Lambeth locals expressed their dismay over the cancellation of the only free festival at Brockwell Park – despite one community group’s win in court.
The Lambeth Country Show was run annually as a free-of-charge family festival since 1974, with the area’s community at its forefront.
Aside from featuring live music, street food, and over 200 traders, the festival also created a space for local charities and community groups to engage with residents.
Windrush Triathlon Club’s marketing officer PJ Hopper said: “We’re gutted that the Country Show’s been cancelled after all these years … it’s something that has been really great for us as an opportunity.
“We could see people who wouldn’t always think to come and see us, come and chat to us, to let them know that we’re there.”
Prior to its cancellation, the Triathlon Club had promoted its TriFit program at the country show, and it was where they tended to get most of their participants.
“Our bike rides start here. Our social runs start here. Brockwell Park is our home,” he added.
As a Brixton-based club focused on the social side of sports, the club saw the Country Show as a rare opportunity to be physically present in the community.
Other Lambeth residents shared the sentiment, stating somewhere for communities was needed rather than just money-making ventures.
However, a lack of funds was precisely why the council cancelled the Country Show.
Lambeth Council said it has to find more than £84million of savings in the next four years, and subsidising the event to be free-of-charge was “not justifiable at this time.”
This isn’t the first instance where the council has struggled to raise money for community spaces as just last month, a charity had to be set up to avoid losing Brockwell Lido.
The lido was on the verge of shutdown due to poor maintenance, and financial challenges faced by previous operator Fusion Lifestyle.
At the Brockwell Lido Users Extraordinary General Meeting last month, chair Ben Longman announced a new charity has been established with trustees in place.
As reported by Brixton Buzz, Longman said: “It’s a difficult conversation to ask Lambeth for money for leisure. It requires a community-level approach.”
While community groups such as Protect Brockwell Park (PBP) and Friends of Brockwell Park have been established, PBP’s High Court challenge against the council last year did not yield much result.
The court ruled in favor of PBP, deeming Lambeth Council’s decision to lawfully certify the planned use of land for festivals in Brockwell Park as irrational.
This required the council to adhere to the allotted 28 days for a temporary change of use in the park, which led to expectations of fewer commercial festivals.
In a PBP statement last year, actor Mark Rylance said: “Brockwell Park will be open to all for free again this summer.
“Now let’s help revive the beloved Lambeth country fair as it used to be, open to all.”
Regarding the cancellation of the country show, a spokesperson for Lambeth Council said it was balancing the desire to hold events which celebrates the borough’s diverse culture, while reducing the total number of event days to lessen the impact on locals.
Jazz, funk and soul festival Cross The Tracks is still set to be held in Brockwell Park on 10 May.
Featured image: Punita Chan
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