Join us in the park on Sunday 9 July at 2pm to learn about Kennington Park's magnificent trees.

Dr Ian Boulton from Lambeth Council will take us on a tour of the huge variety of amazing trees we have in the park and the important role they have played in our history and everyday lives.

Please meet at the History Hut in the park.

Join us in the park on Saturday, May 13 at 9pm for our Spring Bat hunt.

Lambeth's bat expert, Dr Iain Boulton, will bring his sonic detectors to help us track down the park's pipistrelles.

Meet on the Midnight Path next to Prince Consort Lodge/ Trees for Cities, where Iain will tell us a bit about bats and their habits before we set off on our search.

This is a free event, and all are welcome – children must be accompanied by an adult. A torch might be useful to help you find your way out of the park in the dark.

New Playground for Kennington Park

This year will see the delivery of a new children’s playground for Kennington Park, as well as a range of other improvements to the park, including repairs to the skatepark, new drinking fountains and repairs to paths and drainage. The plan is to provide a refresh of the park with safe, modern, user friendly, low maintenance facilities.

Works for a new children's playground will  begin on 02 May 2023 and are expected to be completed by the summer.

The playground will be closed during this time. See details further info about the new plans here and our handy map of alternative facilities to use during this time.

After months of planning a contractor has been appointed to install the playground. The new playground will cater for children from toddlers to 12 years old. The complete area will be transformed to include zones with age-appropriate equipment, a refreshed wildlife area, and a wide range of play equipment to provide active play, socialising, as well as learning opportunities across the age ranges. There will be areas for quieter activity and areas to picnic. Overall, a place that will be safe, fun, exciting to visit.

Artist impression of new playground - see here Playground | FOKP (kenningtonpark.org)

Updates on other planned works

Works are also planned to repair the Skatepark with the aim of bring this back into safe use, with improved access and refreshed surroundings.

Paths and drainage around the playground and skate park will also be repaired to improve access and stop the issues with flooding along the paths.

The plans for new toilets have been submitted for planning approval. The aim is to provide modern, clean and accessible toilet facilities for users of the Kennington Park.

We will keep you informed of further developments as they happen.

At Dawn on Sunday 23 April there was a Dawn Chorus Walk in Kennington Park led by Erica and Marietta.  Erica led a small group around the park listening out for the early birds, especially noisy were the blackbirds and a wren. Two young foxes were very surprised to see us!

Sadly, the bat walk in the park planned for Saturday, April 15th has had to be CANCELLED due to illness.

A new date will be arranged.

To mark exactly 175 years since the Monster Chartist Rally on Kennington Common in 1848,  a walking trail and podcast was launched in the park on Monday, April 10th.

You can now walk the trail while listening to our podcast about what happened right here in Kennington Park on that day, when Londoners marched to Kennington from all points north, south, east and west, in support of the Chartists' six demands to give all working men the chance to vote.

Look out for posters in the park  – they will show you the route and how to access the podcast. 

In early February some park users contacted the Friends of Kennington Park asking why the south field of the park (in front of the park cafe) was being fenced off with heavy machinery parked near by, traffic controllers in hi-viz jackets and lots of building activity on the grass field.  

It was for a private event associated with London Fashion week. It was authorised by Lambeth Council.

In January Lambeth Council Events advised the Friends about the event.  They were made aware of our concerns about events of this size which result in a large part of the park being fenced off for weeks.  The Friends recognise that the event will generate quite a lot of income for Lambeth. 

The fencing  surrounded the south field for most of the month of February. The Friends were given extensive assurances that preventative measures would be in place to protect the ground and tree roots and that any damage would be properly reinstated.

This was not an ideal situation for our much loved and much used park, but the event took place at a time of year when there would be less impact on park users than in the Spring or Summer.

The Friends asked Lambeth to ensure that signs were put on the fencing to explain to Park users what was happening. Initially this did not happen, so it was raised again with Lambeth and the signs about the event permission were put on the fencing.

The fencing is now down, the ground has been aerated and grass seed sown, this has been helped by the recent rain.  There are some patches that have been re-seeded.

If you have any further comments or concerns, please could you contact Lambeth Council events team directly. Their email address is events@lambeth.gov.uk

Thanks to all who came and had a chat with us at the FOKP stall outside the park cafe on Sunday 29th January for the annual citizen science project - the RSPB Garden Brid Watch.  We gave out supplies of the RSPB forms and completed a form ourselves. Our tally was house sparrows (lots in the wisteria in the flower garden); feral pigeons, seagulls and masses of noisy parakeets.

You can find out more about the Big Garden Birdwatch on the RSPB website – just click here.

At the end of  January a number of people braved the cold weather to join the Friends at their stall outside the park cafe to help clean and sharpen our gardening tools.  Barnaby from Bee Urban was on hand to show us what to do, so our hedge clippers and secateurs are now ready for use in the monthly volunteer gardening sessions. The first one was held in the Flower Garden on Sunday 12 February, a lot of cutting back and tieing up of the climbing roses was done. 

