Parks byelaw breaches consultation
Have your say on how we manage parks byelaw breaches
London Councils are running a consultation on behalf of Lambeth Council. We are asking residents and park users for their views on how Park byelaw breaches are managed in the future. We are keen that our stakeholders comment on the proposed change.
You can do this by completing their online survey at the end of this page, by the deadline of 31 October.
The Proposal
The consultation is to ask residents and park users for their views regarding changing how the council manages park byelaw breaches in Lambeth.
In 2005, Lambeth adopted its current byelaws for parks and open spaces. The byelaws and sites that are managed under these byelaws can be viewed online here: https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sports-and-leisure/parks/rules-and-regulations/download-copy-byelaws
Currently the recourse for any person refusing to comply with the byelaws is to seek prosecution. This is costly, slow and ineffective in preventing unauthorised activity long term. The current maximum penalty is £500 if successful at court, which is not reflective of the time, resources and legal costs required to prosecute individuals.
The consultation proposal is to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for byelaw offences in the parks and open spaces covered by the Lambeth Byelaws. This will help us to deal with unacceptable behaviour and unauthorised activity in parks and open spaces. FPNs would only be issued as a last resort if other engagement by enforcement officers have failed.
The main objective for the change is to allow us to deal with byelaws breaches in a quicker and more efficient way. It will allow us to address breaches such as damage to our infrastructure or assets; trespass; adults inappropriately using play areas, unauthorised vehicles; camping, barbeques; excessive noise from unauthorised events and illegal trading.
We would like to hear from you by completing the online survey.
If you have any queries on the proposal, or on anything else to do with Lambeth parks, please email us on parks@lambeth.gov.uk