The  report  below  is  based  on  contractor  debrief  reports,  BS  Director  knowledge,  post  event  meetings  and  the  event  ELT  log.    

1. Transport,  Highways  and  Street  Cleansing    a. TFL:    

i. TFL  failed  to  put  in  their  bus  diversions  and  were  not  picking  up  on  their  emergency  number.  The  diversion  signs  were  on  their  way  by  7.55am.  

ii. BS  notes  that  Brixton  tube  station  received  approximately  18,000  extra  visitors  passing  through.  With  an  expected  footfall  of  20,000  throughout  the  day  BS  is  not  to  surprised  with  these  numbers.    

b. LBL  Traffic  and  Highways    i. It  has  been  established  post-­‐event  that  LBL  usually  put  in  suspensions  on  

the  roads.  This  information  was  not  passed  to  the  new  board,  LBL  also  failed  to  pass  over  the  road  closure/TM  maps  to  BS.  This  failure  caused  a  serious  issue  as  the  road  closure  in  Sudbourne  Road  did  not  go  in  due  to  a  missing  TM  map.  

ii. BS  has  been  advised  by  LBL  that  the  volume  of  traffic  was  no  worse  than  previous  years  and  given  the  size  of  the  event  the  traffic  management  was  not  that  bad.  

iii. There  were  no  complaints  received  by  LBL  nor  BS  from  members  or  the  public  regarding  traffic  &  transport.    

c. Waste  Management  &  Environmental  Health  i. No  waste  management  plan  was  sent  to  BS  prior  to  the  event.  This  meant  

that  BS  were  not  aware  of  vehicles  and  equipment  being  placed  within  the  footprint  including  large  euro  bins  and  bin  trucks.  This  situation  posed  serious  health  &  safety  risks  as  the  location  of  these  euro  bins  and  vehicles  were  not  accounted  for  in  our  EMP.  It  was  even  more  alarming  to  discover  that  bin  trucks  had  been  placed  at  the  top  of  Rushcroft  Rd  and  Electric  Lane  blocking  potential  escape  routes  for  our  most  congested  road,  Coldharbour  Lane.  This  posed  serious  H&S  risks.  

ii. The  placement  of  bin  trucks  blocked  the  space  BS  had  allocated  for  toilets,  thus,  toilets  were  placed  as  close  as  possible  to  original  locations  which  were  not  ideal  and  caused  one  resident  to  complain.  

iii. The  event  footprint  was  filthy  upon  arrival  –  see  attached  images.  iv. 8.50  a.m.  Human  excrement  was  found  at  the  top  of  Rushcroft  Road  

where  a  food  stall  was  allocated  to  set-­‐up.  This  stall  had  to  be  moved.  v. Fish  guts  and  other  waste  were  located  on  a  trader  pitch  on  Electric  Lane  

causing  the  trader  to  be  moved.  vi. Poultry  waste  was  located  on  a  trader  pitch  on  Electric  Lane  causing  the  

trader  to  be  moved  vii. Windrush  Square  was  covered  with  dirt  and  stains.  viii. Upon  arrival  on  the  footprint  rubbish,  bags  full  of  rubbish  and  bins  

 

                                   Updated  Debrief  Report  2015  v.2      

overflowing  with  rubbish  were  located  in  the  following  locations:  1. Electric  Avenue  2. Rushcroft  Road  3. Effra  Road  4. Electric  Lane  

ix. During  the  event  it  was  noted  by  BS  staff  and  Directors  that  there  was  little  to  no  cleansing  nor  litter  picking  done  throughout  the  event.  The  bins  in  St  Matthews  Church  (Art’s  &  Family  Village)  were  left  to  overflow  with  attendees  having  no  choice  but  to  pile  their  rubbish  around  the  bins.  The  same  scenario  was  noted  elsewhere  throughout  the  footprint.  The  above  would  have  caused  the  post  event  cleanup  to  take  much  longer.  

x. There  was  no  recycling  of  waste,  which  is  something  BS  had  requested  happen.    