These gardening sessions are generally on the second Sunday of each month. The next one is on Sunday 16 April between noon and 4pm in the Flower Garden. Gardening gloves and tools are provided, come along and find Ruth and Marietta and stay as long (or as short a time) as you like. All welcome.

It may not look like it at the moment, but there is work going on behind the scenes to bring the park's iconic skatebowl back into use.  Doing this has proved an engineering challenge. The Friends are working with Lambeth, a structural engineer and local skateboarders to find a contractor able to do the necessary work.  We are hopeful that we will have some more news shortly and that the skatebowl can be brought back into use later this year.   

One thing that people often mention about the Kennington Park popular playground is that it needs an update.  

The good news is that the Council has found money for this (and various other things in the park) and work on upgrading the playground will happen later this year.

There have been two announcements about the playground from Lambeth Council:

Feburary 2023:

New Playground for Kennington Park – Lambeth Council Update

This year will see the delivery of a new children’s playground for Kennington Park, as well as a range of other improvements to the park, including repairs to the skatepark, new drinking fountains and repairs to paths and drainage.  The plan is to provide a refresh of the park with safe, modern, user friendly, low maintenance facilities.

After months of planning, a contractor has been appointed to install the playground.  The new playground will cater for children from toddlers to 12 years old.  The complete area will be transformed to include zones with age-appropriate equipment, a refreshed wildlife area, and a wide range of play equipment to provide active play, socialising, as well as learning opportunities across the age ranges.   There will be areas for quieter activity and areas to picnic.  Overall, a place that will be safe, fun, exciting to visit.

The works to the playground are expected to start in May and the playground will be closed for 10-12 weeks while the works are carried out.  Nearby toddler play is available in St. Marks Church grounds and Vauxhall Park caters for all ages.  Works are also planned to repair the Skatepark with the aim of bring this back into safe use, with improved access and refreshed surroundings.  Paths and drainage around the playground and skate park will also be repaired to improve access and stop the issues with flooding along the paths.  The plans for new toilets have been submitted for planning approval.  The aim is to provide modern, clean and accessible toilet facilities for users of the Kennington Park.

Further updates will be included in future Newsletters.

If you would like to see a copy of the artist’s impression of the new playground, please contact Cllr David Amos via: damos@lambeth.gov.uk

December 2022 Lambeth Council press release

Lambeth Council to spend £500k plus on refurbishing the playgrounds at Ruskin and Kennington Parks

Ruskin and Kennington Park are both set to benefit from playground refurbishments worth over half a million pounds. Lambeth Council is proposing to spend £350,000 at Ruskin Park, and £220,000 at Kennington.

The contract has been awarded to Kompan Ltd. It has a total value of £556,758. Back in September 2021 the Labour Cabinet at the Town Hall agreed to fund park investment across the borough to the value of £3.9m.

The report for Councillor Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air to sign describes the work as: “One-off renovation project that will focus on the redesign and installation of new play equipment and landscaping to update the facilities.”

Kompan landed the deal after a procurement exercise. Three other companies pitched in with a bid. The report highlights the ‘low maintenance’ of the equipment proposed by the company.

Also in Kompan’s favour was a commitment to pay the London Living Wage to all staff and contractors working on the refurbishment.

Five days of construction work experience to local schools as well as the opportunity to shadow to GCSE and A level students are pledged. Kompan will also make a £5,000 donation to the Changing Lives Fund."

Lambeth're press released said "Work is expected to start at both parks in January 2023 lasting for 20 weeks", however, it looks like May will be the start time and the work will take 8-10 weeks. "There will then be a 12-month defects period to follow the completion of the works. A community opening event is planned to celebrate the new playgrounds".

At the beginning of last November someone damaged the History Hut.  One of the boards featuring Bob Marley was completely removed and the surrounding woodwork and paintwork suffered from the large board being prised out, the board was then dumped in a flower bed. There was also some graffiti.

FOKP are planning to replace the board we are waiting for Lambeth Council to repair the damage, this will involve both work and cost as a result of this mindless vandalism.  

For months the Friends of Kennington Park, dog owners and park users complained to Lambeth Council about the boggy mess in middle of the re opened dog walking area at the north end of the park.  This resulted in a large area having to be fenced off.  

Lambeth managed to get FLO (TFL's contractors for the NLE ventilation shaft and reinstatement of the dog area) to come back in the park to sort out the wet mess. FLO did some work and, to avoid any further issue with the concrete slab beneath the site, they installed some filter drainage throughout this area to assist with drainage. The work area area had to be fenced off to give the grass seed a chance. This fencing has now been removed.

At the beginning of January some of the very poorly trees facing Kennington Park Place were replaced.  The issue of the poor condition of the meadow grass and the litter in this area has yet to be resolved between Lambeth and FLO. The promised bins and benches are still awaited.

