bye bye Richard
Brockwell Park news, festival updates and more...
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Get well soon
jimbarkanoodle
Well-Known Member
Probably for the best. Idiots like you have nothing nuanced or constructive on the topic to offer. You come across as a bitter and unhappy person, get some help as life is too short.
eventbrockwell
Member
cunt off.
This totally disproves his point.
You're really adding to this thread...
eventbrockwell
Member
This site is very much like Brixton. Best before 2005.
snowy_again
Slush
And yet here you are.
eventbrockwell buggering off after having to deal with any scrutiny is very reminiscent of anti-LTNers here.
NIMBYs are gonna nimby I guess.
NIMBYs are gonna nimby I guess.
urbanspaceman
Well-Known Member
If anybody would like to attend this, I - and no doubt many others - would be interested to hear more about it
rawrigley@yahoo.com
Dear Stakeholder Members of BPCP,
As the work to restore Brockwell Hall is reaching completion, we are organising one more tour of the building site.
This will be led by Lucy Zaman , Event Services Manager at Lambeth, and one of the construction project leads.
Only 20 places are available on a strictly first come, first served, basis.
We don’t have any proposed date or time yet, but if interested in principle, please reply to me as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Richard Wrigley
Secretary of the Brockwell Park Community Partners
rawrigley@yahoo.com
Dear Stakeholder Members of BPCP,
As the work to restore Brockwell Hall is reaching completion, we are organising one more tour of the building site.
This will be led by Lucy Zaman , Event Services Manager at Lambeth, and one of the construction project leads.
Only 20 places are available on a strictly first come, first served, basis.
We don’t have any proposed date or time yet, but if interested in principle, please reply to me as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Richard Wrigley
Secretary of the Brockwell Park Community Partners
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Anyone concerned about the condition in which the park was left after this year's festivals is being invited to sign up to a letter to the Mayor of London. You can sign here by Sunday 8 December.
Letter to Mayor
We are a group of local residents who are passionate about the welfare of Brockwell Park in Lambeth. We would like to draw your attention to the commercialisation of Brockwell Park and other public parks in London via large scale events such as Brockwell Live, together with the severe ecological damage and prolonged fencing off of green spaces to the public for extended periods.
We are encouraged to see if we can ask your office to get involved by the environmental awareness you have demonstrated while in post and by the climate and ecology protective measures you have undertaken. This aligns in particular with your 2021 manifesto pledge to “Making London greener”, committing to “giving Londoners access to green space within 10 minutes of where they live”.
Every year a steel shield perimeter closes off a third of Brockwell Park during the most popular time of year. In 2024 the fence was in place for 37 days, and much of the ground remained too damaged to use for the entire summer. Experts believe the grass will not have recovered by the time of the events next year.
The compaction of the ground from 300,000 visitors and the heavy vehicles needed to mount the festivals has long term effects. This intensive use caused severe damage to the grass and ancient tree roots, necessitated the pruning of trees to accommodate HGVs, and ultimately led to the felling of 13 trees.
Fencing off space from public
Lambeth Council advocates the key benefit of the festivals as bringing people together. Shutting the public out of green space – often the only connection with nature and green space for the many local people not privileged enough to have a garden at home - does not bring people together; it divides us. Brockwell Park is a vibrant local community asset which brings together locals from all walks of life, of all colours, religious persuasions and income brackets. Connecting with nature has never been more important, for us and for our children, for the mental and physical health benefits it brings and for the appreciation of our environment which it encourages. Brockwell Park enables that.
The integrity of the remainder of the park which is still open and accessible during the events is also compromised, as the festivals disrupt the natural ambience, fundamental to the park's essence.
Ecological damage
Events now take up at least 44% of the available green space. They cause irreversible damage by soil compaction and destruction to trees, old and newly planted, and to ecosystems which cannot be replaced by, as the Council advocates, “encouraging biodiversity elsewhere in the park”. We have more details and photos of the specifics of the ecological damage which has resulted if it is required.
