Lambeth Council is entirely mistaken to charge for tonight's Brockwell Park fireworks

This isn’t about the cuts, it’s about priorities

World's heaviest firework new record set in Japan (YouTube)

As far as responsible use of scarce council resources go, literally burning money may not appear to be the most effective community cohesion scheme: but it genuinely is.

So while I can understand the reasoning behind the decision taken by Lambeth Council to charge, for the first time ever, for its hugely popular annual fireworks display, it is entirely mistaken to do so.

Last year’s fireworks display in south London’s Brockwell Park - wedged between the cultural, economic and demographic melting pot of Brixton and the relatively affluent Herne Hill - attracted 100,000 people from across the borough. A huge mass of people in collective awe - a celebration which transcended age, sex, race, sexuality, disability, wealth and everything else which so frequently fragments our society. But the operative aspect here is wealth.

This is a borough where at least 20 per cent of people are in low-paid work; a borough where the disparities of child poverty range from 14 per cent in the affluent Clapham Common to nearly 40 per cent in Brixton’s Coldharbour ward.

Lambeth Council stated that it cost around £95,000 to stage last year’s event. Even the young kids who the council say can still get in for free this time can figure out that this works out at roughly £1 per head for the 100,000 attendants.

So where did the £7 price-tag come from?

This might not seem like a lot, but it can make the difference between eating an evening meal and heating the house for some people. It can make the difference between using a foodbank or not - as Brixton and Norwood Foodbank which fed 9,000 local residents this year can attest. And it can make the difference between someone coming to share an experience with their community or deciding it’s just not worth it.

The council envisages under half of the attendance of last year’s event, and it is even investing significant funds to create a holding pen for up to 60,000 people who won’t be allowed to enter the event in Brockwell Park.

"Our annual fireworks display is a big draw," said Cllr Jane Edbrooke, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, "and I am delighted to have found a way to keep it going through this period of budget cuts."

But it’s clear this isn’t just about scarce resources. Just this month it was revealed that Lambeth Council was spending £40,000 just in the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive. This isn’t about the cuts, it’s about priorities.

It’s great that kids can attend for free, and it’s great that Lambeth’s beefing up the event with more than just fireworks. But it does far more for the community to make these events as inclusive as possible. Because how often do we all go to the park together? I’ll let the council crunch the numbers on that one.