Barbequing in Burgess Park

Following extensive conversations with residents and other local groups, we removed the barbecue facilities from Burgess Park in summer 2023. 

Whilst the barbecues were loved by some, they caused several issues for the park and local people. As a council, we need to listen and respond to the concerns of the whole community, and our partners.

Public engagement

We're working with the We Walworth Working Group, which is made up of residents, people who work in local organisations, as well as local and central government. They're working together to develop a vision for outdoor eating in Walworth.

Six Neighbourhood Welcome events have been held since June 2022. 

We've already talked to over 700 people from all over the neighbourhood, and we want to talk to as many people as possible.

The Working Group presented their findings at the Faraday Ward Forum meeting on 13 December 2022.

Next steps

The Working Group has met with the council and we’re currently exploring options together to see if we might be able to bring some form of communal cooking back to the park.

Contact us to join the mailing list, and keep updated about what happens next.

History of Barbequing in Burgess Park

The Burgess Park barbeque area was hugely popular and a great success, but not without problems.

It closed in March 2020 because of fire risk, poor air quality and COVID-19 restrictions. As a result of public engagement, it is now removed.

Benefits of the previous barbeque area

The barbeque area was a great facility for local people, many of whom do not have private gardens. It was one of the few official public barbeque areas in London that offered the following benefits:

• access to outdoor cooking for local families
• social gatherings for families and small groups
• encouraging many different communities to visit the park
• offering an opportunity for different neighbourhoods and communities to come together and enjoy food
• offering an opportunity for communities to celebrate their culture through food

Problems with the previous barbeque area

When the barbecue area was open for use, there were also some challenges:

• hot, temporary barbeques were placed into bins which caused fires
• dry summers increase the risk of fire and we were asked to close the barbeque area by the Fire Brigade many times; the Fire Brigade has told us they support a full ban on charcoal barbecuing in public parks
• smoke from the barbeque area created harmful emissions; we need to improve the air quality in Southwark to protect children, people who have trouble with their breathing and everyone else
• the barbeque area attracted unlicensed events and illegal activity
• the large amount of litter was unmanageable, and made the park look messy
• litter from the barbeque area used to blow into the lake and was difficult to remove and bad for wildlife
• nearby residents have complained about antisocial behaviour connected to the barbeque area

The future of barbequing in Burgess Park

We're currently exploring options, to see if we can install a new outdoor cooking/eating area. This is dependent on finding an option that doesn’t have as many issues as the previous barbecue area.

We will update this webpage as the project progresses.

If you’d like to keep updated about plans for the barbeque area, email parks@southwark.gov.uk.

Page last updated: 07 March 2024