Locals launch legal challenge to protect park ahead of major music festivals
The campaign group Protect Brockwell Park have launched a legal challenge against Lambeth Council, arguing large-scale music festivals are 'damaging the ecological fabric of the park'
London's Brockwell Park has become a hub for music festivals in recent years, but some Lambeth locals argue they come at the cost of conservation. In the lead up to a summer of back-to-back festivals in the park, a sect of South Londoners have launched a legal challenge against Lambeth Council, saying that the park is being 'overused and under protected.'
The local campaign group, Protect Brockwell Park (PBP), issued an open letter to Lambeth Council, calling for an end to 'large-scale, unsustainable events' that are 'damaging the ecological fabric of the park'. On April 9, Protect Brockwell Park sent a pre-action letter to Lambeth Council, notifying them of their intent to initiate court proceedings.
The group seeks to challenge the council's decision to allow Brockwell Live's commercial events to proceed under "permitted development" rules. The campaign group said this move bypassed "proper planning scrutiny" for what was "clearly a major, damaging change of use". PBP has already raised more than £34,000 through their crowd funder to cover legal costs and received more than 3,000 signatures for its petition.
This summer, Brockwell Live will host nine days of events running across two weekends between May 23 to June 8. The line-up of events includes music and culture festivals like Wide Awake, Field Day, Cross The Tracks, City Splash, Mighty Hoopla, and London's biggest festival, Lambeth Country Show. These events bring thousands of visitors to the park, with the Lambeth Country Show bringing 120,000 attendees alone.
One of the prominent figures of the campaign is BAFTA award-winning actor, Sir Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, Bones and All). 'The imposition of high steel walls for Brockwell Live every summer destroys the park for weeks and harms the grass, trees and plant life for months — if not forever. It turns it into a prison camp,' says the actor.
Since instigating its petition, the campaign group has been met with some pushback from other Lambeth locals. In an open letter addressing 'the people of Lambeth', SayYesLambeth has accused Protect Brockwell Park of being an elite and "well-funded" minority.
'For too long, a small but powerful group has dominated the debate about Lambeth's future — shouting down new homes, opposing events in our parks, and trying to silence our vibrant night-time economy,' the open letter said. SayYesLambeth contests that PBP does not reflect the values of the area's young residents, creatives and small business owners.
The open letter added that Lambeth's night-time economy is not just about entertainment but business, insisting music venues and other community spaces need to be protected. The group purports that events like Might Hoopla and Lambeth Country Show 'showcase our diversity, support local businesses, and give thousands of people access to music, culture, and community right on their doorstep.'
In exclusive comments to The Mirror, Protect Brockwell Park responded to SayYesLambeth 's letter, saying 'it sets up a false choice between culture and conservation'. PBP asserts that they are not trying to ban festivals.
According to the campaign group, SayYesLambeth's claim that the events are part of shared, joyful use of the park is 'nonsense' when 'they result in almost half of Brockwell Park being fenced off each summer'. Protect Brockwell Park also rejects any claim of 'NIMBYism' (an acronym for Not In My Backyard), saying: 'This is not a campaign bankrolled by the elite — it's powered by local people who care deeply about their park.'
Lambeth Council has shared its own response to the legal challenge, saying 'any impacts from the events on the park are fixed with our event partner' and that they are 'committed to addressing all potential issues promptly and effectively, whilst ensuring Lambeth's residents continue to have access to a diverse and meaningful range of events.'
The council has also made note of the cultural importance of Brockwell Live events, saying they are 'really valued within our LGBTQ+ community' and that 'similarly, City Splash celebrating Caribbean and African music and culture is much loved by our Black communities and beyond.'
