The Protect Brockwell Park (PBP) campaign that opposes large music events in the park today (6 December) expressed its “delight” that Lambeth council has withdrawn its appeal against the High Court ruling PBP won earlier this year.
The court ruled the council should have undertaken a full application for planning permission for the five Brockwell Live events that took place in the park in 2025.
The council yesterday announced both its decision to drop the appeal and pay PBP’s costs, and the cancellation of the Lambeth Country Show.
The council had saved money on the show by using the other events’ infrastructure but this arrangement is no longer enough to protect the show from the cash crisis facing Lambeth and other councils.
PBP welcomed the council’s recognition that “large-scale events in Brockwell Park must undergo full planning permission,” adding: “It shouldn’t have taken expensive legal battles to realise this obvious conclusion.”
The campaign said publicly available figures “indicate that commercial festivals in the park generate approximately £1.8m in profit annually for private operators, while expert reports referenced in Lambeth’s own documents estimate the annual loss of public amenity during these events at between £0.5 million and £3.5 million.”
This raised a fundamental question. PBP said: “Does the current model serve the public interest, or does it shift the cost of private profit onto residents, park users and the park environment?
“We wonder if there is a different way ahead for the Lambeth Country Show. A return to its lower-impact, smaller community led format, with a greater share of the private operator’s profits used to fully fund that event.
“We expect Lambeth to urgently provide full transparency of the commercial events’ revenues, and engage in a credible, open planning process, with robust impact assessments, and effective enforcement of planning conditions.
“Only then can the interests of all park users – residents, wildlife, and event-goers – be properly balanced, and the benefit of this beautiful park be truly secure for future generations.”