   

2. Enforcement  &  Emergency  Services  a. Enforcement  

i. BS  is  extremely  proud  of  the  crime  stats  for  the  day:    40  arrests,  31  crimes,  12  thefts,  9  thefts  person,  1  ABH,  1  common  assault.    

ii. BS  Directors,  volunteers  and  ambassadors  were  involved  in  dealing  with  illegal  traders.  Many  times  dealing  with  them  alone.  

iii. There  were  significant  issues  regarding  illegal  traders.  Although  a  multi-­‐agency  approach  was  to  be  adopted  between  the  Police,  LBL  &  BS  this  approach  was  not  always  evident.  

iv. At  9.25  a.m.  it  was  identified  that  illegal  traders  and  a  sound-­‐system  were  setting  up  in  the  car-­‐park  at  the  end  of  Rushcroft  Rd.  BS’  Event  Manager  requested  a  meeting  with  the  police  and  LBL  to  resolve  the  problem.  It  was  apparently  left  un-­‐tackled  until  1.10  p.m.  when  a  notice  was  served  on  the  car-­‐park.  Pre-­‐event,  both  the  Police  and  LBL  were  given  advance  warning  by  BS  that  they  had  information  from  the  community  that  this  situation  would  arise  as  it  had  done  in  so  2014.  It  was  expected  that  an  action  plan  would  have  been  put  in  place  to  prevent  it.  

v. Station  Rd  went  completely  unmonitored  despite  the  dangerous  illegal  activity  which  took  place  there  last  year.  This  is  also  in-­‐spite  of  reports  to  ELT  from  BS  Directors  of  illegal  traders  including  people  selling  alcohol  including  shots  at  extremely  cheap  prices  and  improperly  sealed  off  hot  bbq’s  and  other  cooking  equipment.    

vi. Illegal  traders  set-­‐up  in  the  vacant  premises  along  Coldharbour  Lane.  BS  informed  LBL  and  attempted  to  inform  the  Police  quite  some  time  prior  to  the  event  that  they  had  information  from  the  community  that  this  was  going  to  happen.  It  was  expected  that  an  action  plan  would  have  been  put  in  place  to  prevent  them  from  setting  up  on  the  day,  it  was  disappointing  that  it  appears  that  there  wasn’t.  

vii. Several  more  illegal  traders  set-­‐up  in  and  around  the  perimeter  including:  1. St  Matthews  2. Kellet  Road  3. Ratray  Road  4. Somerleyton  Road  

viii. All  BS  Directors  and  BS’  market  manager  were  personally  involved  in  closing  down  traders  trading  after  hours.  

ix. Many  traders  were  annoyed  with  the  illegal  traders  being  allowed  to  trade  on  and  around  the  footprint.  This  was  noted  by  BS’  market  manager  and  LBL  staff.  

x. BS  has  received  complaints  from  many  traders  regarding  rude  and  uneven  enforcement.  It  appears  there  was  a  ‘heavy  concentration’  by  LBL  on  traders  who  usually  trade  in  Brixton  Market  on  a  weekly  basis.  This  was  also  noted  by  BS’  market  manager  who  also  stated:  “When  I  reminded  several  traders  that  they  need  to  wind  down  their  business  I  was  asked  if  I  had  been  to  Station  Rd  yet!!!  “  

xi. BS  received  complaints  from  local  businesses  regarding  rude  enforcement  by  both  LBL  &  the  Police.  

 b. First  Aid  

i. BS  is  pleased  to  report  that  there  were  a  total  of  only  38  people  treated  with  only  3  requiring  further  hospital  treatment  (one  of  which  was  for  chest  pain).  

c. Community  Safety  i. BS  and  its  staff  are  still  receiving  compliments  from  the  public  stating  that  

this  year’s  Brixton  Splash,  was  better  run,  and  had  a  much  better  atmosphere.  These  sentiments  have  also  been  echoed  by  local  businesses,  staff  and  volunteers,  some  of  whom  have  the  full  10  years  experience  of  the  carnival.  

ii. Midway  through  the  event  when  BS  Directors  were  being  rounded  up  to  attend  an  ELT  meeting  they  were  accosted  by  a  large  group  of  very  unhappy  youths.  These  youths  expressed  feelings  of  anger  at  the  changes  taking  place  in  Brixton  and  felt  they  were  being  pushed/left  out.  The  youths  made  it  clear  that  if  Brixton  Splash  were  not  being  run  by  the  people  it  was,  they  would  be  doing  everything  they  could  to  disrupt  the  event  and  ensure  it  didn’t  take  place.  

