Primrose Hill to shut for New Year's Eve fireworks

Each year, crowds form on the north London hill to celebrate and watch fireworks

People will be banned from gathering on Primrose Hill to watch the mayor's new year's fireworks display, due to concerns about crowd safety.

Thousands of people typically gather at the north London beauty spot on 31 December each year to celebrate and watch fireworks light up the skies across London, with as many as 30,000 turning out last year.

Royal Parks said the decision partly was due to the upcoming closure of the Metropolitan Police Royal Parks unit, which is usually deployed to manage crowds.

Cdr Nick John, from the Met, said: "It is completely inaccurate to suggest that New Year's Eve policing at Primrose Hill would be affected by the disbanding of the Royal Parks team."

Earlier this year, the Met Police announced it would cut its Royal Parks Operational Command Unit to help fill a budget gap of £260m.

Royal Parks said without police assistance, its capacity to manage crowds of this size in open parkland "will be severely diminished".

A spokesperson said: "With the potential for such a large number of attendees, and the absence of the dedicated Royal Parks Police, we are unable to support the necessary safety and crowd management arrangements.

"Closing Primrose Hill overnight is the only responsible course of action."

In a statement issued on Saturday, Cdr John, who is leading the Met's policing operation on NYE, said: "As a result of careful planning we are able to allocate officers to events – wherever they are held - based on threat and risk. For example, on New Year's Eve 2023-2024, more than 130 officers from Camden and Islington were sent to Primrose Hill."

He added that Met officers would continue to "respond to emergency calls, patrol hotspot areas, investigate crimes and support events in Royal Parks across London".

The park will also close at 22:00 GMT between 31 October and 9 November to prevent anti-social behaviour during the Halloween and bonfire night period.

During this period, the park will re-open at 06:00.