FAQs about the 2021 music festivals in BPP
We understand these events generate great interest so we’ve compiled the most frequently asked questions in one article for convenience.
This article has been edited to include details related to the weekend of 18th and 19th September specifically. This can be found at the bottom of the page.
· Is the park open during the September music festivals?
Yes, the park is open for your enjoyment as usual. The footprint of the festival will have fencing around it until the 24th of September. The event area is on the hill next to the lake and a portion of the parkland next to it, behind the Homestead.
We’ve worked with the event organiser to minimise the closure of paths and other disruption to residents and regular park visitors’ routines. Please follow the signs indicating alternative routes.
· Will the car park be open?
Festival Ticket holders and the general public are being asked not to drive to the park on event days unless necessary, for example, patrons with accessibility requirements (e.g. blue badge holders). We expect the park to be very busy and would like to prioritise those with access needs. Most festival-goers are expected to travel via public transport. The car park will operate the normal opening hours, with pay and display between 8am and 5pm. If you must drive to the park, can’t find parking slots available, and decide to park nearby, please do so considerately.
The event organiser produced a detailed traffic management plan, which has been enhanced after taking the learnings from the festival two years ago. This involves an increase in stewards and traffic marshals.
· Disabled parking arrangements
There is very limited parking available for blue badge holders and only pre-authorised vehicles will be granted access. Please contact the event organiser directly to organise this. The contact details will be in your booking confirmation email.
· Is normal park activity taking place?
Yes. The businesses that operate from the park continue open as usual, the fitness classes and park run also continue, as well as the volunteering sessions and other community activities. The public is also welcome to use the park as normal. The footprint of the festival is only a small portion of the entire 96 hectares of the park and there will be plenty of space spare for other activities such as walking the dog, exercise and social gatherings.
· Why was an event such as this approved by Lewisham Council?
Lewisham Council has mostly enabled and approved smaller-scale events to take part in BPP’s grounds, such as open-air cinema (the largest of which had 1000 spectators), Sunday vintage fair and food trucks with music. This year there has been an exponential increase in outdoor events in parks nationally and BPP opted not to have as many as other parks of similar size and stature. Many events in the programme are free to attend and, in the main, this summer BPP has been left to be enjoyed freely by the public through picnics and other gatherings.
Events in open spaces serve two important purposes:
1) Social value – we aim to provide a varied programme of events that serves a wide range of groups in the community
2) Revenue - Income generated from the hire of outdoor space is an important source of revenue for the upkeep of the park.
The BPP team work very hard to balance these aims for the benefit of all.
Large event organisers are expected to contribute in other ways – see how Krankbrother are contributing to the local economy and sustainability.
Aside from the hire fee, thousands of pounds from a cup levy will be spent on ecological initiatives and another £3,000 (minimum) generated from VIP and guest ticket donations will be donated by the organiser to the following local charities:
-Whitefoot & Downham Food Project Plus, the most local longstanding local food bank in the area
-Lewisham Music who are based in Bellingham Lewisham Music | Lewisham Local
-The Front Room Club -provides a drop-in for people experiencing mental health difficulties and social isolation The Front Room Club - St Luke's Church, Downham (stlukesdownham.org.uk)
-Downham Gleaning Pantry - a social supermarket which formed out of Downham Mutual Aid to support people experiencing food poverty in the local community of Downham.
· Isn’t having a music festival adjacent to ancient woodland harmful to nature?
Don’t let the title of the Hospitality event - Into the Woods deceive you! None of the events actually take place in the protected ancient woodland area. The application process took months and the plans were scrutinized by various entities and officers. A new conservation report was produced and LBL’s conservation manager consulted. All loud amplified music must be located 50m away from the ancient woodland and orientated in the opposite direction.
LBL is satisfied that the set-up at this time of the year will provide minimal impact to nature and wildlife.
· How are you minimising noise pollution?
This too was integral to the application was scrutinised by various officers. The event organiser has engaged the UK’s number one noise management company, Vanguardia, to produce a comprehensive noise management plan that complies with the terms of the license awarded for the event. Krankbrother will be operating under pre-defined off-site DB limits which have been agreed by Lewisham’s Environmental Health team in advance, and will not be exceeded at any time during the events. It is likely that you will be able to hear the event if you live in close proximity to the park, but please be assured that the organisers have worked closely with the Local Authority to agree on sound limits that meet the expectations of the event’s customers whilst also trying to mitigate disturbance to local residents as far as possible.
There will be a noise controller throughout the events and multiple monitoring points will be in operation throughout the event. The organiser has provided contact details for noise complaints during the event: 07424 027801 and email
· What will the park look like after the event?
The planning for this event included increased measures to minimise the impact on parkland. All the festival equipment will be removed from the park by the 24th of September. The organisers will pay to remedy any damage caused and any reinstatement will be organised straight after the event.
· How are you minimising disruption to local residents?
On the weekend of 11th and 12th September there was another, larger scale, festival in Crystal Palace and railway engineering works, which may have affected disruption to local residents. There are no other large scale events planned for the vicinity next weekend or engineering works, so we expect less pressure on the north side of the park.
The Hospitality – Into the Woods event in Beckenham Place Park on 18th and 19th September will open at midday and end at 10pm on Saturday and 9:30pm on Sunday. Attendees are expected to arrive at the venue earlier, from 10am onwards.
Some adjustments are being made to operations for the coming weekend to minimise the impact on local residents, including supplementary messages to ticket holders and positioning of the stewards.
Beckenham Place Park gate (from the direction of Beckenham Junction) will be closed to traffic and pedestrians from 10am on Saturday and Sunday, with stewards positioned on various points to direct visitors. Event attendees are recommended to enter through the main entrance opposite Beckenham Hill station.
We appreciate that large events such as this can inconvenience local residents. We would like to remind stakeholders that events of this scale are rare in Beckenham Place Park and that a programme of events in the park benefits the wider community, including local residents, by virtue of the varied programme offered and the funds raised for the upkeep of the park.
More information:
This Music Festival Plans article includes more detail on the planning of the event, sustainability and impact on the local community
Community website created by the event organiser for the local community