Tottenham Riots cause Hackney One Carnival and Parks for Life Festival in Clissold to be cancelled

It was supposed to be the event of the summer in Stoke Newington, but it looks like a police intelligence report was the reason for the Parks for Life festival - scheduled to take place in Clissold Park - to be cancelled without notice this afternoon.

After a night of much-reported chaos in neighbouring borough, Harringey, it was decided that the festival may invite dissent and cause the riots to spread to Hackney. Sirens are still whirring, after protests against the fatal shooting of a Tottenham man by police turned violent; and there have so far been suggestions that trouble is trickling through to other parts of the capital, namely Enfield, Brixton and Dalson, just up the road.

Some argue that the festival would have been a much needed, positive contribution to what has otherwise been a violent weekend in North London, catching headlines across the national press. N16 resident, Barbara Morgan, 46, tells stokenewingtonpeople, "The publicity that this area has received this weekend has brought shame on everyone. We already have the stereotypes to contend with. This festival would have given us a chance to express the real North London - green, sociable and funloving, not scary and destructive".

Others are relieved at the cancellation, and want to wait until the trouble has passed before revelling in community spirit again. "I totally get why the police didn't want the carnival to go ahead", says Adam Bentham, 28, of Stamford Hill. "It's been so widely publicised, and everyone knows that all the local forces are dealing with this one incident; so it's pretty obvious that there won't be as much police presence at the event. It's asking for trouble, even if that trouble is unrelated to the Tottenham riots."

Wardens at the event have confirmed that the Parks for Life Festival is not set to be rescheduled for 2011. So it looks like despite months of planning, we are to go without our party in the park. The question is: is this a waste of time and public money without satisfactory justification, or a thoughtful decision in the name of our safety? Have your say by writing in the box below.