Danson Park will get a Go Ape high ropes course after Bexley councillors approved plans to shouts and groans from the public gallery.
Over 2,000 people had signed a petition while 650 people lodged objections to the plan to bring a woodland adventure park to the north and west of the open space, between Welling and Bexleyheath.
The Conservative chair of the committee, St Mary’s & St James councillor Kurtis Christoforides, had to ask members of the public to stop shouting and interrupting proceedings on Thursday evening.
But one of the councillors on his committee said that the family-focused attraction could encourage antisocial behaviour – and claimed youths had been cutting the heads of cats.
Speaking against the application, resident Artem Gromov said: “I’m here because Danson Park is not just a piece of land on a planning map. It’s a rare and precious green space in the heart of our borough, a place of nature, tranquillity, recreation and community.
“It is somewhere families can spend time together, where people can walk, sit, exercise and enjoy a break from the pressures of everyday life and improve their mental health. Once it’s changed, the impact cannot be undone.”
“Danson Park should not be carved up for commercial use. It should remain a place of peace, nature and public value.”
Critics of the scheme raised concerns around parking, noise, the impact on trees and wildlife, harm to the heritage status of the Grade II-listed park, the potential for increased antisocial behaviour and the commercialisation of public green space.
Andrew Curtois, a Conservative councillor for Sidcup, spoke on behalf of his husband David Curtois, another councillor, to object. He said that the couple lived within the grounds of Danson Park.
Curtois said: “The residents of Bexley are not objecting to adventure. They’re objecting to the commercialisation of one of our most precious and our most protected public assets.”
He said the council could not lawfully approve the proposal because it would allow building on ancient woodland, a designation of habitat that has strong planning protections. Council officers said no ancient woodland trees were found on the site.
Go Ape already operates courses at Alexandra Palace and Battersea Park. Daniel Stafford, its estate development manager, said the company had a “proven track record” of working in parks and on public land and delivering benefits to the local community.
He said the course would provide 18 to 30 part-time roles, primarily aimed at young people, who would benefit from a training programme to set them up for future careers.
Stafford added that Go Ape’s presence would help to reduce antisocial behaviour due to staff being onsite “policing” the area.
During deliberations, Oscar Harrison, a Conservative councillor for Longlands, said it was “extremely disappointing” to read negative online comments about committee members before the meeting.
Harrison said that Danson Park was already “highly commercialised” due to the presence of pedalos for hire on its boating lake, the Danson Stables pub, kiosks and a monthly producers’ market. He did, however, share objectors’ concerns around trees and noise.
Barry Saunders, a Conservative councillor for Falconwood & Welling, said: “I would like to talk about antisocial behaviour, because this is going to be one big, big issue we’re going to have.
“We already have a major problem within our ward with antisocial behaviour. We have many groups of youths coming from out of the borough into our borough, into our town, causing problems as it is.
“With this, is it going to cause even more problems for us?” he said to applause from the gallery.
“My concern is that this is going to be a bit of a beacon of light to every other youth group in the outer borough [sic] to come in to cause more trouble. We’ve seen some major issues within the parks in the past, and it’s horrible to say, but some of our youths are not nice youths. I’ll be straight up, and we’ve all probably heard of it, we’ve had people cutting heads off of cats, it’s been disgusting what goes on in these parks.
“Now if you’ve got something like this there, I believe you’re going to cause more issues coming into it. So what is the answer to that?”
Terry Barcock, a Sidcup councillor, was concerned that the committee did not yet know the amount of trees that would be felled as part of the proposal. He said: “We do need to bear in mind that even if those trees are replaced, we’re talking 75 years plus to get back to what we have today.”
The committee voted to approve the proposal, to the anger of the public gallery.
A Bexley Council spokesperson said: “The planning committee considered and approved Go Ape’s planning application to create a family attraction in Danson Park.
“This was a regulatory decision which considered all views expressed and the application’s compliance with planning policies.
“Bexley Council is committed to attracting investment to Danson Park to bring more activities for all ages to the area and to keep the park green and well-maintained.
“Danson Park is already home to several water sports, a playground, a splash park, tennis courts, football pitches, and several businesses. Now that the application is approved, Bexley Council will engage with the company to deliver this new facility and secure the best deal on behalf of residents.”
Story updated at 12.30pm on Saturday to clarify the antisocial behaviour claims and amended again to remove a line about the number of votes against the proposal, which we believe is incorrect.
Cameron Blackshaw is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich and Bexley. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media. Additional reporting and editing by Darryl Chamberlain.
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