Abney Park Trust’s future still in doubt after ‘jargonistic’ meeting

L-R: Abney Park Trust Trustees Kirsten Foster, Justina Kochansky and Chair Bernard Bourdillon

Threatened community organisation the Abney Park Trust is no closer to learning of its fate after Hackney Council refused to renew its lease.

The lease expired earlier this year, when the council granted an extension of just one year – meaning the group could be out the door by May 2014.

Trustees met with the council on 5 December in a bid to urgently clarify what future plans the Town Hall has for Abney Park, one of the ‘magnificent seven’ Victorian cemeteries and a refuge for wildlife.

But speaking immediately after the meeting, Abney Park Trust Chair Bernard Bourdillon, 65, said it had “not been reassuring”.

Mr Bourdillon said information given to the group by the council had been “mysterious” and “wrapped up in jargonistic language”, adding: “Our fear is that we will not be able to operate effectively under the council’s proposed arrangements.”

The trust is to consider in more depth a consultant’s report on the future of Abney Park, published early this month.

The organisation, formed 21 years ago, has been unable to make applications for much-needed funds because of the uncertainty over its future.

Councillor Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture, has said that the council has recently responded to a need for improvements in Abney Park by paying for “a range of health and safety related works.”

He said the Town Hall would keep trustees informed about the results of a review of the park’s future.

Related:

Abney Park Trust’s warning as Hackney Council refuses to renew lease