Wandsworth Council tonight voted through the return of Formula E to Battersea Park in 2016.

There has been strong and mounting local opposition to holding the race at the venue, with concerns principally centred around damage to the park, disruption to park users during track set up and dismantling and noise (from trucks, music and TV helicopters). Doubts were also raised about the extent to which local businesses benefitted during the event and whether health and safety procedures were appropriate. Several surveys conducted by pressure groups and the council itself seemed to indicate that the weight of local public opinion was against a recurrence of the event.

Many motorsports fans who attended the event in 2015 were less than impressed by obscured visibility, terraces with standing room only and a narrow track that didn’t encourage overtaking.

In defence of the decision to continue to hold the race at the park, it was noted that Formula E is a pioneering concept designed to advance low carbon technologies, that the money paid by Formula E organisers to the local authorities (the exact figures remain confidential) would help improve the park for years to come and that the race brings live motorsport into the reach of many who would otherwise likely never be able to afford to attend such an event at a dedicated circuit.

After several impassioned speeches, the council decided to keep the event, with seven votes to four.