Lambeth Council has designated the whole of Brockwell Park as a Site of Borough Nature Conservation Importance, yet in practice, this fact appears to be ignored when it comes to approval of these large commercial events.
The compaction of the ground is resulting in increased flooding in an already flood-prone area.
Air pollution
The festivals necessitate the operation of 26 generators, consuming a substantial quantity of fuel. This exacerbates air pollution in an already polluted area of London, posing serious risks to public health. Parks should serve as havens of clean air and tranquility, not contribute further to environmental degradation.
Lack of financial transparency
Lambeth Council says that we need festivals to meet funding shortfall. They have also acknowledged that, because they are trustees of Brockwell Park rather than beneficial owners, the Council is not allowed to profit from the park.
Nevertheless, only a tiny proportion of income from the events – called the PIL - is ringfenced, whilst the remainder is paid directly into the Council’s general budget. Historically, the Council has justified this by arguing that the income received is less than the cost of maintaining the park and that the balance is paid from public funds (yet no accurate records are available). As income increases, public funding is systematically reduced, meaning that the park is becoming entirely dependent on and subservient to the funding from huge commercial events. As income from events surpasses the reasonable costs of maintaining the park, the park is expected to fund other services, including the Lambeth Events department. None of this – loss of all public funding, reduced access, and the reduced quality of the park both during and after events - is in the interest of the beneficial owners of the park, for whom it is being managed.
Could you help us to clarify the Council’s obligations and duties as trustees and make sure they are managed transparently?
Action
In July 2024 we launched a petition which has so far garnered over 3000 local signatories (see enclosed) which demonstrates the importance of this issue. We are open-minded to some form of compromise if meaningful and transparent discussion can be had.
Brockwell Park is our community’s lungs, where people come together and connect with nature. We urge you to use your discretion to see if there is some way your office could become involved in enabling more transparency on the part of the Council, meaningful (as opposed to token) discussion with the local community, compliance with the Council’s existing pro-nature/environment policies and the correct application of planning laws and procedures, which we believe the Council may have transgressed.
Before and after
urbanspaceman
Well-Known Member
I received this message from Friends of Brockwell Park. The way in which Lambeth abuses the park is quite concerning. And the chaotic and incompetent way in which Lambeth operates is worthy of a satirical novel:
- Spend on repairing and improving paths -> let heavy vehicles to smash them up
- Try to make money from festivals -> damage drainage pipes and then spend to fix it
- Spend millions on restoring Brockwell Hall -> ensure that it is unusable during its high season
- Build an air force base -> pay your own air force to bomb it
Spot the odd one out
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: BrockwellPark CommunityPartners <brockwellparkcommunitypartners@googlemail.com>
Subject: Events in Brockwell Park
Message from the Chair of the Brockwell Park Community Partners
It is now clear that the damage to Brockwell Park is so extensive that it will not recover from the damage from Pokemon Go in 2023 and Brockwell Live this year before Brockwell Live begins again in May 2025. Tickets for the 2025 festival are already being promoted online.
Until recently, the BPCP has tried to cooperate with Events and Lambeth to try to mitigate damage to the park and loss of amenity by sports groups and park users but the devastation from major park events in 2023 and 2024 means that this is no longer a useful approach. At one point this year there were no toilet facilities in the park because of damage to underground pipes and drainage; this is an access issue and affects the most vulnerable and is not acceptable.
The ecology of the park is being damaged to a degree from which it cannot recover quickly and this damage is cumulative. Large areas of the greensward are infiltrated by invasive weeds, like plantains and tree roots are being damaged by compression. Small items of litter have been compressed into the soil.
The paths, which were restored to a high standard by the Lottery as part of the landscape restoration (completed in 2011) are now badly damaged by movement of traffic with enormous axle weights. The Lottery did not envisage that these paths would be used like major roads when major events were being set up but the set-up and de-rig vehicles have damaged them badly.
The current events strategy does not achieve a balance between use of the park for events and use of the park by the public. The damage to the park and the time taken for repairs means that large areas of the park remain unusable long after the events are finished.
