Barbecues in Islington parks have had their chips.
Town hall bosses agreed to ban barbecues at parks and open spaces and said the fire risk and environmental concerns means they had to call time on the al fresco cooking.
Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s executive member for environment, air quality, and transport, said it was “an extremely difficult decision” to make as many residents do not have access to their own outdoor space, but the fire and environmental risks cannot be ignored.
“What we know about air pollution means it is not something we can support any more.”
Islington was one of the few London councils which still allowed barbecues, although this was suspended during covid to encourage social distancing. People were not allowed to fire up barbecues last year because the extreme heatwave meant they posed a serious fire risk.
London Fire Brigade had to tackle dozens of grass fires throughout the hot weather and asked councils to outlaw barbecues to reduce the risk.
Tinder box dry grass in Highbury Fields , August 2022 pic Julia Gregory, free for use by partners of BBC new wire service
Cllr Champion said disposable barbecues which have chemicals in them are particularly problematic and add to litter in parks.
Five years ago the council agreed to a legal challenge by Save Highbury Fields which wanted barbecuing restricted to just one area of the popular open space.
In 2011 the newly elected Labour administration overturned a borough-wide ban. Cllr Champion told the executive committee the time was right to outlaw wood-burning and disposable barbecues.
People face fines if they flout the rule.
Highbury Fields , pic Islington council, free for use by partners of BBC new wire service
They will be able to cook food on electric machines which are being tested in Paradise Park instead.
The move, which was backed by Islington’s senior politicians on Thursday (February 9) means Camden and Southwark are the only two London councils which have not outlawed them entirely.
However, they were banned during the Covid lockdown and last year in response to the extreme heat wave and fire risk.
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