Loose paving beneath four pergolas in Bury Lodge Park and rotting of some of the actual pergola timbers were reported to Enfield Council at least three years ago.  The problem has been regularly chased by The Friends of Bury Lodge since then.  In June 2020 it was reported again that the areas of loose paving had spread considerably and some slabs were dangerously raised and broken.  After some three months, two of the pergolas were fenced off for health and safety reasons,and have remained so ever since, despite the Council being aware of offers from local residents to provide funding and free labour to enable the Friends Group to carry out repairs.  Needless to say, the fenced areas are now littered with dead leaves and paper and weeds are growing between the cracks of the paving.

After heavy rain in the third week of October 2021 one of the timbers on an unfenced pergola broke and fell, fortunately during the night and this was reported to the Council.  Several days later both this pergola area and the last remaining one was also fenced off by the Council.  We still have no indication when repairs will start.

Bury Lodge Park is a small Gold award winning park, popular with every age group.  It is largely maintained by a group of some 16 volunteers who give their time freely every Wednesday morning throughout the year.  Their efforts resulted in a London in Bloom Gold Award again this year, but points were lost because of the unsightly fenced off areas, which are one of the main features of the park, leading to a paved pond area.  It is most discouraging for the volunteers that their hard work is spoiled by the Council's lack of maintenance.  The fact that four pathways are now fenced off is restrictive for park users and is causing a new hazard for children who want to get to the pond and find they have to climb over a rough stone wall.