We are worried about the lack of transparency about Lambeth’s Events policy. The revised Events Strategy, due to take effect when the current strategy runs out, has never been put before the community and remains in limbo at the moment.
Sadly, no consideration has been given to the planned opening of Brockwell Hall in spring 2025. If the Hall is to pay for itself and recoup the money that Lambeth has invested in it, then it has to be allowed to function freely. Major music events and the Country Show with the associated fencing means that the Hall will not be an attractive venue during the months, May and June, that are most popular for weddings.
Some possible actions that we are considering include calling for a moratorium on major events in the park in 2025, to allow the greensward to recover and for the Hall to be properly assessed.
We would welcome any feedback on this letter.
Important dates:
- Wednesday 18th December at 6pm - meeting of the Brockwell Park Partnership Board meeting in Room 101 at Lambeth Town Hall. This is an agenda-led meeting and members of the public are free to attend but cannot contribute.
- Sunday 26th January 2025 at 11am - general meeting of the stakeholders of the Brockwell Park Community Partners to further discuss park events.
Kind regards,
Ann Kingsbury
Chair of the Brockwell Park Community Partners
- Spend on repairing and improving paths -> let heavy vehicles to smash them up
- Try to make money from festivals -> damage drainage pipes and then spend to fix it
- Spend millions on restoring Brockwell Hall -> ensure that it is unusable during its high season
- Build an air force base -> pay your own air force to bomb it
Spot the odd one out
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: BrockwellPark CommunityPartners <brockwellparkcommunitypartners@googlemail.com>
Subject: Events in Brockwell Park
Message from the Chair of the Brockwell Park Community Partners
It is now clear that the damage to Brockwell Park is so extensive that it will not recover from the damage from Pokemon Go in 2023 and Brockwell Live this year before Brockwell Live begins again in May 2025. Tickets for the 2025 festival are already being promoted online.
Until recently, the BPCP has tried to cooperate with Events and Lambeth to try to mitigate damage to the park and loss of amenity by sports groups and park users but the devastation from major park events in 2023 and 2024 means that this is no longer a useful approach. At one point this year there were no toilet facilities in the park because of damage to underground pipes and drainage; this is an access issue and affects the most vulnerable and is not acceptable.
The ecology of the park is being damaged to a degree from which it cannot recover quickly and this damage is cumulative. Large areas of the greensward are infiltrated by invasive weeds, like plantains and tree roots are being damaged by compression. Small items of litter have been compressed into the soil.
The paths, which were restored to a high standard by the Lottery as part of the landscape restoration (completed in 2011) are now badly damaged by movement of traffic with enormous axle weights. The Lottery did not envisage that these paths would be used like major roads when major events were being set up but the set-up and de-rig vehicles have damaged them badly.
The current events strategy does not achieve a balance between use of the park for events and use of the park by the public. The damage to the park and the time taken for repairs means that large areas of the park remain unusable long after the events are finished.
We are worried about the lack of transparency about Lambeth’s Events policy. The revised Events Strategy, due to take effect when the current strategy runs out, has never been put before the community and remains in limbo at the moment.
Sadly, no consideration has been given to the planned opening of Brockwell Hall in spring 2025. If the Hall is to pay for itself and recoup the money that Lambeth has invested in it, then it has to be allowed to function freely. Major music events and the Country Show with the associated fencing means that the Hall will not be an attractive venue during the months, May and June, that are most popular for weddings.
Some possible actions that we are considering include calling for a moratorium on major events in the park in 2025, to allow the greensward to recover and for the Hall to be properly assessed.
We would welcome any feedback on this letter.
Important dates:
- Wednesday 18th December at 6pm - meeting of the Brockwell Park Partnership Board meeting in Room 101 at Lambeth Town Hall. This is an agenda-led meeting and members of the public are free to attend but cannot contribute.
- Sunday 26th January 2025 at 11am - general meeting of the stakeholders of the Brockwell Park Community Partners to further discuss park events.
