London borough abandons Court of Appeal permitted development rights bid

Lambeth Council has said it will no longer pursue an appeal of a High Court judgment that found the London borough’s use of permitted development rights to approve a series of live events in Brockwell Park was unlawful.

Local Government Lawyer reported that the London borough has also committed to seeking planning permission for future events in the park and announced that one of the park’s yearly fixtures – the Lambeth Country Show – will not take place in 2026.

The decision comes after a series of legal challenges over the council’s approach to approving events in the park.

Protect Brockwell Park launched a judicial review challenge over the planned events in April this year, complaining that they fenced off large sections of the park, disturbed wildlife, and compacted the soil.

They argued that a decision notice, which said plans for five live music events fell under permitted development rights, was unlawful.

In May, a High Court judge ruled that Lambeth Council had acted unlawfully and irrationally because the commercial events would occupy the park for 37 days, exceeding the temporary change of use 28-day limit under permitted development.

Lambeth Council subsequently appealed this decision to the Court of Appeal. However, the council withdrew its appeal less than a week before the hearing was due to take place.

In a statement issued on Friday (5 December), a Lambeth Council spokesperson said it is changing its plans for park events in May and June next year, partly due to financial pressures.

It said the £1m subsidy that the council would need to provide for the Lambeth Country Show could not be justified in light of its need to find £84m in savings over the next four years.

The statement added:

“Because of the new approach being taken for future events, the council has decided not to contest two outstanding legal challenges in relation to events in Brockwell Park held at the end of May and early June this year to avoid unnecessary costs to the taxpayer.

“To enable greater clarity about the status of future major events and enable community consultation on the proposal, an application will be submitted to seek planning permission for the major events planned in the park in 2026.

“The application will be considered by the local planning authority in line with statutory processes.”

Responding to the council’s decision, a spokesperson for Protect Brockwell Park said:

“Protect Brockwell Park is delighted that Lambeth has withdrawn its appeal against our High Court win, and finally recognised that large-scale events in Brockwell Park must undergo full planning permission. It shouldn’t have taken expensive legal battles to realise this obvious conclusion.”

It added: “We expect Lambeth to urgently provide full transparency of the commercial events’ revenues, and engage in a credible, open planning process, with robust impact assessments, and effective enforcement of planning conditions.

“Only then can the interests of all park users – residents, wildlife, and event-goers – be properly balanced, and the benefit of this beautiful park be truly secure for future generations.”