A number of festivals at London’s Brockwell Park “will go ahead as planned”, organiser Brockwell Live has confirmed, despite a high court ruling against Lambeth Council last week.
The status of the events – including Field Day, Wide Awake and Cross The Tracks – had been put in doubt after a high court in London ruled in favour of local residents group Protect Brockwell Park, which raised over £40,000 last month for a judicial review of Lambeth Council’s approval of the festivals. Calling the events “unlawful”, the group argued that large areas of the park were left inaccessible to people for too long due to added construction time of the festivals.
They also called for “full public consultations, evidence-based impact assessments and proper evaluation of the long-term impact on the park”, pointing to the environmental impact that the events might have on the area. The construction of the festivals was already underway when the high court ruling, which called Lambeth Council’s approval of the events “irrational” and illegal, was confirmed.
In a statement confirming the events will still take place, Brockwell Live said: “Friday’s high court ruling dealt with a particular point of law and whether an administrative process had been carried out correctly. We wish to make it clear that no event will be cancelled as a result of the high court’s decision.”
Responding to this, Protect Brockwell Park said: “We’re taking legal advice as to next steps. It seems to us BL are carrying on regardless, and Lambeth are allowing them to do that. This is exactly what Lambeth have been repeatedly criticised for, by us and others. This whole thing started because Lambeth refused to go through a planning process, do proper assessments and allow proper scrutiny, and instead issued legal certificates last minute to try to shut us out.”
The Brockwell Park festivals will get underway this weekend with Wide Awake (May 23), Field Day (May 24), Cross The Tracks (May 25) and City Splash (May 26).
