Organisers of music festival All Points East are set to be given permission to almost double the number of large-scale events they hold in east London's Victoria Park.
AEG Presents Limited currently has permission to hold events in the popular park across 10 days each year.
Just six of these are large paid-for events - including All Points East which is typically held across two weekends in August - while the others are free-entry community events.
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets is now expected to grant the organisers a fresh three-year licence, which would allow them to almost double its "large and major events" days to 19 a year.
This would include 11 days of paid-for events, such as music festivals.
In late November, Tower Hamlets Council signed off a new major events policy, allowing more events at Victoria Park - and quadrupling the maximum capacity for large events there from 5,000 to 20,000 people.
The decision sparked backlash from residents, who accused the council of privatising one of London's most popular parks - a valuable green space for many locals without gardens.
Labour councillor James King said the proposals would reduce the availability of the park for the local community, especially for families and children "who rely on it during the summer holidays".
Community group Victoria Park Friends also criticised the plans, saying more large events will have a negative impact on locals.
"Victoria Park Friends believe that increasing the size and frequency of events would be detrimental to both park users and residents," a spokesperson told news outlet Roman Road.
"Major events are noisy which causes significant distress to both park users and residents, particularly young children and older people."
On Facebook, local resident Debbie Turner wrote: "Those of us who live near the park are dreading the thought of more events especially as it generally means large parts are then restricted access, along with the disruption that comes with it.
"There are many of us in the area who don't have gardens, and so the park is our main outside space."But the borough's independent mayor Lutfur Rahman said the town hall had "to squeeze as much as we can" from its assets in a bid to bring in cash and the council had "no choice".At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday night, the mayor is set to award AEG Presents Limited - the organiser of All Points East - a three-year licence allowing it to hold more events each year, in line with the new major events policy.
AEG would be allowed to deliver a total of 14 major event days this year, rising to 19 in 2025 and 2026.
This would include five paid entry events in May or June, and six in August - along with eight free-to-access community events across the same months.
AEG Presents Limited would have exclusive permission to host music-focused events in the park from April to September each year, but the council could still hold other events such as winter fairs, food festivals, comedy and private hire events.
The income Tower Hamlets Council would receive from the licence has not been disclosed by the authority.
But its chief finance officer said in a report it "will provide a more stable and predictable environment for year-on-year budgeting".
A council spokesperson said: “The proposed changes would allow for a wider range of events to be considered by the council and boost local businesses and provide a wider range of things for local people to do and enjoy in the park.
"As part of the major events programme, both the council and the event organiser, proactively engage with residents and the friends group through community consultation sessions specific to the events programme.“We understand the concerns that have been raised and remain absolutely committed to working with Victoria Park Friends to continue to minimise any disruption caused by events and help ensure that the People’s Park continues to be managed in a way in which it can be enjoyed by everyone.”
Council officers have recommended Mr Rahman approves the plan on Wednesday evening.
