What are public parks for? Inside the debate sparked by London festival row

Graffiti on a fence in Brockwell Park, south London, this week after a campaign group won a high court victory against Lambeth council’s decision to grant access to music festival organisers. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty

Public parks have been a cherished part of British life since the 19th century; for the Victorians they represented a “commitment to cultivate public good within the public realm”.

But differing interpretations of this vision for municipal green space are at the heart of a debate over a very 21st-century issue: music festivals.