Campaigner wins legal challenge over use of Brockwell Park

A campaigner has won a High Court challenge over the use of a south London park for music festivals this summer.

Brockwell Park, near Herne Hill, is due to host a series of events which are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people, such as the Mighty Hoopla.

Local resident and Protect Brockwell Park member Rebekah Shaman took court action over a planning law which only allows a change in use of a park for 28 days each year without additional planning consent.

Ruling in her favour, a judge found that parts of the park would be used for the events for 37 days. Lambeth Council has been approached for comment.

The judge, Mr Justice Mould said his ruling was only about the lawfulness of the council’s decision to grant permission for the additional days – a decision he described as “irrational”.

Lawyers for Lambeth Council and festival organisers Summer Events Limited both asked for permission to challenge his decision but the judge refused.

However, they are still able to ask the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the decision directly.

Richard Harwood KC, for Ms Shaman, had argued that Brockwell Park had “increasingly” been used for large commercial events in recent years, with “substantial” parts of the park being fenced off from the public during the events with damage caused to the ground.

“Due to inclement weather over the weekend of one of the commercial events, the park effectively became a mud bath,” Mr Harwood added, referring to one event last year.

Matthew Reed KC, for Lambeth Council, said the “majority” of the park remained unfenced and available for the public to use during the events.

He also said that the council was able to lawfully decide how often the park was used for festivals and would grant special permission if needed.

However, Mr Justice Mould found in his ruling that Lambeth Council’s planning officer had “erred in taking into account the mere prospect of planning permission being granted”.

The Protect Brockwell Park group has previously said it was “not anti-festival” and supported “well-run, inclusive events” but feared they caused damage to grassland and trees.

The group said in a statement: “These large-scale, high-impact commercial festivals are damaging Brockwell Park’s ecology, heritage and community value.

“The park is being overused and under-protected.”