Earlier this year, Labour-run Wandsworth Council proposed to host 10,000-person events in King George’s Park, Wandsworth Common and Tooting Bec Common. This was an attempt to commercialise the green spaces and make up for their overspending elsewhere. The scale of the plans rightly caused widespread concern as we've seen other councils damage their parks in a similar way and close them to local people regularly.
Following opposition from the Wandsworth Conservatives, backed by hundreds of objections from local residents, Labour have been forced to undertake a major U-turn in relation to Wandsworth Common.
Thanks to the strong response from the community and our campaign there have been some important concessions from the original plan1 in the consultation for Wandsworth Common:
- Plans for 10,000-person events have been scrapped
- A strict 2,500-person cap has been introduced
- Sports pitches are now protected
- Noise limits to be enforced
- Wildlife experts will be consulted before any future events
These are real wins for local residents.
However, there’s still a major concern. The Council has refused to extend the same protections to King George’s Park or Tooting Bec Common as it has to Wandsworth Common. Our local parks and commons are cherished local green spaces – used daily by local people and sports clubs.
Despite accepting that large-scale events would be inappropriate on other parks, the Council is pressing ahead with plans to allow events of up to 10,000 people on King George’s Park and Tooting Bec Common – just as close to homes and just as vulnerable to damage.
“Commercial events on this scale risk damaging our parks and commons, disturbing neighbours, and undermining community use. King George’s Park and Tooting Bec Common should not be treated as less important. The Labour administration continues to ignore the concerns of local residents.”
Wandsworth Conservatives Spokesperson for the Environment, Cllr. Ethan Brooks
We will continue to campaign to protect our parks and commons from Labour’s attempts to commercialise them to make up for their financial mismanagement of Wandsworth Borough Council.
- 1https://democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/documents/g10140/Public reports pack 14th-Jul-2025 19.30 Cabinet.pdf?T=10 Pages 55-66
