Overview
- Gates are locked from 8pm on December 30 until 6am on New Year’s Day, with opaque hoarding and temporary fencing preventing access to the hill’s popular vantage points.
- The Metropolitan Police state the closure was not triggered by the disbanding of the Royal Parks policing unit, noting parks officers comprised 15 of 145 officers deployed there last New Year’s Eve.
- Royal Parks says its ability to manage crowds is severely diminished for an unorganised gathering of roughly 30,000 people, citing limited controls in open parkland.
- Residents and local businesses voice anger over what they call unprecedented and grotesque barriers, though some nearby homeowners welcome a break from past disorder.
- Other sites tighten access for the night, with Greenwich Park closing at 6pm, Hyde Park at midnight, Richmond Park limiting vehicle access, and Alexandra Palace closed, as police maintain a presence to respond to criminality.