2,000 people demand council takes back space used for festivals on a common

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents have demanded the council plant 280 trees on a popular greenspace and grab back the area from events like funfairs and raves.

More than 2,000 people have signed a petition calling on Lambeth council to support plans for a six-acre wood on Clapham Common.

The new trees would reduce the size of the current open event site by a third and create a horseshoe-shaped barrier between the event space and the rest of the Common.

Friends of Clapham Common, a charity that works to improve the 210-acre greenspace, said the trees would stop private events cutting across public footpaths.

The trees would act as “living air-conditioning units” that would help cool the common, the group added.

A petition launched by the charity reads: “The current size of commercial events has caused significant problems for the local community and deep divisions with the council.”

The group added that Clapham Common has the lowest tree-canopy cover of all the local commons in southwest London.

The trees would provide “essential shade” to allow people to continue enjoying the Common during hot summer months in future years, it said.

A drought-resistant species native to England would be chosen in order to prevent the loss of tree cover in the future as climate change likely brings less rainfall.

The council is currently embroiled in a battle to allow temporary fencing and stages to be put up on the Common for a music festival that organiser Festival Republic wants to hold next year.

A government inspector will make a decision on the application following an inquiry due to be held in June.

Last year the council apologised after local government watchdog, the Ombudsman, found it allowed a series of Festival Republic events to take place on the Common over the 2021 August bank holiday weekend without getting the government’s permission.

Festival Republic’s Clapham Common Summer 2021 was made up of three one-day music festivals, devoted to Afrobeats, drum and bass and hip-hop/rock, respectively.

Other events to take place on the Common in recent years include funfairs and dance music festivals.

A Lambeth council spokesperson said: “The council is aware of these proposals and is in discussions with local people about them. Lambeth is committed to planting new trees.

“We have just completed a 600-tree winter planting programme and committed to planting 5,000 new trees across the borough by 2026 as part of ongoing efforts to improve air quality, cut flood risk and improve neighbourhoods.

“We have invested heavily in Clapham Common, partly using income from holding events there.

“Events also boost income for local businesses, give people the chance to enjoy themselves and build on the tradition that has seen music events held on Clapham Common for decades.”

Pictured top: Clapham Common fenced off during a previous event (Picture: LDR Grainne Cuffe)