Ask anyone and they’ll tell you, one of the very best things about living in Primrose Hill is the community. Most of us know and like our neighbours and we have a habit of pulling together when we need to, such as when our library was under threat. So the shenanigans of a polluting Winnebago in Fitzroy road yesterday were a great disappointment.
So what happened? Well, at around 7am, a large Winnebago arrived and set up across several diagonal parking spaces. Stabilisers engaged, canopy pulled out, it was established enough even to receive an Ocado order, all the time running a very noisy petrol-fuelled generator which caused visible fumes from an exhaust pipe. (It should be said that Ocado were horrified and apologetic when they picked this up through a Tweet).
When I asked the man who seemed to be in charge, he told me that they had no parking permit but had every intention of remaining all day outside these houses with a generator running; this was convenient for them as they were supporting a photographic shoot that was taking place at a house in a nearby mews.
I persuaded them to move their vehicle away from the terrace, pointing out that they would find ample pay and display parking on Regents Park Road; however, they re-established their camp on the other side of Fitzroy Road, outside Jacqueline House, where residents presumably didn’t want a generator polluting air outside their home all day either. The generator was switched off as I was passing at 11am but was back on when I returned mid afternoon.
Camden Council sent a traffic warden who gave them a parking ticket, and local councillor Pat Callaghan helpfully involved herself as well. Later in the day I spoke to a traffic warden regarding the constant noisy and polluting generator and he told me that someone in the vehicle wanted to charge their laptop so needed the generator to run. Meanwhile, fumes could be smelt all along the road.
Someone, somewhere, was making a profit from our neighbourhood without going through the proper channels – i.e. at least paying for a parking permit – and they found it perfectly fine to poison us at the same time. Well it’s not fine. It’s shabby.
© 2017 Joanna Reeves, all rights reserved.
Well done for courageously approaching the people concerned – it is very difficult to confront people who seem ignorant and thoughtless. We have to do the same every week with the pub noise at The Queens.
I agree with every word of your excellent article!
Thank you!