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BBCA campaigner has received a High Court problem over using a south London park for tune fairs this summer season.
Lambeth Council has approved Brockwell Park, close to Herne Hill, to host a sequence of occasions, such because the Mighty Hoopla, that are anticipated to draw masses of hundreds of other people.
Local resident Rebekah Shaman took felony motion, arguing that council didn’t have the right kind making plans permission – with a pass judgement on ruling in her favour.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson stated: “We are currently assessing the impact of this judgment and determining next steps.”
Ms Shaman’s argument centred round making plans regulations prohibiting a transformation of use of parks for greater than 28 days every yr with out further making plans consent.
Presiding over the case, Mr Justice Mould discovered that portions of the park could be used for those occasions for as many as 37 days.
The pass judgement on stated his ruling was once handiest in regards to the lawfulness of the council’s resolution to grant permission for the extra days – a call he described as “irrational”.
Ms Shaman advised BBC London: “We are feeling elated, it’s been a long time coming. It’s regrettable we had to take Lambeth Council to court; it isn’t what we wanted to do but we felt they were not engaging with us.
“This has been occurring for years, it is not a one-off state of affairs and it’s been a constant deterioration of the park, to the purpose the place the group needed to discuss up to offer protection to the park for long run generations.”
She added: “We are hoping to return to an settlement the place occasions can nonetheless proceed, however on a miles decrease stage and in addition a lot more hooked up to the group.”
Lawyers for Lambeth Council and festival organisers Summer Events Limited both asked for permission to challenge his decision but the judge refused.
However, they are still able to ask the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the decision directly.
PA MediaThe Academy Award-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance, who has supported the campaign, described the ruling as “glorious information”.
Emily, in Brockwell Park, told BBC London: “I believe the result’s good. I’ve been going to the competition for lots of a yr, alternatively the destruction of the park afterwards is lovely dangerous… I’m wholeheartedly in reality happy.”
Matt, who has lived in the area for the past 12 years, said: “I’m in reality proud of the result as a result of it is a win for the area people who have been combating Lambeth Council for a very long time.”
However, local resident Lucy told BBC London: “I believe it is good to deliver fairs to Brockwell Park, I believe it is a nice birthday celebration of tradition, we want to give alternatives to younger other people and we want to stay artwork alive.”
Richard Harwood KC, for Ms Shaman, had argued that Brockwell Park had “more and more” been used for large commercial events in recent years, with “really extensive” parts of the park being fenced off from the public during the events with damage caused to the ground.
“Due to inclement climate over the weekend of probably the most business occasions, the park successfully turned into a mudbath,” Mr Harwood added, referring to one event last year.
Matthew Reed KC, for Lambeth Council, said the “majority” of the park remained unfenced and available for the public to use during the events.
He also said that the council was able to lawfully decide how often the park was used for festivals and would grant special permission if needed.
However, Mr Justice Mould found in his ruling that Lambeth Council’s planning officer had “erred in bearing in mind the mere prospect of making plans permission being granted”.
The Protect Brockwell Park group has previously said it is “now not anti-festival” and supports “well-run, inclusive occasions”.
The group said in a statement: “These large-scale, high-impact business fairs are destructive Brockwell Park’s ecology, heritage and group price.
“The park is being overused and under-protected.”
Additional reporting by way of Frankie McCamley and Barry Caffrey