You may have noticed a newly installed drinking fountain on the pathway between the war memorial and the skatebowl.  

Following the sad news regarding the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Lambeth Council  made a decision to cancel public events during the official mourning period.

As a result, the Friends of Kennington Park Dog Show planned for Sunday 11 September 2022 has been postponed for the time being.  The Friends of Kennington Park and the Hound Hut will announce  details of the re-scheduled event which, hopefully, will take place in 2023.

If you would like to help, please contact FOKP.

Junior Park Run, every Sunday at 9am in Kennington Park

Kennington Park Dog Show,  planned for last year, will, hopefully, take place later this year, but we will need help - if you can, please contact fokp.

The monthly volunteer gardening started in February 2023, the sessions are normally held in the Flower Garden on the second Sunday of the month.  Due to Easter, the next one is on Sunday 14 May beween noon and 4pm in the Flower Garden. Tools and gardening gloves provided. The sessions are informal and chatty.  All welcome. The next dates are Sunday 11 June and Sunday 9 July both between noon to 4pm.

2023 is the 175th anniversary of the Chartist rally in Kennington Park in April 1848. On Saturday 1 April Marietta from FoKP did a history walk in the park to commemorate this.

On 10 April an audio Chartist walk was launched.  Details elsewhere on the website.

Bat walk NEW DATE: the one on Saturday  15 April had to be cancelled due to illness. It will now take place on Saturday 13 May at 9pm, the meeting place is on the Midnight Path, next to Trees for Cities/ Prince Consort Lodge.  It will be led by Lambeth's Iain Boulton who will bring a good supply of bat detectors.  All welcome, but no dogs please.  Wrap up warmly and bring a torch - it will be dark when we leave the park! There will be a second bat walk in the autumn.

A Dawn Chorus walk led by Erica and Marietta took place at dawn on Sunday 26 April. 

A tree walk on Sunday 9 July at 2pm meeting at the History Hut in the park (near the entrance to the Flower Garden). It will be led by Lambeth's Dr Iain Boulton.

Summer Festival on Sunday 16 July, following on from last year's very successful event.  Volunteers to help on the day would be very welcome.  Please contact fokp.

So far this year the Friends of Kennington Park have already had an RSPB Garden Bird Watch (a woodpecker was seen and heard), tool and sharpening, a bat walk (lots of bats seen and heard), Easter egg hunt, six gardening sessions, a stall at the Lambeth Palace Fete and on 10 July the Kennington Park Festival.

The gardening session are now for FoKP members as they are funded by FOKP – so why don't you join the Friends? It's a bargain at just £6 per year – details are on the 'Support us' page of this website. The next gardening session in the Flower Garden, led by Ruth, is on Sunday 14 August from noon to 4pm.

Each Sunday at 9am in the park is a Junior Park Run.

FOKP is planning a Dog Show in the park on Sunday 11 September between 2pm and 4pm. Details to follow. 

The next Bat walk led by Dr Iain Boulton is planned for Saturday 24 September at 7pm.  Meeting place by the notice board at the entrance to the park's Flower Garden, please wrap up warmly and bring a torch – it will be dark when we leave the park.  No dogs please.

A big thank you to everyone who helped to make the second Kennington Park Festival such a success on Sunday 10 July.  The weather was hot and there were lots of things for all ages - food, music, dance, singing, stalls, puzzles, games, family fun, health & wellness, circus skills, workshops.

Kennington Park junior parkrun is a free, fun, and friendly weekly 2k event for juniors (4 to 14 year olds) held every Sunday at 9:00am. See Course page for more details.

Volunteers needed - Volunteering at parkrun is an opportunity to get outside, make new friends, have fun, learn new skills and to be a valuable part of your local community. We are always looking for new volunteers - to find out more about the event and ways to get involved see here 

The Northern Line Extension work at the north end of the park came to an end some time ago. 

But there were various snagging issues so the dog walking area remained closed, but the dog walking area has now re opened.

A mystery flood has appeared in two parts of this dog area, these are being investigated and are fenced off, but the rest of the area will be open. Due to the hot, dry weather the grass is looking very parched, though the Friends have been watering the new trees in the main area.

Benches and additional bins will be added in due course.  The Friends have expressed concern to Lambeth Council about the overall poor state of the trees, in particular those in the "meadow grass" area which we cant currently get access to.

Lambeth Council has agreed that the "old" dog area at the Camberwell New Road end by the tennis courts will remain open.

Our brand new history boards are on display! They're housed in the History Hut – the brown and white wooden shelter close to the Flower Garden and Slade Fountain. With the help of Year 6 students from Henry Fawcett School, park staff from Lambeth Landscapes, park users and FoKP members, our local MP Florence Eshalomi cut the ribbon and declared it open in December 2021.

Many thanks to Lambeth Council and Surrey County Cricket Club for supporting this project. The history boards were conceived, researched and put together by an FoKP team under the leadership of Marnie Searchwell.