The events area in Brockwell Park, hosted the free community event, the Lambeth Country Show on June 8 and June 9, welcoming more than 120,000 people, as well as six ticketed events at the end of May and the beginning of June. Heavy rain during one event impacted some sections of the grass.
Those areas are now being repaired, and the rest of the area used for events is being re-opened to the public. The works are being paid for by Brockwell Live who hosted the events and ran the Lambeth Country Show in partnership with the council.
Running the Lambeth Country Show in partnership saved the council £700,000 and helped keep it as a free community event. Another £200,000 from the partnership is being invested in Brockwell Park for works to restore a Victorian clocktower, wooden shelter restoration and other landscaping projects. These are some of the direct and indirect financial benefits that the festival season brings to the park.
The time scales for the grass to grow back depends on the weather, but some initial repairs are expected to take two weeks while more intensive replanting work should be completed for the school summer holidays.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “The downpour at the end of May had an impact on parts of the event site, but our event partner worked hard to prevent further damage and we have been assessing the site ever since so any repair work needed could start once the Lambeth Country Show had ended.
“The vast majority of the park is now fully re-opened, while some sections have been fenced off so we can prepare the ground for re-seeding and allow the grass to regrow. Events in Brockwell Park were moved to earlier in the year to avoid holding them during the summer school holidays when it is busiest. Unfortunately, the very wet spring we’ve just had did impact the ground.
“But we are confident that the work now underway will minimise the impact on the park, restore any affected areas and ensure Brockwell can be enjoyed by residents over the summer and beyond. We will be sharing regular updates with the community as this work progresses.”
Brockwell Live are due to hold a rescheduled Brockwell Bounce children’s festival during the school summer holidays on a date to be confirmed.
Lambeth Council puts £500,000 a year into maintaining Brockwell Park which has won numerous awards including a Green Flag given by Keep Britain Tidy in line with the international standard for high quality parks and green spaces as well as several London in Bloom awards.
