London borough threatened with fresh judicial review over Brockwell Park events

The park is due to host a five-day music festival next month after the London borough approved an application for the event.

However, the residents’ group that successfully challenged a previous scheme is now threatening further legal action.

At the High Court in May 2025, Protect Brockwell Park successfully challenged the council’s reliance on permitted development rights to authorise commercial events in the park.

The authority initially sought to appeal that ruling but withdrew its challenge less than a week before the scheduled Court of Appeal hearing.

It subsequently resolved to seek planning permission for future events in the park and announced that one of the park's yearly fixtures - the Lambeth Country Show - would not take place in 2026.

Planning permission has since been granted for the ‘Brockwell Live’ festival to take place next month.

Protect Brockwell Park has alleged that the decision was based on “flawed reasoning, missing evidence, and vague environmental promises”.

The group also claimed that key information was not provided to the public or planning committee and that the council failed properly to address protections applying to Metropolitan Open Land.

In a statement published on its website, the group said: “We consider that a large, commercial, ticketed festival is being treated as if it were an ordinary use of a protected public park.

“The harm of fencing off and intensively exploiting a significant area of Brockwell Park is downplayed, with reliance on wildlife and biodiversity promises that neither prevent the damage nor were properly secured.

"We say that councillors and residents were not given the full picture: key reports, specialist input, and the questionable basis for claimed economic benefits were not properly shared in advance. In addition, we believe some of the supposed "public benefits" should not have been considered in a planning decision at all."

The group has raised more than £5,000 as part of a crowd funding effort launched this week.

A Lambeth Council spokesperson said planning permission for the event was granted following a consultation that allowed all interested parties, stakeholders and residents to comment and all relevant planning considerations were fully assessed.

The council added: “We are disappointed that another challenge has been received this year, as the request for full planning permission for events in Brockwell Park was made during previous legal challenges.

“As custodian of the park, the council believes granting of permission to use the park space balances the desire to hold events which bring joy to hundreds of thousands of people and celebrates our borough’s diverse culture, while reducing the impact on local people and respecting the park's habitat.

“We now await next steps in the court process.”

Adam Carey