At time of writing, Protect Brockwell Park has said that Lambeth Council have not responded to their concerns or their petition.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
London fair features veggie sculptures from squash Trump to ‘Cauli Parton'
Vegetable likenesses of Donald Trump and Dolly Parton and a papal 'Cornclave' went on display on Saturday at the Lambeth country show, an urban take on a country fair held annually in London's Brockwell Park. The two-day show features sheep-shearing, livestock competitions, food, music and a vegetable sculpture contest that has attracted national renown for its quirky creativity. This year, several sculptures referenced the recent papal election or movie on the same subject, including one featuring cardinals made of maize, titled Cornclave. Other entries included Irish rap trio Kneecap in potato form, 'Cauli Parton' in a movie-inspired tableau titled 9 to Chive, a vegetable 'Mo Salad' likeness of Liverpool soccer star Mohamed Salah, and animated icons Wallace and Gromit made from butternut squash. Trump also got the butternut squash treatment, while some entries referred to local politics. In Lambeth, as in other parts of London, local authorities have turned to holding large concerts and festivals in parks as a way to raise money, to the chagrin of some neighbors. Wolf Hall actor Mark Rylance, one of a group of local residents opposed to big events in Brockwell Park, is represented as 'Mark Rylunch', with an apple-carved head and satirical signs branding him a Nimby ('not in my backyard') campaigner. 'Every year, this is what we get so excited about, is the vegetable sculptures,' country show regular Maddy Luxon said. 'It's just so unique and just so witty and we love the political ones.' 'And the puns,' said Marek Szandrowski, who was with her. 'The vegetable puns, definitely.'
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
A quirky vegetable sculpture contest features a squash Donald Trump and a papal 'cornclave'
Vegetable likenesses of Donald Trump and Dolly Parton and a papal 'cornclave' went on display Saturday at the Lambeth Country Show, an urban take on a country fair held annually in London's Brockwell Park. The two-day show features sheep-shearing, livestock competitions, food, music and a vegetable sculpture contest that has attracted national renown for its quirky creativity. This year, several sculptures recreated the recent papal election, including one featuring cardinals made of maize, titled 'Cornclave.' Other entries included Irish rap trio Kneecap in potato form, 'Cauli Parton' in a movie-inspired tableau titled '9 to Chive,' a vegetable 'Mo Salad' likeness of Liverpool soccer star Mo Salah and animated icons Wallace and Gromit made from butternut squash. Trump also got the butternut squash treatment, while some entries referred to local politics. In Lambeth, as in other parts of London, local authorities have turned to holding large concerts and festivals in parks as a way to raise money, to the chagrin of some neighbors. 'Wolf Hall' actor Mark Rylance, one of a group of local residents opposed to big events in Brockwell Park, is represented as 'Mark Rylunch,' with an apple-carved head and satirical signs branding him a NIMBY (not in my backyard) campaigner. 'Every year, this is what we get so excited about, is the vegetable sculptures,' said Country Fair regular Maddy Luxon. 'It's just so unique and just so witty and we love the political ones.' 'And the puns,' said Marek Szandrowski, who was with her. 'The vegetable puns, definitely.'
Time Out
3 days ago
- Time Out
London travel disruption this weekend: full list of tube and train closures for June 6-June 8
We're nearing the end of the week which means two things: you can definitely head to the pub after work tonight, and it's time for us to let you know about all the disruptions to travel you might face this weekend (June 6-8). There's loads of things you might be heading off to this weekend. Massive Attack are headlining a brand new festival, LIDO, taking place in east London, the Lambeth Country Show is back in Brockwell Park bringing a taste of rural life to the city, and gardens across the capital are opening up their gates for two days only as part of the London Open Gardens Weekend. Oh, and Beyoncés here. No biggie. You can find out specific details on how to travel to see Queen Bey here. If you'll be using any of London's many public transportation this weekend, here's what you should be aware of. Of course be aware that last minute changes and disruptions can happen, so always check before you travel on the TFL website or app. DLR On both Saturday (June 7) and Sunday (June 8), the DLR will be closed from both Bank and Tower Gateway to Canning Town and Lewisham. On the same days, there will also be no service between Canary Wharf and Stratford. Basically, if it's dark green on this map, it's shut this weekend. A replacement bus service will run between Westferry and Canning town. Waterloo and City line You know the drill. There's no service on weekends on the Waterloo and City line, ever. It runs from 6am on Mondays until half past midnight on Saturday mornings. Overground Mildmay line On Saturday (June 7) and Sunday (June 8), there will be a reduced service on the Mildmay line between Willesden Junction and Camden Road – these trains will only run every 15 minutes. Additionally, from Camden Road to Stratford, the line will be closed all weekend (June 7 and 8). Rail replacement bus services will run in places affected by these disruptions. For more info on those, you can check TFL's website here.
