Haringey council has said it will no longer allow Tough Mudder challenges in Finsbury Park after damage described as an “environmental disgrace” by Labour MP David Lammy.
Hundreds of people took part in gruelling obstacle courses held at the north London park across Saturday and Sunday - leaving the grass churned to thick mud, and tyre tracks imprinted on the ground.
Charitable trust The Friends of Finsbury Park said it was “devastated” by the destruction, which is thought to have been exacerbated by the weekend’s wet weather.
“The damage is considerable, covers most of the park and will make lots of the park unusable for a good while,” the group wrote on Twitter.
“Like many of the events @haringeycouncil agree to in Finsbury Park, it is not a suitable event for a public park in a densely populated urban area. The whole park has to be kept open and useable for locals all year.”
The group said it would be formally complaining to Haringey Council, and urged residents to do the same.
Labour MP David Lammy says he was “utterly appalled” by the damage, after visiting the park to survey the scene on Sunday.
“I have nothing against @Toughmudder but Finsbury Park is an inner city urban park and the damage done is an environmental disgrace,” he wrote on Twitter.
“There are serious questions about how and why this licence was granted, enforced and policed.”
Following the complaints a statement was released on Monday by Haringey’s deputy leader Mike Hakata saying the event “will not be held in Finsbury Park going forward”.
Cllr Hakata, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport, said: “I visited Finsbury Park on Saturday night and was upset to see the scale of damage that has been caused to grass areas across the site.
“We have seen considerable rainfall over recent weeks which has saturated the ground and will need repair. This will be rectified as soon as possible, and any cost will be covered by the event organisers.
“Tough Mudder events have taken place successfully for four years now, enabling thousands of people young and old to enjoy the outdoors and improve their health and wellbeing, at the same time as raising significant funds for charitable causes.
“The impact of the event this year has caused several weeks’ worth of damage to the park and as a result we have had to rethink our approach. To prevent the risk of this repeating, we have decided that this event will not be held in Finsbury Park going forward.
“We are proud of our green spaces in Haringey and are working together with residents to make sure that our many wonderful parks remain vibrant and welcoming spaces for everyone to enjoy.”
Tough Mudder hosted several events acrosss Saturday and Sunday - including 5km and 10km routes featuring a number of obstacles, and a one-mile “muddy adventure” for children.
Finsbury Park residents have called the destruction “a disaster” and “extremely depressing”, and fear it could take “months” for the ground to recover.
Resident Sarah James wrote on Twitter: “The park is a be public space for everyone. It is now not usable and is extremely depressing to walk through and see the vandalism that has been inflicted for profit. So many rely on the park as a place to relax and play and that has been lost. It will be like this for months.”
We have been back on site this morning and will be back again this afternoon assessing the damage from the @ToughMudder 2 day event. The damage is considerable, covers most of the park and will make lots of the park unusable for a good while. We are devastated….. pic.twitter.com/J65Jx7Zlyr
— Friends of Finsbury Park (@FinsParkFriends) April 16, 2023
User David J wrote: “It made me so, so sad to see the mess that @ToughMudder made of our Finsbury Park...It’s a wonderful event but Finsbury Park is not the space for it. We now have a cow field going into spring.”
Another Twitter user named Brenda said: ”It’s terrible what’s been allowed to happen. Shouldn’t the organisers have delayed or cancelled event due to wet weather causing more damage?”
The Friends of Finsbury Park is holding a meeting about “events and misuse of the park”, at 7.30pm on April 25, at Muslim Welfare House in Seven Sisters Road.
In a statement Tough Mudder said: “Tough Mudder prides itself on working in tandem with all its venues, local authorities and key stakeholders and has been in close communication with Haringey Council for the entire process and throughout the event at Finsbury Park.
“Together, we recognise the damage to the park and the impact it has had on the surrounding community. We are working with all relevant stakeholders to restore and repair the damaged areas of the park.“Tough Mudder empowers people of all abilities to transform their lives through our unconventional experiences. Built on the principles of teamwork, courage and personal accomplishment, our events are designed to motivate people of all abilities to improve their physical and mental health, whilst also encouraging charitable fundraising locally across London and the UK.
“We will be using this ethos of togetherness to help restore the park with Haringey Council and the wider community.”