Kind regards,
Ann Kingsbury
Chair of the Brockwell Park Community Partners
Rushy
basically a scrotum
The Brockwell Park Community Partners are clutching their pearls but they have been complicit in this and realise how badly they have fucked up. They have been focussing on nice pet projects, funded by the council and events. The chair - an ex councillor - has said she plans to give up the post. I hope that they get someone who sees the events strategy as their number one objective.
Friends of Brockwell Park recently ousted their chair of 15(?) years and I get the impression they are planning to be a whole lot more pro-active on this. They recently changed their position on events from one of containment to full opposition.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
At a public meeting Paul Smith (new Head of Lambeth Parks) was asked "What is a fair amount of time for a park to be trashed for a festival for the money you are getting?".
Paul Smith replied "This year it is not reasonable, I put my hands up".
When pushed on what is a reasonable amount of damage following the festivals, Paul Smith replied "There isn’t a reasonable period for damage. The plan is there is immediate reinstatement .’
When asked by a member of the public "What have the penalties been on Brockwell Live for the loss of amenity of our park on the local community for the last 6 months?" Paul Smith replied, "There hasn’t been one".
Paul Smith replied "This year it is not reasonable, I put my hands up".
When pushed on what is a reasonable amount of damage following the festivals, Paul Smith replied "There isn’t a reasonable period for damage. The plan is there is immediate reinstatement .’
When asked by a member of the public "What have the penalties been on Brockwell Live for the loss of amenity of our park on the local community for the last 6 months?" Paul Smith replied, "There hasn’t been one".
BusLanes
Pedestrian
I went to a FOBP AGM one year, as a member and it was quite odd. They struggled to get quorom and so us attending was a big deal as we got them over the line. But the people on the board seemed to have been on forever, including the new chair. It all seemed very cosy.
They didn't seem super interested in getting new people involved in governance either (no one was interested in recruiting new members to do tasks or the like, or showed any interest in us when we offered to get involved more). Which can be quite normal for groups that are cosy and have worked together for a long time. Anyway, I didn't renew the next year (in part due to the renewal system really not liking my attempts).
They didn't seem super interested in getting new people involved in governance either (no one was interested in recruiting new members to do tasks or the like, or showed any interest in us when we offered to get involved more). Which can be quite normal for groups that are cosy and have worked together for a long time. Anyway, I didn't renew the next year (in part due to the renewal system really not liking my attempts).
Rushy
basically a scrotum
Yes - much of the momentum is a response to pressure from outside these formal groups. FoBP's new chair is actually the chair from before the last guy - so really keeping it old school. That said, it is only an interim measure from what I understand. The internal politics can be mind blowing. But these are the only groups with formal influence.
Torpid Scorpion
Basket case
Anyone else on the 'brockwell park tree protectors' whatsapp? Seems like it has become a full thrroated 'brockwell park no more festivals' group.
I think the vast majority of the local area does not want the festivals to end. Is there anyone who is going to speak up for accountability and proper clean-up, instead of just trying to spoil the fun?
Or is the plan to pursue gentrification and squeeze the flavour out until its the primrose hill of the south?
Would love to hear a balanced voice on this.
I think the vast majority of the local area does not want the festivals to end. Is there anyone who is going to speak up for accountability and proper clean-up, instead of just trying to spoil the fun?
Or is the plan to pursue gentrification and squeeze the flavour out until its the primrose hill of the south?
Would love to hear a balanced voice on this.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
The idea that reducing the number of commercial, paid entry festivals in Brockwell Park amounts to gentrification is a bit of an odd one. I sometimes see people talking about these festivals as if they are some kind of longstanding part of Brixton's organic "vibrancy". They are not. They are a thing that has developed recently. Twenty years ago the park did not get walled off for massive commercial events.
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
Back in the day, festivals, concerts and the country show happened there, for free with no fences.
jimbarkanoodle
Well-Known Member
When people live in houses that cost over a million quid they become terribly entitled to demand to have things how they want it to be. So it rained during one of the festivals, the ground got churned up and a small bit of the park has to be fenced off for a bit. Boo hoo. Sorry you can't walk your dog over that bit of park on a Sunday on your way to a gastropub for your £25 roast. Maybe the hundreds of thousands of people in London who enjoy music festivals should just fuck off to the countryside for that sort of thing, and not interfere or disrupt the moneyed middle classes and 'trash' their park.
