Town Hall cracks down on illegal raves at Hackney’s beauty spots – with police given power to fine rule-breakers

Hackney Marshes is covered by the new PSPO. Photograph: diamond geezer / Flickr

A clampdown has been ordered to prevent large groups of people gathering for noisy unlicensed parties at Hackney’s beauty spots.

Some of the events have seen fires started, rubbish fly-tipped, and plants damaged.

The council is imposing another public safety protection order (PSPO) at Hackney Marshes and Wick Woods to tackle anti-social behaviour.

It is hoped that the order will “control the ongoing nuisance caused by groups of people gathering, bringing generators, lighting, sound systems and decorations”.

The Town Hall has received 190 complaints in the last year about people gathering in the beauty spots for unauthorised parties. These include 50 complaints about Mabley Green and 38 about Hackney Marshes.

Superintendent Andy Port told the council: “These events result in amplified music often until and beyond the early hours of the morning, disturbing residents.

“The supply and consumption of illegal drugs is often prevalent and the events pose a serious risk to any young and vulnerable people attending.”

The council said parties that have continued until the early hours have caused “significant damage to the woodland and wildlife has occurred, and residents in the locality have experienced disturbances due to loud music”.

It added: “The illegal raves, which have been known to continue until the early morning, have resulted in environmental damage such as fly-tipping, fire damage, breaking of branches, uprooting of trees and damage to plants.”

The PSPO – which follows one that ran out in June – means police and council community safety and enforcement officers can dish out warnings and fines to people who break the rules. They can also seize alcohol from people causing problems.

The order covers Wick Woodland, Hackney Marshes, Daubeney Fields, Mabley Green, Millfields Park and land at the East Cross Route, under the A12 Flyover, Eastway, and Hackney Wick.

Hackney’s cabinet approved the PSPO at its meeting this week.

The council said there was a “significant reduction” in the number of “raves” in Wick Woodland but they were displaced to Hackney Marshes, Millfields, Daubeney Fields and Mabley Green.

Police got a closure order in 2019 to cover Hackney Marshes, a popular venue for daytime football matches, and the council got an interim injuction order after problems continued in 2020.

A council report said despite this and extra police patrols, “the public nuisance has continued”.

Residents complaints include groups of people gathering and bringing generators, lighting, sound systems and decorations to Hackney Marshes and surrounding areas.

The council said revellers are “often consuming alcohol and other substances” and damaging “places of natural beauty”.

Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas, who has responsibility for community safety, said: “The damage and pollution caused includes leaving litter, defecating, urinating, and breaking trees and shrubbery.”

A Town Hall report said most problems are in the early hours when police are busy elsewhere and “the gatherings continued during the pandemic, despite the restrictions that were put in place by central government to safeguard public health”.

A consultation this summer yielded 296 replies and 40 per cent said they were concerned about anti-social behaviour, with 63 per cent backing the new order.

However, the proposals were branded “unreasonable” by Liberty, the civil liberties watchdog.

Its lawyer Katy Watts said the order would “unduly restrict civil liberties”.

She said between May 2020 and August 2021 “there were obvious and unique external factors arising from the Covid-19 pandemic that increased the likelihood of outdoor gatherings taking place”.

Watts pointed out that no fixed penalty notices were handed out in Wick Woodlands. She said Liberty is also concerned that the PSPO could affect deprived communities.

She said: “Access to public spaces, and the ability to gather and enjoy them communally should only be limited in a way which is proportionate and in the least intrusive way possible.

“The proposed area and terms of this PSPO are impermissibly wide and vague, and will serve to criminalise communal public enjoyment of Hackney’s green spaces.

“We are additionally concerned by the criminalisation of behaviour that is likely to inhibit peaceful and democratic protest, such as the condition forbidding ‘amplified music’.”

The council responded to Liberty’s concerns and said: “Careful consideration has been given to how the PSPO has been drafted to ensure that the correct statutory tests have been applied.”