It has been recognised how important access to green space is for mental & physical health. We all benefit from them and are lucky that London has so many. This makes Lambeth’s proposal to cut the budget for the maintenance and improvement of our parks and gardens so hard to understand.

It appears to have been triggered by the problems surrounding Lambeth’s programme of music events to be held in Brockwell Park. It seems the council may still be in breach of obligations as Trustees of the park, which they have left precious little time to resolve before the events are due to begin. But there are other, smaller green areas that will suffer, too.

In the meantime, £566,000 has been given by the council to restore the old skate bowl in Kennington Park. We certainly do not begrudge skateboarders their fun - far from it - but this seems a huge sum of money to restore the bowl. How was it arrived at? How will it be spent? How does it compare to costs of improving, maintaining or building similar structures?

Then there is the cancellation of our Country Show, an annual event enjoyed by people of every age. The reason given was the cost, an ‘estimated‘ £1.1 million. How was this sum arrived at? How does it compare to costs in previous years and could it have continued with a reduced budget?

In addition, Active Lambeth have taken over the running of Brockwell Lido & Gym. The previous operators, Fusion, have declared bankruptcy, and as holders of the lease, Lambeth have stepped in. To their credit, Active Lambeth will retain staff and are committed to keeping a popular local venue open. Both the Lido and park are out of our area, but are enjoyed by Norwood residents, so NAG feels we should be concerned and involved. How do our members feel about this?