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We congratulate our member, Protect Brockwell Park (PBP), for stopping Lambeth Council from pursuing an appeal over its commercial events plan, which PBP had blocked in the High Court[1].
Brockwell Park © Copyright Stephen McKay and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
The society was poised to back PBP in the Appeal Court this week with a grant from its Legal-Action Fund, but Lambeth Council decided to withdraw at the last minute. The council had enabled a series of festivals in 2025 under the banner ‘Brockwell Live’, through a combination of different permitted rights for more than the 28-day legal limit.
This ‘eventification’ of public parks puts undue pressure on the ecology and blocks access to large tracts of public space for an excessive period. Meanwhile, Lambeth is persisting with other plans, such as seeking 216 days of events on Clapham Common, and 57 days of events on Streatham Common under Article 12 notices. And Gunnersbury Park in Ealing has a draft 10-year plan which will effectively change the park into a commercial-events venue.
Says Helen Monger, one of our case officers: ‘Parks play a vital role in the health and well-being of local people. We understand that local authority budgets are under pressure, but it is greedy to manipulate the planning system for commercial purposes, excluding the community for extended periods of time from quiet enjoyment of its local park.
‘Brockwell Park is dear to our hearts, for the society assisted with its acquisition by London County Council in 1891, and its subsequent extension.
‘We are delighted that PBP has stopped Lambeth Council from ignoring the rule of law, and we shall support others should the need arise.’ Helen concludes.
[1]Lambeth Council initially issued a Certificate of Lawful Proposed Use or Development (CLOPUD for Brockwell Live events which resulted in the park being out of ‘normal use’ for more than 28 days. This did not require public consultation. A High Court judgment found this to be illegal. Lambeth Council also gave permission for an additional free event, Lambeth Country Show, and the ‘de-rigging’ of the event areas, many of which were set up for Brockwell Live through a separate planning application. With the CLOPUD found to be illegal, just days before the first event, Lambeth Council issued a new certificate for revised dates—which brought the Brockwell Live events, at least on paper, within 28 days but ignored the ongoing usage for the Lambeth Country Show and de-rigging as part of the council’s calculations.
To read more about the background from a local perspective see here.