A PUBLIC meeting almost boiled out of control last night as local residents met to discuss the future of St Alfege Park.

The normally tranquil setting of West Greenwich Library became the scene of accusations, recriminations, a walk-out and finger jabbing at the meeting – the first such meeting since the controversial smashing of headstones in St Alfege Park last year.

The meeting, which attracted about twenty people was attended by council officers, Cllr John Fahy, local ward councillor Maureen O’Mara and former Chair of the Friends of St Alfege Park, Tim Delap.

Cllr Fahy, who is the cabinet member in charge of parks in the borough, used his opening remarks to explain that the “situation regarding the headstones has caused enormous difficulties for us all.” He added that the council has “learnt some lessons in how we manage the parks and the controls we need to exercise.”

Matthew Wall, Chair of the Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce, was drafted in to be an independent Chair for the meeting and had to threaten to abandon it early on as voices were raised and attendees tried to talk over one another.

He attempted to set out the agenda, saying the purpose of the meeting was to work out a “positive way forward” rather than get in to the details of the headstones incident.

“Really?” interrupted one resident. “I find that quite extraordinary, I might as well leave now if that’s the case” It soon became clear there was an appetite in the room to discuss the headstone controversy.

Cllr Fahy was challenged to reveal who authorised the work on the headstones, and read an extract from an email that prompted audible gasps:

“In a letter dated the 15th September from Tim Delap to Lee Beasley [a council officer in the parks department], Tim said this:

‘My instructions to the Payback Community Team Leader were to get the stones out, whole where possible, so that we could use them for paving. But if they couldn’t, they were to remove them, however they could.’

“That’s the fact.”

Mr Alan Bradley, who was a committee member with the Friends group, said those instructions from the Friends’ Chair had not been discussed with the rest of the committee.

“Had it been discussed at committee meetings we would have objected and not allowed it to have gone ahead. The fact is that the committee were not consulted… and yet we were blamed,” he said.

Cllr Fahy revealed that a contract had been issued for work on restoring the headstones. A resident who lives next to the park asked if the council would also repair gravestones it had itself broken on previous occasions, claiming they had on occasion used a sledgehammer too. A council officer said he wasn’t aware of the council ever having done so.

Reverend Chris Moody of St Alfege Church pointed out that damage had been done to people as well as headstones in the controversy. “A great deal of good work done has been done by the Friends in the Park. That ought to be recognised and it’s a shame that is being obscured,” he said.

A lady walked out of the meeting after declaring that moving to Greenwich had been the “worst mistake of her life”, adding it was the “most aggressive place” she’d ever lived.

A new group?

With the meeting steered back on to the future, the Chair looked for expressions of interest in creating a new group as the council was refusing to work with the existing group.

“I would very much like to be involved in a new group and am prepared, as I have done in the past with lots of people in this room, to go out and do the work which is about putting the wellies on, pulling up weeds and planting stuff, ” said Cllr Maureen O’Mara.

But there was confusion when residents seemed to move away from the council’s plan of establishing a brand new group and instead put forward the idea of forming a new management committee within the existing organisation which has cash assets in the bank.

Council officers said they would need to seek policy guidance from councillors to see if that would be acceptable.

Tim Delap urged the council to consider its position “quickly”.  He pointed out that the London Marathon Charitable Trust had donated £31,000 towards a new outdoor gym in the park which would have to be returned if a brand new Friends organisation was being formed.

“If you don’t do it quickly I’ll write back and say ‘sorry we can’t use it’,” he said.

“It does seem farcical that if they [the existing group] have money a new group would be set up but I do understand why certain people should not be involved in it, ” another resident commented.

By the end of the meeting, which lasted just over an hour, it was unclear how a new Friends group will be structured but the council was left with seven names of people willing to help set it up and they resolved to meet again soon to plan the way forward.