After Lambeth Council announced that this year’s Brixton Splash would be cancelled, the event organisers have angrily hit back in a statement that accuses the council of creating an “air of railroading” over their decision.

The statement by the organisers reveals an uneasy and distrustful relationship with the council, with accusations of collusion, agendas and power struggles, with the intriguing addition of a rogue former board member trying to cut a separate deal.

We’re still digesting the statement (reproduced in full below), but will be digging further into the story as it unravels:

Statement on recent council-led meeting regarding Brixton Splash 02/02/16

On 06/01/16 Lambeth council held a ‘community meeting’ with regards to Brixton Splash. This meeting was held independent of Brixton Splash and without any Brixton Splash representatives present.

A copy of the minutes of this meeting was only sent to the Brixton Splash board after they were requested on 29/01/16.

Set-out below are the reasons Brixton Splash withheld their support for this meeting:

the Brixton Splash Board had already advised Lambeth council that it was planning to hold its own community meeting and the board did not feel it was appropriate for the council to hold meetings on behalf of a private company – Brixton Splash is a community organisation ran by the community for the community; no board members were available on the date given by Lambeth – Lambeth were advised; Lambeth staff members and the police refused to meet with the Brixton Splash board after the event-debrief to discuss issues raised in the debrief and assist with the safe planning of Brixton Splash 2016; the board deemed it inappropriate to have these discussions (point 3) in public when they had been denied the opportunity to first discuss and address them in private; attendees at the post event debrief had been instructed not to speak about the future of Brixton Splash; the board is aware and has evidence, that although there is an attempt to suggest that this meeting was only planned after the events of the 2015 carnival, this meeting had actually been planned in collusion with the council and former board members prior to Brixton Splash 2015;

The board questions the motives behind holding this meeting and believes there is a separate agenda at work. A catalogue of evidence has been building up over the last few months, which point to various stakeholders including the council wishing to either stop Brixton Splash or to completely change this community carnivals format. After reading these minutes Lambeth council’s decision to continue with this meeting regardless holds an air of railroading, along with an attempt to garner support from the local community to achieve these objectives.

In addition, the board is aware that a former board member has been approaching several individuals and business in the local community prior to Brixton Splash 2015 stating that they were going to take over the event, that they had council support to do so and they were seeking support for this action from the community and local businesses.

This same former board member used a Brixton Splash trader to contact all traders at Brixton Splash 2015 requesting they fill-out a questionnaire regarding the event and their experiences for a meeting to be held with the former board member and Lambeth council. When questioned about this by the board the council denied all knowledge. This former board member was on the panel of the ‘community meeting’ held by the council on 6 January.

Finally, local businesses were told by the council prior to Brixton Splash 2015, that Brixton Splash was no longer being run by the community, it was now a council event and a meeting would be held post event to discuss this. When questioned the council denied this.

In light of all of the above the board felt it would not be conducive for them to attend this or any other such meeting being held by they council, had they been available. The board does not consider the activity that has been taking place over recent months to be constructive or conducive to ensuring Brixton Splash remains a safe event and number one on Brixton’s calendar of activities. Rather than engaging in such destructive activity, the board chooses to focus its efforts and energy on planning for a safe carnival for 2016.

Brixton Splash is a community organisation run for the community by the community. It shall not allow any individual nor organisation to force people on to our board nor shall.

Lambeth’s dwindling financial support and physical support over the last few years shows its true feelings towards the event.

Brixton Splash Board