Summary:
- First, reconsider the use of Lambeth’s precious parks as mere assets to sweat, rather than an oasis to protect for future generations
- Second, if you make promises to local people and local groups, please keep them.
At 7pm on Wednesday 27 September 2023, the first item on the agenda of Lambeth Council’s important Scrutiny Committee was the topic of events in parks. Brockwell Park and Clapham Common were both represented, with excellent speeches. Councillors listened with care and asked intelligent questions. There was no evidence of any shift in opinion away from supporting events in parks: they make too much money for a cash-strapped council.
Ann Kingsbury, chair of Brockwell Park Community Partners, made a stirring speech saying a Victorian park such as Brockwell could not sustain the weight of gigantic vehicles, while Lambeth’s events team lacked the resources to monitor events properly. She said it was not just the visible damage that was of concern, but the hidden damage of compaction underground from all the vehicle movements.
Here is the full text of the speech by the FOBP chair:
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Peter Bradley, chair of the Friends of Brockwell Park. I thank you for this chance to give you the views of the Friends on paid events in Brockwell Park. My colleague Michael Boyle has already communicated to councillors his opinions, which we share.
First, a difference of philosophy: nowhere in the voluminous documentation prepared for this meeting is there any questioning of whether the Council should be holding events in Parks at all. We do question that and see it as a betrayal of your duty of care to our parks, just for financial gain. We urge you to rethink.
Second, there is no genuine consultation of local people about events in parks. They are just imposed on us.
Third, despite numerous requests, the Council has supplied no evidence to back its claim that local traders benefit from these events. FOBP surveys repeatedly show that the majority either lose money, or the events make no difference to them.
Last, local groups such as the Friends and the Brockwell Park Community Partners made a suggestion with the potential to save the Council millions of pounds: to bring the Lambeth Country Show within the same timeframe as the May/June events, so only one wall is built, saving the Council pots of money.
The quid pro quo, promised to user groups and made in a letter to local residents, was that there would be no further major events in Brockwell Park outside the May/June timeframe. Then Pokémon Go was imposed on the Park in August. All sorts of linguistic contortions tried to pretend this was not a major event. It was a gigantic breach of faith by Lambeth Council.
It is heartbreaking to walk around Brockwell Park and see the damage caused to the grass by this summer’s major events. We even had the ridiculous sight of Brockwell Live planting seeds in June to repair the damage it caused in May, only to see those seeds ripped up in August by the wandering crowds of Pokémon Go.
To sum up:
- First, reconsider the use of Lambeth’s precious parks as mere assets to sweat, rather than an oasis to protect for future generations
- Second, if you make promises to local people and local groups, please keep them.
