Festival Pleasure Gardens Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 26 November 1951.

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Photo of Mr Richard Stokes Mr Richard Stokes , Ipswich 12:00, 26 November 1951

The right hon. Gentleman and his friends voted solidly against me when I tried to get the Gardens going and get some money. [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] All right, let it go. It does not really matter. [HON. MEMBERS: "Withdraw"] Certainly, if I am incorrect I withdraw, but it is all in keeping with the Festival spirit that one should make mistakes.

Whatever hon. Members may say, the Gardens have been a great success. As the right hon. Gentleman said there have been some eight million people there, which is more than anyone expected, and I would like to pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Lewisham South (Mr. H. Morrison) for his perspicacity in pushing on with this scheme in the face of very considerable opposition. It was entirely due to his conception of what London wants that we have got it. I would join the Minister in congratulating both the gentlemen who came to my assistance when I first took over, Sir Charles King and Major Joseph. They have done a magnificent job, particularly Major Joseph, who gave up the whole of his time free to make the whole scheme effective.

One thing was not added by the right hon. Gentleman, and I think it should be added. The men who built these Gardens came in for a good deal of criticism at the time of their construction. I have mentioned this matter on previous occasions. I do not suggest for a moment that there were not things done wrongfully and wrongly, but the Gardens never would have been finished had there not been that body of conscientious craftsmen on the site who really got the work through. I think that some tribute should be paid tonight to the work they did.

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that there has been no breach of promise. The promise was that if the Gardens were a success an effort should be made to continue them. Nobody in his senses would have dreamed that an enterprise of this kind could have been made to pay within one year, though if we look at the original estimate in the light of what actually happened and the marginal profit earned, it was not really so far out. That was not due to anybody's calculations; it just happened to be one of those things that turned up.

As for the objections raised before I gave up responsibility, I would say that they were mostly not frivolous, but concerned with those who live in the neighbourhood. The two things mostly objected to were fireworks and loudspeakers. In my time of responsibility, the fireworks were reduced to a minimum, from six performances to two; and, when we examined it, the loudspeakers had nothing to do with the fun fair as such but were merely those used by the police in directing traffic. It would be frivolous to close down the fun fair because the police were getting away traffic in an orderly fashion.

There was another protest that we had taken too much of the Gardens. That was not true: we took 37 acres out of 297, and arrangements have been made so that the river walk will be open before Christmas. Then there were objections laid against me by people who seemed to have an interest in seaside resorts. But the Tourist Association state that little or no difference was made in their business results. Although the park proprietors from Blackpool and Southend protested through the Amusement Park Proprietors' Association, representing 30 members, the Amusement Caterers' Association, with 700 members, supported the continuance of the Gardens. I do not know whether those figures have changed since I left, but that was the situation at the time.

I would suggest one or two things to which attention should be paid, since the Gardens are to be reopened—and we are glad that they are to be reopened, certainly for two years and probably longer. London has got what it wants and can see that it keeps it; and I support the Minister in insisting that the Gardens shall be maintained in a beautiful condition. We had some trouble this year because of our late start, but I hope that a really responsible horticultural adviser will be retained to see to it that the standard of flowers and shrubs, the state of the grass, etc., is properly maintained.