Battersea Park has been under intense scrutiny from the local residents, as the build process began to start on Monday this week.

The grade two listed park is set to host the first motorsport event in 40 years in London, as Formula E takes to its streets. However, users of the park have been complaining about the severe damage the trucks and other build process activities are having on the park.

However, after visiting the park for the first time today, we are struggling to see what the fuss is all about. Firstly, Battersea Park is a tranquil and picturesque park and it is understandable that catch fencing and large concrete blocks does spoil the wonderful views that the park has to offer.

In addition, a number of trucks and diggers on the carriageway does add to the visual and air pollution to the park but does those factors mean that Battersea Park is being severely damaged by these machinery.

The concrete blocks are being placed on the pavement and not the grass. Therefore, apart from not looking pretty there is zero impact of these concrete blocks and catch fencing causing any serious damage to the park. The only possible problem is on the south carriageway, which is the back straight of the circuit. Some branches had to be removed from a few trees, so they would not go through the catch fencing gaps and cause a possible safety hazard.

The negative feedback given from the residents and the local users of the park overlooked the fact that Formula E are paying and have paid for improvements and maintenance to the park. Over the five-year contract, Formula E would have given the Wandsworth council a million pounds towards maintenance and improvements to the park.

So far, Formula E have funded the resurfacing of the previously uneven and rutted Rosary car park and repaired other carriageway defects in their attempts to help improve the park for its visitors.

However, despite the building works causing minimal damage to the park, it is clear that some grassland was removed so the south carriageway would be wider to accommodate Formula E cars. Obviously that is damage to the park and is not ideal.

The counter argument is that it was only a small piece of land which will help the event draw 60,000 people to Wandsworth and Battersea Park over the race weekend creating more economic growth for the borough, which can be spent on restoring parts of the park and paying off any debt that the council has.

In summation, the impact that Formula E is having on Battersea Park is only short-term. The trucks and diggers are only slightly adding to air pollution of an already polluted city of London. The concrete blocks and catch fencing will leave no visible damage to the park. The criticism has been over dramatised to make interesting stories in the media, but anyone who visits the park will know that the sport is not really destroying the park but is making it a small obstacle course in order to get around.

The race is expected to be on the calendar for next season, which should mean that it will be on the calendar for the next four years in order to see out the five-year contract the Wandsworth council has with Formula E.