 This  situation  was  very  heated,  and  took  sometime  to  calm  down.  Eventually  one  of  the  directors  (Asher  Senator)  was  left  to  deal  with  the  situation  whilst  the  others  went  to  attend  the  ELT  meeting.  Unfortunately,  by  the  time  they  arrived  the  meeting  was  over.    

iii. The  situation  arose  again  close  to  the  end  of  the  event  and  BS  director,  Asher  Senator,  had  to  attend  to  the  youths  once  more  to  pacify  the  situation.  This  caused  the  main  stage  to  close  15  minutes  later  than  scheduled  –  the  first  time  this  has  ever  happened  in  10  years.  Directors  have  had  to  have  several  meetings  post  event  with  these  youths  to  discuss  their  issues.  

     

3 Emergency  Planning  i. BS  is  proud  to  state  that  ‘there  were  no  significant  events  that  required  

them  to  step  in’.    

 4 Additional  Notes  

a. LBL  invited  an  organization  to  attend  the  carnival  without  BS’  permission  or  knowledge,  nor  was  this  pitch  paid  for,  which  was  in  our  premium  location.  This  

caused  considerable  issues  as  all  our  stalls  are  mapped  out  post-­‐event.  Should  this  happen  again,  BS  will  unfortunately  have  to  turn  the  organisation  away.  

 It  is  noted  that  there  were  issues  which  took  place  both  outside  our  footprint  and  also  post  event.  These  issues  although  unfortunate,  are  now  it  appears  BS  are  being  blamed  for  them  taking  place/not  tackling  them.      BS  would  like  to  remind  all  parties  that  we  have  no  powers  to  deal  with  illegal  activities,  these  powers  lay  with  LBL  and  the  Police.  BS  would  also  like  to  remind  all  parties  of  the  assurances  made  at  our  final  SAG,  at  which  it  was  stated  quite  clearly  by  Kieran,  LBL  Head  of  Resilience,  that  there  would  be  an  escalation  team  available  and  any  issues  which  arose  were  to  simply  be  escalated  to  ELT  where  they  would  be  handled.      In  the  words  of  one  of  the  police  officers  attending  that  meeting  it  appears  as  though  now,  post  event  BS  was/is  ‘being  set  up  to  fail’.    BS  notes  three  key  points  in  this  report  all  of  which  point  to  a  successful  well-­‐managed  event:    

1. The  crime  stats  were  extraordinary  for  an  event  of  this  type  and  size  2. The  medical  stats  were  incredible  for  an  event  of  this  type  and  size  3. LBL’s  Emergency  planning  was  not  required    

 As  is  now  evident  but  not  unexpected,  mistakes  were  made  on  all  sides  by  all  parties.  Reviewing  the  event  from  2014  there  were  great  improvements  in  2015,  with  nearly  all  the  actions  for  areas  of  improvement  identified  in  2014  implemented  in  2015.  Moving  forward,  we  now  all  have  the  benefit  of  hindsight  and,  rather  than  engaging  in  an  exercise  of  unhelpful  and  unconstructive  finger  pointing,  with  an  all  party  commitment  and  approach  we  hope  to  do  even  better  for  2016.    BS  looks  forward  to  working  closely  with  all  parties  to  ensure  a  safe  event  for  2016  and  shall  be  once  again  requesting  individual  meetings  with  all  relevant  parties  in  the  near  future  to  help  us  do  this.  We  hope  these  requests  are  now  accommodated.    Brixton Splash Board

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