Rushy
basically a scrotum
If you read the letter from Brockwell Park Community Partnership (BPCP) posted by Urbanspaceman above, the BPCP chose to take the pragmatic view (others would say naïve view) to accept a program of commercial events and focus on minimising their impact on the park (as you say: to seek accountability, clean up, etc.. from the council and event promoters) FoBP took the same position. However the council were unreliable bedfellows, constantly changing the goalposts, sneaking in more events, repeatedly failing to manage or deliver, or to hold organisers to account, as well as being very opaque about the economics (earnings from the park do not legally belong to the council but they pocket it anyway). After six or seven years of frustration and broken promises those organisations, both of which originally took the position you describe, have recently and openly concluded that the only way forward is to change their positions away form one of compromise and seek to stop the hire of the park as a venue for private commercial events.
Not everyone sees things the same way but it's a fallacy to assume that you are part of a downtrodden silent majority. If no one is still making the argument for accountable well managed festivals that you want to hear, it's because many have been where you are and realised that it has been a fruitless position. There is of course an opportunity to pick up that baton should you remain unconvinced.
Whilst some clearly support the idea of huge commercial events in the local park whatever the consequences (the myopic "it's only a few days of fun and the grass will grow back" argument), they are unlikely to fight for them because the reality is they can easily hop on a train and visit one elsewhere nearby. I can't remember the stats but somewhere between 80-90% of the attendees are known to travel to Brockwell from outside Lambeth anyway.
Photos of Field Day fending off gentrification, courtesy of Buzz.
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jimbarkanoodle
Well-Known Member
I think that the silent majority probably aren't bothered about the events in the park. They tolerate them (tolerance is a great thing), don't whinge to the council because there were some drunk people enjoying themselves in their neighbourhood, or they heard a bit of music in the distance on a Saturday afternoon. They've got more important things to worry about like paying rent, looking after their kids and generally getting by.
DietCokeGirl
Fishing in the rivers of life
Right, because that's the only people who use the park, right? Not families with kids. Not of the people who live in flats, or houseshares without garden. Not people in overcrowded accommodation. Just the super rich NIMBYS.
The debate has become polarised because either through incompetence or deliberate refusal to listen to residents , probably both, Lambeth has not put in place any of the protections it should have to cause the least devastation to the park. Therefore people have to check them on this, it's not nimbyism or festival hatred.
Eventually that part of the park, left unchallenged, will probably become permanently closed off and private so no one has to be accountable, as if free festivals never existed and it was always a corporate part of the park. That is not a win for art and culture.
Eventually that part of the park, left unchallenged, will probably become permanently closed off and private so no one has to be accountable, as if free festivals never existed and it was always a corporate part of the park. That is not a win for art and culture.
Tulster218
Well-Known Member
The debate seems to be less about the park itself and more on how much people value music festivals. Those who enjoy music events generally seem to argue for their continuation. Those who don't like music events lean towards keeping it open for general use.
If Nigel Farage's Reform Party proposed fencing off a section of the park, the idea would likely garner far less support. The discussion seems driven more by personal preferences than by broader principles regarding private events in public spaces.
DietCokeGirl
Fishing in the rivers of life
Sure, plenty of people don't have the time and energy to do petitions and attend meetings, because yes, there is work and rent and the kids and life - but that doesn't mean people aren't annoyed at the loss of space and the impact, especially in the school holidays. Its an annoyance that people feel powerless to do anything about, like most council decisions.
I love the festivals and big music events, but I still accept that they're a niche and unnecessary luxery, and hard to justify given the damage to the park and loss of an area of free public space, especially during the set up and take down times when there's loads of heavy vehicles moving around.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Noticed this in the Council article about how they are strapped for cash and will bring in cuts and up income generating on Council property
love.lambeth.gov.uk
I'm sure the Cllrs will be saying we all have to pull together and not grumble about increased events in parks.
