Author: Lizzie O'Grady

Summer is a great time for escaping  out in to your local green space and firing up a BBQ. There is always something special about the smell and taste of food cooked on an open fire, and a sense of freedom if you don’t have a garden to host your own. However, Lambeth Council do not allow BBQs in any of their green spaces. Far from being killjoys, there are good reason’s for why.

The single use BBQ you can buy in your local supermarket is one of the most destructive things you can bring to a green space.

You may think you are leaving just a little bit of  burnt grass in a huge field. But multiply that space fiftyfold, you have a patchwork of depressing black patches. The grass doesn’t grow back in full for at least 6 months.

But aside from leaving unsightly dead patches, they also burn delicate flora that is buried between the grass. Small but important plants help support a diverse population of insects, butterflies and birds. Once burnt away these plants struggle to regrow under the ever expanding grass. So our butterfly, bee and insect population have one less place to forage, one less place to pollinate. They are all part of our food chain.

And after the BBQ’s are finished with – they are rarely discarded in a responsible manner. Left for dogs and children to discover –  the tin trays are sharp, and the charcoal gets scattered, making a space unusable to sit upon. The fire risk is real. The fire brigade have been called on a number of occasions. So what might seem like an enjoyable day out with a group of friends, enjoying freshly cooked food and drinks, leaves a trail of destruction on our environment. 

And single use BBQ’s are just that – Single use. Another throwaway item for the landfill, at a time when we are all becoming aware of our first world rubbish is having on the rest of the world.

Even BBQ’s on legs are not acceptable because who would ever think to bring their burnt offerings home? So we have to be very clear. BBQ and fires cannot occur on the Common. 

As BBQ’s come under Lambeth Bylaws [fires], there is a fine:  £500.

The noise nuisance, pollution & anti-social dept of Lambeth Council will respond to calls.
020 7926 5999 – office hours.
020 7926 1000 – after 5pm & weekends.
999 for any fire.

As we are all becoming more aware of our environment and our impact on it, it is worth knowing that 90% of charcoal is imported into this country. And it is coming from countries where the impact of deforestation is causing problems to those local populations and climate change. So if there is one thing you feel you can do for your planet – don’t bring your BBQ to your local greenspace.

Our parks are dealing with horrendous cuts, and it is a constant battle to keep our parks usable, clean and safe. Only 4 London Councils do allow BBQs. They have designated spaces, some you have to book a slot. But this means having good management and administration which needs a budget – and there lies the problem.

Please be respectful of our request not to hold BBQs anywhere on the common. A large part of Streatham Common is a designated nature reserve and needs our protection.

Members of FoSC attended the feedback and consultation session held by We Are The Fair Ltd with regard to the Kisstory on the Common event 27th & 28th July 2019.

Whilst the organisers, year on year, have put in place restricted parking, increased security and additional toilet facilities around the immediate area, this has only been been in response to points raised by residents and users of Streatham Common during the yearly licensing hearings . But ultimately we feel the council’s overall responsibility to supporting the common during and post-event falls very short of dealing with long term environmental problems, but also with that of the general peace and ambience of the surrounding Common.

Therefore, FoSC has objections to the license on the following points:

• Damage to the lower Common never adequately repaired. The common now has multiple ground cover and problems which has had no time to recover over 4 years, from a number of events and compounded by large events. A build up of small litter items such as cigarette butts, bottletops, nitrous oxide canisters. Deep holes and scars etc are left unfixed as they are not checked sufficiently soon enough after the events.

• A very large section of the usable area of the Common is unavailable to the public for nearly 2 weeks.

• The Common is not large enough for such events with sound carrying up into the wooded areas and into Norwood Grove [depending on the wind direction].

• Noise levels are unacceptable with homes less than 100m from the stage yet noise levels are monitored over 400m away.

• The event is not run for the benefit of local people or for the Common but instead run entirely for the profit of the council and at the expense of the Common.

• No transparency on the deal between the council and the events company; the initial agreement was to put 1/3 of the profit back into the Common but this agreement has now disappeared.

• Parking & traffic is severely disrupted from the start of set up to final take down. [10 day period]. Traffic during the event is a nightmare in the area.

• Rubbish in the surrounding streets is never cleared, in spite of the organisers paying the council for clearance. It can be up to 5 days for debris to be removed, with roads leading further away from the common left untouched by cleaners.

• Anti social behaviour by festival goers for the duration of the event; Drugs are openly sold, there is Urination (and worse) in the surrounding streets. The police presence that the organisers pay for is clearly not enough to cover these problems.

If you have an opinion on any issues arising from licensing this particular event, please respond by Thursday 21st March 2019

If you wish to make an objection, the License for this particular event is being handled by tdunn@lambeth.gov.uk

You can also email licensing@lambeth.gov.uk

Click here for a direct link to the Comment on a licence application form

As we have said before, it is not a personal issue with the organisers, who have positively reached out to us this year, nor is it an objection to the music – it is purely the sheer size, disruption and ensuing environmental problems to the Common’s space that makes this type of event unsustainable.

Following up from the Lambeth 2020 vision, which has proved problematic & controversial for many residents who value their green space, a new consultation is up for public engagement.

The consultation is open to comments from 11 March to 5 May 2019. Please click here for link

We cannot stress how important it is that everyone who uses a local green space in Lambeth, not just Streatham Common, responds to this consultation.

There is  increased public awareness on how the council needs to be more transparent and accountable to ordinary users of green spaces and local volunteer groups, like the Friends of Streatham Common. These are the people who end up trying to manage the aftermath associated with heavy intense use of the spaces as well as litter and environmental issues. We need to challenge how open spaces are being used for events that provide little return to the surrounding community but maximum damage and disruption.

Whilst we are sympathetic that our council has had to endure severe funding cuts, the current Parks Investment Levy (PIL) charged to private companies using parks and open spaces is not fit for purpose, nor is it transparent.

Friends of Streatham Common is pressing for a fallow year allowing the ground to rest [much like Glastonbury does from time to time]. We still have damage from a large music event held four years ago, and the ground has not yet recovered from the circus in March 2018 which churned up a major part of the lower Common in spite of local residents and FoSC members pleading with them to cease moving in heavy mud. So extreme was the damage, it meant that other events, including free community events such as Kite Day, had to be postponed. In order for the common to be environmentally stable, to regain some balance it needs a break.

We need to ensure that better planning is put in place by officials, that decisions made for financial gain should properly benefit the surrounding community, and that there is a more hands on approach as to when and how these events are licensed.

Please consider responding to the council with your opinion. Please give examples if you can. It can make all the difference.