Christopher BarrettLocal residents group Protect Brockwell Park has raised more than £31,000 toward a £55,000 target via a crowdfunding campaign to finance legal action to bring an end to festivals being staged in the Lambeth-based park.
The campaigners are looking to legally challenge Lambeth Council, which has granted a certificate of lawful development enabling commercial events to be staged in Brockwell Park without the need for planning permission.
The group said, “We intend to start a legal challenge imminently by way of judicial review against the Council’s decision to grant a certificate of lawful development for the Brockwell Live events.”
Key shows booked at the South London park this summer include Broadwick Live-owned Field Day, and Brockwell Live’s Wide Awake, Cross The Tracks, City Splash and Mighty Hoopla (pictured), along with the Lambeth Country Show that is produced by Brockwell Live in partnership with Lambeth Council.
Further outlining the reasoning for the legal challenge, Protect Brockwell Park said the aim is to stop the commercialisation, destruction and fencing off of the park without full public consultations: “We need your help to build a fighting fund, to ensure that Brockwell Park is a thriving, green oasis that serves as a sanctuary for both people and wildlife, free from the interruption of protracted large-scale unsustainable events during the critical period of late spring and early summer.”
The campaign group also said it is looking to force a full consultation on and support the development of the Council’s Events Strategy, and seek payment for remedial work to repair the “significant damage” done to the park in recent years from live events.