Event cancelled after park 'churned up' by festivals

Francesca Ratnatunga and Luke Heslop say the festivals are fun for their family but question where the profit goes

A free community event in a south London park was cancelled on Wednesday after four bank holiday weekend festivals left the site "churned up" and muddy.

Brockwell Park, in Lambeth, hosted four day festivals over the weekend and was due to host family-friendly Brockwell Bounce on Wednesday.

Brockwell Live, which organises the series of park events, said it was implementing "additional ground protection" before the Mighty Hoopla on 1 and 2 June and Lambeth Country Show on 8 and 9 June.

Lambeth Council says there is "an agreement" that any repairs are paid for by Brockwell Live, adding the local authority puts £500,000 a year into park maintenance.

Brockwell Live hosted four festivals at the park from Friday to Monday - Project 6, Wide Awake, Cross The Tracks and City Splash.

Peter Bradley, chair of Friends of Brockwell Park, said the festivals cause "long term" damage

Peter Bradley, chair of Friends of Brockwell Park, said the green space had seen "long-term" damage from the summer festivals.

"Nature takes a long time to recover," he said. "The damage to the ground from these vehicle movements, these thousands and thousands of people is long term.

He said Lambeth Council "see pound signs".

"It's not the best that Brockwell Park can be, it's the worst."

A local resident, who did not want to be named, added: "I'm a musician and I don't think this is okay. The ground is just ruined.

"This is our local community space and I think community spaces have got to stop being used so frequently for these money-making events."

Brockwell Park in south London has been hosting a series of day festivals

'Churned up'

One family told BBC London they had been given free tickets to City Splash because of how close they lived to the park.

"Honestly it's quite fun, if we can get free residents tickets then that's great," Francesca Ratnatunga said.

She added that while they supported the events in the park, they were concerned about the environmental impact.

"It was a bit of a mud festival," Luke Heslop said. "It's kind of got all churned up."

"I would really like to know where the revenue that's come in goes in the borough."

Local resident Selfet Kryeziu said she supported the events in the park.

"It's once a year, it's multi-cultures and I really like it," she said. "We're excited to come next week. I think this is a good idea."

Selfet Kryeziu says having festivals in the park is "really exciting"

A spokesperson for Brockwell Live said: "Following heavy rain during Monday’s City Splash festival, areas of the Brockwell Live event site became wet and muddy.

"Organisers have already begun implementing additional ground protection measures to ensure the safety and enjoyment of visitors and staff at the upcoming Mighty Hoopla and Lambeth Country Show events.

"The team are currently laying woodchip and installing 20,000 square metres of additional materials across the site, including at entrances and stages."

The site was described as "muddy and not fit for use" by Brockwell Bounce

They added: "Unfortunately, due to the condition of the park, it was not possible to go ahead with [the] Brockwell Bounce event."

The spokesperson added Brockwell Live would fund "the reinstatement of the park" "with the aim of returning the majority of the site to the community as soon as possible".

"Organisers apologise for the disruption that this will undoubtedly cause," they added.

"Further updates will be made directly to the community and to ticket holders through the coming days."

Restoring the park is the responsibility of event organiser Brockwell Live

Lambeth Council said: "The council is currently reviewing the impacts of the rainy conditions on further events planned in Brockwell Park during the rest of May and early June.

"There is an agreement that any repairs needed to the park will be paid for by the event’s organiser, not Lambeth Council."