Larkhall Park remains one of our favourite parks in South London. It is hidden away between Wandsworth Road and Clapham Road. It is the place where Stockwell people come out to play.
The history of Larkhall Park dates back to 1941 with the then Minister of Works and Planning, Lord Reith, asking London County Council to prepare a radical plan to solve housing, transport and open space issues.
The area that now makes up Larkhall Park contained at the time a mixture of open green land and terraced housing that had suffered from bomb damage during the war.
It was a long process however from the post-war austerity to the official opening of Larkhall Park in 1974. Compulsory Purchase Orders for some housing were required. The project also transferred over to Lambeth Council to manage.
Little appears to have changed in Larkhall Park from when it first opened in 1974 through until the next thirty years or so. The past decade however has seen considerable improvements being made.
The mounds that surround the perimeter remain. The Secret Garden and old concrete tennis courts have been replaced by a well-used 3G pitch.
The Secret Garden was a delightful place, but was much under-used. You are pretty likely to see football taking place on the 3G pitch now at any time of the year. There is also an outdoor gym, a cafe and a new water feature.
Larkhall Park has been home to the Stockwell Festival. Funding issues however have recently been a problem for Stockwell Partnership and the festival organisers. Sadly it seems to have gone quiet for the 2015 Stockwell Festival.
The Friends of Larkhall Park remain a small, but very active organisation. The group is currently working through ways in which it can adopt the Lambeth Council Co-operative Parks Programme.
Larkhall Park can be found along Courland Grove, SW8. It is open from 7:30am until 15 minutes before sunset. It is the jewell in Sunny Stockwell.
Unfortunately Stockwell Festival is going to have to take a break this year. We (Stockwell Partnership) have been working with Friends of Larkhall Park to run it for the last 14 years, but funding is getting tighter and tighter. Only the Friends of Larkhall Park (due to their lower turnover level) could get the grant in last year, and this year bids to Comic Relief have been unsuccessful. We are working with the Friends group to fundraise again for next year (2016). Anyone who would like to help or get involved in another way should contact me (steve@stockwell.org.uk) or the Friends of Larkhall Park.