The Lambeth Country Show has been called off with the council claiming it can’t afford to run the event because of rising costs and amid legal issues.
In a statement issued on Saturday 6 December, Lambeth Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Donatus Anyanwu, said that “increased costs in recent years mean the council would need to fund over £1 million to run the two-day event”.
Lambeth had previously said the cost of putting on the free community event is largely covered by the proceeds it generates from the festivals organised by Brockwell Live.
Anyanwu said: “When we are reviewing every area of council spending to meet our budget gap, including vital services, we cannot take a decision that would prioritise this event above statutory services for the most vulnerable in our community.
“Protecting services for those who most need it means difficult but necessary choices like this.”
The announcement comes months after campaigners who took legal action against the council for closing off the park for the festivals each summer claimed victory in the High Court.
On 16 May, the judge said Lambeth Council had acted unlawfully by permitting parts of the park to be used as events space for 37 days of the summer without obtaining planning permission.
Most festivals in the park are part of a series organised by Brockwell Live, which hosted nine days of events this summer across two weekends between 23 May and 8 June, including Mighty Hoopla, City Splash and the Lambeth Country Show.
Lambeth previously said allowing the commercial festivals to go ahead meant it saved £700,000 from the cost of putting on the free community Lambeth Country Show.
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Following the court ruling, the council said it had issued a new certificate of lawfulness meaning the events would still be able to take place.
Campaigners from Protect Brockwell Park, who brought the initial case, said they would be launching a fresh legal challenge against the new certificate.
Lambeth Council has said all events taking place in the park will now require formal planning permission to “enable greater clarity and enable community consultation on the proposal”.
They added that the decision meant the “overall programme would cut the number of days that the events area at Brockwell Park would be used.
“Because of the new approach being taken for future events, the council has decided not to contest two outstanding legal challenges in relation to events in Brockwell Park held at the end of May and early June this year to avoid unnecessary costs to the taxpayer.”
Protect Brockwell Park said they were “delighted that Lambeth has withdrawn its legal appeal against our High Court win, and finally recognised that large-scale events in Brockwell Park must undergo full planning permission. It shouldn’t have taken expensive legal battles to realise this obvious conclusion.”
They say that the festivals in the park generate £1.8 million for the council each year, while the “loss of public amenity” during the events ranges between £0.5 million and £3.5 million.
“This raises a fundamental question: does the current model serve the public interest, or does it shift the cost of private profit onto residents, park users and the park environment?
However they questioned whether the Country Show could still have been allowed to go ahead: “We wonder if there is a different way ahead for the Lambeth Country Show. A return to its lower-impact, smaller community led format, with a greater share of the private operator’s profits used to fully fund that event.
“We expect Lambeth to urgently provide full transparency of the commercial events’ revenues, and engage in a credible, open planning process, with robust impact assessments, and effective enforcement of planning conditions.
“Only then can the interests of all park users – residents, wildlife, and event-goers – be properly balanced, and the benefit of this beautiful park be truly secure for future generations.“
