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Primrose Hill Sealed Off for New Year’s Eve Over Safety and Crowd‑Control Concerns

Officials say unmanaged crowds and limited safety controls made the long-used viewing point untenable this year.

A sign on the fencing surrounding Primrose Hill which has been installed around the park ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations to prevent members of the public entering. The Camden park has panoramic views of the capital and in 2024 an estimated 30,000 people celebrated New Year's Eve there - but this year it is shut, with the gates locked from 8pm on Tuesday until 6am on New Year's Day. Picture date: Wednesday December 31, 2025. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Royal Parks locked the site from 8pm on December 30 until 6am on January 1 and installed opaque hoarding and temporary fencing to block access.
  • Royal Parks says its crowd-management capacity is "severely diminished" for the informal gathering, citing constraints that include the loss of the Met’s Royal Parks unit.
  • The Metropolitan Police says the closure is a Royal Parks decision and not required by the unit’s disbandment, noting that only 15 of more than 145 officers at the hill last year came from that team.
  • About 30,000 people watched from Primrose Hill in 2024, and police are urging the public to make alternative plans as officers remain on site to respond to criminality.
  • Residents and businesses decried the barriers as heavy-handed and harmful to trade, while the 2023 fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Harry Pitman remains a key safety reference point.