🌟 We Won - But Now We Must Defend That Win 🌟

🙏🏽 Thank you to the 800+ people who supported our original CrowdJustice campaign. Together, we achieved something extraordinary: a landmark High Court judgment that sent a clear message - Lambeth Council’s use of permitted development rights to bypass scrutiny via a planning application for major commercial events in Brockwell Park was unlawful in this case.

🌳 This ruling set a vital precedent for the protection of public green spaces across the UK. 

💪🏽 But our fight isn’t over.

Despite the High Court ruling, Lambeth has:

• Issued a second certificate to allow commercial events to continue - we think this is unlawful, brazenly repeating the same legal error and defying the court’s clear judgment;
• Launched an appeal against the High Court ruling on what we think are spurious and misleading grounds; and
• Acted as though the judgment never happened, letting Brockwell Live go ahead this summer without taking proper account of the ruling.

This is a blatant attempt to undermine the rule of law and dodge proper planning scrutiny. If we don't act, the hard-fought judgment you helped to secure could be rendered meaningless.

That’s why we must go to court again.

⚖️ What This Case Is About - and Why It Matters

Lambeth Council is now trying to undermine the clear and important judgment we won by misrepresenting the basis of the judge’s decision.

We believe this is a deliberate effort to muddy the waters and avoid accountability. If we don’t challenge it, they - and councils across the country - could keep using the same approach year after year.

Let’s be clear: this campaign is not about stopping events in Brockwell Park. We know many people value the community and cultural benefits they bring. What we are fighting for is something far more basic and democratic: that these events follow proper planning procedures. This isn’t just a "technicality"; proper planning means the events have to be subject to mandatory impact assessments, public consultation, disclosure and scrutiny of key information such as event /ground/traffic management plans, all of which Lambeth and the organisers seek to avoid for these huge private events by using permitted development instead. 

🗣️ This second judicial review (and resisting their appeal) is our opportunity to:

• Block the loophole Lambeth is trying to create;
• Make the original judgment watertight;
• Protect Brockwell Park and other UK parks for the future.

We are advised that we have a strong case, and we are confident of success - if we can fund it.

💰 What We’ve Already Spent - and Why We’ve Started a New CrowdJustice Page

🔁 We’re closing the original fundraiser - not because the case is finished, but because we've spent those funds winning our case and Lambeth Council is now trying to sidestep the judgment we all fought so hard to win. 

The original £50,000 raised has been fully spent on:

• Covering the legal costs from our first successful judicial review, bearing in mind that at the date of launch we have not yet been paid the £35,000 by Lambeth that we were awarded in costs under the 'Aarhus' scheme, and which cannot cover the full litigation costs
• Initial legal work resisting Lambeth’s appeal; and
• Submitting the second judicial review claim, challenging the new certificate.

💪🏽 How You Can Help

We’re not a campaign of wealthy donors. In fact, the average donation last time was under £50 - less than the price of a single festival ticket.

If each of you who supported us last time gave just £20 again, we could cover the next crucial stage of this fight. But PLEASE PLEASE GIVE MORE IF YOU CAN - and make the legal protections we’ve won as secure as possible.

This is our chance to protect our park, our judgment, and our right to hold public authorities to account.

Please:

• Donate whatever you can
• Share this page widely
• Help us keep up the pressure

We’ve come so far together. Let’s finish what we started.

Thank you so much 🙏🏽

Protect Brockwell Park

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