Reinstatement on Clapham Common

We wanted to let local residents know what is happening on the Clapham Common Event Site, the area between Long Pond and Long Road which backs on to the Basketball Court and Skate Park, which forms no more than 10% of the Common.   Following  the SW4 event which took place on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August and the torrential rain that preceded and followed it, despite robust planning for wet weather contingencies there was still some damage to the ground surface of the common during the build and de-rig of this event.

EventLambeth and the Parks team have been working closely with the event organisers to ensure that no further damage took place and to assess the reinstatement required.

On the Tuesday 1st September we and the parks team were onsite with the company who will be undertaking the reinstatement to assess the site and look at the best and most resilient way to repair the damage.  Their opinion was that in the first instance the ground needed to dry out before any work could take place to prevent further damage.  This is why they did not start until Monday 7th September.  They also recommended a combination of chain harrowing which breaks up the surface mud to allow the existing grass underneath to come through and levelling and reseeding of areas that required it.

After allowing the ground to dry out, they started with the chain harrowing on Monday 7th September and will continue with the remainder of the work over the rest of this week – until it is completed.  To protect the ground and members of the public the fence has remained in-situ for an additional week and will be removed on Thursday 10th September.  In addition to the grounds reinstatement there will also be cleaning of the footpath that ran through the event site.  As reinstatement takes place further updates will be posted via this blog and social media.

All events are required to pay for any reinstatement required following an event – a deposit is held by the council specifically for this and should costs exceed the deposit held the event organiser is required to pay the difference.

If you have any questions please contact the Events Team directly on 020 7926 6207 or on events@lambeth.gov.uk.