Brockwell Park festivals Field Day, Wide Awake, more to go ahead despite high court ruling

Festivals scheduled to take place in London’s Brockwell Park this summer will go ahead as planned.

Brockwell Live, which hosts a series of live music events including Field Day, Wide Awake and Mighty Hoopla, confirmed today (19th May) that “no event will be cancelled” despite a High Court ruling made against Lambeth Council last week. The ruling came after local campaign group Protect Brockwell Park won a legal challenge that claimed the events did not have correct planning permissions take place.

The campaign had sought to prevent the “interruption” caused by the “protracted large-scale unsustainable events”, which are scheduled to commence from this Friday 23rd May. On Friday (16th May), Rebekah Shaman — a member of the campaign PBD group — won the court case against Lambeth Council. In what is being called The Battle of Brockwell Park, Shaman argued that planning permission was required to change the use of the park for more than the allotted 28 days per calendar year. The Brockwell Park festivals take place over the course of 37 days.

As the Guardian reports, high court judge Mr Justice Mould ruled that the council’s decision to grant the certificate to the festival organisers was “irrational”. Mould said Lambeth Council should not have allowed the construction of the Brockwell Park festival site without following the process of planning permission.

TheBBC reports that Brockwell Live’s parent company Summer Events Ltd has now applied for a new 24-day certificate following the High Court ruling. A statement from a Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “The council is urgently considering that application. That consideration does not stop the events proceeding.”

In its statement, Brockwell Live wrote: “Friday’s High Court ruling dealt with a particular point of law and whether an administrative process had been carried out correctly. We wish to make it clear that no event will be cancelled as a result of the High Court’s decision.”

It continued: “We take our stewardship of Brockwell Park seriously. As we prepare to deliver these much-loved, culturally significant events, we remain fully committed to its care, upkeep, and long-term wellbeing. With setup nearly complete, we look forward to opening the gates and welcoming festival goers later this week.”

In response to the news that all festivals would be going ahead, Protect Brockwell Park has issued its own statement: “We’re taking legal advice as to next steps. It seems to us BL are carrying on regardless, and Lambeth are allowing them to do that. This is exactly what Lambeth have been repeatedly criticised for, by us and others (eg LTN judgement). This whole thing started because Lambeth refused to go through a planning process, do proper assessments and allow proper scrutiny, and instead issued legal certificates last minute to try to shut us out.”

Last week, multiple DJs withdrew from the line-up of Field Day London over its ties to the global investment firm KKR, the parent company of its owner, Superstruct Entertainment. The move came in the wake of the BDS Movement’s call for a boycott of the festival last week after organisers made no public response to an open letter urging Field Day to distance itself from KKR.