Four festivals took place in London’s Brockwell Park this weekend after Lambeth Council issued new paperwork at the very last minute certifying that the events could legally proceed, just a week after the high court cancelled another similar certificate that the local authority had previously provided.
However, the controversy over the festivals contines. As the first of those four festivals, Wide Awake, got underway on Friday, the Protect Brockwell Park campaign group put out a new statement saying that they had “repeatedly conveyed our concerns” about the number of festivals being staged in Brockwell Park, but “our voices have fallen on deaf ears”.
The new certificate was issued “in a different context and format”, the local authority insisted, meaning the issues raised in the high court earlier this month no longer applied. But the local residents who took the matter to court in the first place have already begun new legal proceedings, claiming that the council's sneaky “legal manoeuvres” are “undermining public trust in the justice system”.
Using last minute under-hand legal tactics “to silence concerned community voices is not the answer”, the campaign group added, insisting that the new certificate didn’t deal with the issues raised in court, and was a “fudge” and “an attempt to create the appearance of legality”.
All of which means the legal battle between angry local residents and the local authority will continue, even though half of the festivals that make up the event series called Brockwell Live have already happened. Indeed, that legal battle will probably continue well beyond the completion of Brockwell Live 2025 on 8 Jun, with campaigners now more likely focused on what happens in their local park in 2026.
If Protect Brockwell Park’s legal action ultimately succeeds and forces a rethink by Lambeth Council over the use of the park for major events in the future, residents living near some of London’s other parks where festivals now routinely take place might be prompted to pursue similar litigation.
On a web page where PBP is raising funds to pay for ongoing legal action, one person pledging money said that “Friends of Finsbury Park are joining in the fight right now”. Which could mean that a number of long-established London festivals may struggle to get licences in 2026, forcing them to pack up shop and move out of the capital.
With the Brockwell Park dispute now getting so much attention, there is increased debate over whether or not the local residents behind this and other campaigns are just a bunch of Karens and NIMBYs trying to ruin everyone else’s summer funtimes.
Or maybe having so many London parks become festival venues every summer was never that good an idea to start with, and everyone living in London should be forced to go to Glastonbury, or travel to festivals in other rural settings where there are only cows to complain
The PBP campaign objects to a significant portion of Brockwell Park being closed off for several weeks each summer to allow various commercial festivals to take place ahead of the council’s own Lambeth Country Show. They argue that the events cause too much disruption and damage to the park, which is incredibly important for local residents, 60% of whom live in flats without access to a private garden.
The council counters that the festivals bring in revenue that is used to help manage the park and also provide the infrastructure used by the Country Show. And there are plenty of local residents who have argued in favour of the Brockwell Live programme, because of the varied mix of events it offers.
Nevertheless, more than 3000 local residents signed a petition organised by PBP against Brockwell Live, while nearly £50,000 has been raised from 995 donors through crowd funding to finance legal action.
That litigation involved taking the council to court on the basis it had incorrectly employed a legal principle set out in the Town And Country Planning Act in order to allow the festivals to go ahead without undertaking a full planning permission process.
The principle of ‘statutory permitted development rights’ allows the temporary repurposing of a property, for example turning a park into a festival venue, for up to 28 days in any one year.
The certificate originally issued by Lambeth Council stated that those rights applied in the case of Brockwell Live, meaning promoters did not need to go through a full planning process, which would involve more scrutiny on the impact of the events on the park and the local area.
PBP argued that, when set up time for the festivals is taken into account, Brockwell Park is out of action for more than 28 days each year, which means ‘statutory permitted development rights’ cannot apply.
A judge in the high court agreed, cancelling the certificate Lambeth Council originally issued. On the back of that court decision, organisers of Brockwell Live put in an amended application covering 24 days, and later the same week the new certificate was issued, the evening before Wide Awake took place.
Local residents have also criticised the council for issuing the original certificate very late in the day, meaning that a judge couldn’t rule on their legal claim until a week before the festivals were due to start. The council then had to rush the issuing of an amended certificate, meaning there wasn’t time for PBP to take that decision to court before the festivals began.
When issuing the new certificate, the council said that local residents were in fact “able to comment on the application, with the opportunity to make representations during this week”. The certificate, it added, “confirms that the use of part of the park for the summer events is lawful” and therefore “the events in Brockwell Park are proceeding”.
It then concluded by acknowledging the legal battle with local residents, stating, “the application for the new certificate of lawfulness follows the high court ruling last week on the previous certificate which was submitted in a different context and format”.
On Friday morning, PBP announced it had begun legal action in relation to the second certificate, stating “we have just issued a pre-action protocol letter to start judicial review proceedings”. The campaign has also vowed to fight any attempt by Lambeth Council to appeal the judgement made on the original certificate.
“As festivals take place this weekend, we hope everyone enjoys them”, the campaigners said in a statement. “Meanwhile, we’ll be preparing to face Lambeth in court”.
“We remain open to dialogue and would welcome the opportunity to sit down with industry representatives and Lambeth Council to find a constructive way forward”, the campaign group added, but said the local authority had so far refused to pursue that approach.
As for the council’s issuing of a second certificate for Brockwell Live, “it undermines public trust in the justice system when a clear court ruling can be so brazenly disregarded. We have a strong judgment, we are confident, and we will keep fighting”.
Although PBP’s ongoing legal action isn't likely to affect this year’s Brockwell Live, it could as yet have an impact on festivals taking place in Brockwell Park in future years.
And given local residents around some of the other London parks that are used by music festivals each summer, especially Finsbury Park, have likewise objected to that activity, they might look to follow PBP's lead in pursuing legal action if it ultimately has tangible results.