Festivals to go ahead despite court ruling

BROCKWELL Live's series of festivals will not be cancelled despite last week's High Court ruling, the organisers announced on Monday, May 19.

- By LEONIE BENHAMOUCHE

Each year Brockwell Park in Lambeth hosts a series of festivals including this Friday's Wide Awake and Mighty Hoopla, attracting hundreds of thousands of people.

But Rebekah Shaman, who lives in the area and is a member of the Protect Brockwell Park group, successfully brought legal action against the council over the use of parts of the park for the festivals, due to begin this Friday (May 23). She challenged the authority's decision to permit the events, claiming additional planning consent was needed to change the use of the park for more than 28 days annually.

In a decision last Friday (May 16), Mr Justice Mould ruled in Ms Shaman's favour, finding that the green space was being used for up to 37 days a year for the festivals. But despite this, the all the events will still go ahead.