I don't think the line its all the fault of the Tories is going to cut it for long now Labour government is in power
Love Lambeth
Lambeth Council’s Cabinet will consider a series of new savings in a bid to save £50million
love.lambeth.gov.uk
I'm sure the Cllrs will be saying we all have to pull together and not grumble about increased events in parks.
I don't think the line its all the fault of the Tories is going to cut it for long now Labour government is in power
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
On community groups and the council.
I don't use Brockwell park as it's a bit out of my way. So have no axa to grind here.
It's not easy keeping community groups going. So tends to be same people.
Secondly there's a lot of infighting in local community groups.
I've sympathy for those residents who try to keep these things going.
Thirdly dealing with the council is damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Been reading some of posts here ( which are good) and reminds me of what I find when trying to deal with council in reasonable manner.
It's very hard to be businesslike when things like financial transparency and general transparency on how decisions are made appears anathema to how this council works
It's a hard balancing act to be reasonable enough so council will talk to you and also ask hard but rational questions.
.
What I'm getting from posts here is that the rational behind events is that council is cash strapped and needs extra income.
What is in question is after paying for events officers, reinstating park for public use after events and Lambeths obligations as being trustees of park whether loss of space adds up economically.
And the political decision whether loss of park space is balanced by extra income for Council.
This can't be done imo without financial transparency.
And I don't mean officers telling one it does and if you ask for proof your just been told your being difficult. Thanks
Just asking as on a completely separate issue been asking council for there business plan for using another public space for income generation. Ie what is the justification that this will work. How is decision made. To be regarded as adversarial for asking.
I'm rather afraid officers don't have a clue on income generation and don't have proper business plans
Hence friends groups having problems with financial transparency.
There is no transparency problem. There isn't really a thought out financial justification for some of what council does on extra income generation
So it's not that council won't tell residents. It's that there isn't a proper plan.
Well that is my opinion for now. Really prefer to be proved wrong in future.
I don't use Brockwell park as it's a bit out of my way. So have no axa to grind here.
It's not easy keeping community groups going. So tends to be same people.
Secondly there's a lot of infighting in local community groups.
I've sympathy for those residents who try to keep these things going.
Thirdly dealing with the council is damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Been reading some of posts here ( which are good) and reminds me of what I find when trying to deal with council in reasonable manner.
It's very hard to be businesslike when things like financial transparency and general transparency on how decisions are made appears anathema to how this council works
It's a hard balancing act to be reasonable enough so council will talk to you and also ask hard but rational questions.
.
What I'm getting from posts here is that the rational behind events is that council is cash strapped and needs extra income.
What is in question is after paying for events officers, reinstating park for public use after events and Lambeths obligations as being trustees of park whether loss of space adds up economically.
And the political decision whether loss of park space is balanced by extra income for Council.
This can't be done imo without financial transparency.
And I don't mean officers telling one it does and if you ask for proof your just been told your being difficult. Thanks
Just asking as on a completely separate issue been asking council for there business plan for using another public space for income generation. Ie what is the justification that this will work. How is decision made. To be regarded as adversarial for asking.
I'm rather afraid officers don't have a clue on income generation and don't have proper business plans
Hence friends groups having problems with financial transparency.
There is no transparency problem. There isn't really a thought out financial justification for some of what council does on extra income generation
So it's not that council won't tell residents. It's that there isn't a proper plan.
Well that is my opinion for now. Really prefer to be proved wrong in future.
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urbanspaceman
Well-Known Member
FYI, here are the minutes of the Brockwell Park Partnership Board meeting on 28th August 2024.
Note: Original file removed, following Tulster218 observation about privacy in message 1,140
Note: Original file removed, following Tulster218 observation about privacy in message 1,140
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Tulster218
Well-Known Member
Here's a redacted version, with members of the public's names removed. It probably doesn't matter, but if you've told someone you're not going to publish their names, it's probably better to keep your word.
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