They didn't have the resources to cope. To make ends meet, one strategy was to sell odd plots at the edge to raise sufficient funds for completion, To those who had been relocated to multi-storied superblocks, to allow the park to be created, this was the final indignity. When the action team arrived, there was open warfare between Southwark Borough Council and the residents. The park was being used as a hot political football for the politicians to score points off each other, with virtual stalemate. It was not only warfare between the local residents and the Council, but also warfare between the political parties.
Drawing indicates the existing situation around the boundaries of the park.
There was no long-term political commitment, and no sense of community ownership. Here was this 130 acres of green space, which nobody wanted, and nobody felt was theirs. There were odd pockets of activity jealously guarded by local interest groups. The boating pond the preserve of the angling club, had recently been encroached by the immigrant Vietnamese community, resulting in minor conflicts. There was a total breakdown of trust between the local community and the council, a complete stalemate to positive action, Well, it was not easy.