Lambeth parks generate £1.8m a year – but are our green spaces becoming too commercialised?

Lambeth Council has seen a dramatic rise in income from its parks and open spaces – up from just £150,000 in 2015 to around £1.8 million in 2025.

The turnaround follows the decision to bring the Parks Service back in-house in 2016, ending a long period of outsourcing and private contracts.

A new report to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee praises the in-house model as a success story.

Lambeth now manages 137 green spaces directly, including major sites such as Clapham Common, Brockwell Park and Streatham Common, while also securing national recognition for how those parks are run.

In 2023, the borough was named “Best Parks Service in the UK” by the Association for Public Service Excellence.

The financial figures tell their own story. Over the past decade, Lambeth has steadily expanded the way it earns money from its green spaces – through café leases, sports pitch hire, personal trainer licences, commercial dog-walker permits, events and brand partnerships.

Together, these streams now make up a multi-million-pound revenue source at a time when most council budgets are under severe pressure.

But the same success raises an old and difficult question: how far can the council go in monetising public spaces without alienating local residents?

The most visible example is Brockwell Park, home to the Brockwell Live summer festival series. While the events generate valuable income – under Lambeth’s Parks Investment Levy, 25% of all event revenue goes back into maintaining the borough’s parks – many residents have voiced frustration about large-scale events that restrict access and bring heavy noise and footfall.

Lambeth Council claims that Brockwell Live has led to £150,000 in park investment and local investments:

“In addition to the significant cultural and wider economic benefits, holding these events brings in £150,000 for park investment and local community projects, on top of the £500,000 spent annually maintaining Brockwell Park, and allows the much-loved Lambeth Country Show to remain one of the largest free community festivals in the UK.”

Council officers insist they are aware of the delicate balance between public and private use.

Lambeth’s stated aim is to use commercial partnerships “to support, not replace” public use, with smaller community events still free from any hire fees. Friends groups, volunteers and residents remain closely involved in decisions through advisory boards and consultation forums.

The figures nonetheless show a clear shift: a local authority once paying private firms to maintain its parks now relies on those same parks as a key source of income.

With budgets tightening further and park usage continuing to rise, Lambeth faces a challenge that will be familiar to many inner-London boroughs — how to keep the grass green without selling off the view.