certain areas. Will there be extra funding to maintain these areas? No reply yet from the project officer.
Other suggestions from FOBP:
Could hot plates be added to local developments where people can take responsibility for their own spaces?
Hot plates could be added to the Giraffe House development where there will be more toilets and clean water on offer and asphalted areas are already in place.
There is a Masterplan for Burgess Park. Changes to this should be fully considered before being introduced and damaging the vision. The hot plates extension is not part of the plan and if executed will be detrimental to the park and its users.
Read the ecology report written for Southwark Council about the hot plates area in Burgess Park.
Read the Southwark Council working group report about the 3 hot plates trial in Burgess Park.