Opinion: the demise of Kennington Skate Park reflects the growing wealth gap and inequality in Lambeth

The fact that Kennington Skate Park has become a makeshift shelter for the unhoused highlights the reality that Brixton is in the grip of a homelessness and mental health crisis.
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Despite significant wealth in Lambeth, the gap between the haves and have-nots is starkly visible. It’s like stepping backwards into Hogarth’s 18th century Britain of rough sleeping, madness and systemic inequality sitting side by side with conspicuous wealth.

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This is not simply a story about Lambeth Council’s failure to renovate a cherished skate park. It is about successive council leaders manifest failing to support individuals grappling with mental health crises, substance dependency, and the grim reality of not having a roof over their heads.
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Walking down Brixton High Road, I feel shame, anger, and helplessness seeing people sleeping in shop doorways or in the stairwells of Brixton Tube station.

​Vulnerable individuals wandering Zombie like in a severe state of distress, begging for money and food, but in essence crying out for help.

I see no evidence of inter-agency joined-up working in Lambeth to address this clear and pressing crises.

There are a raft of legal and statutory duties to prevent and relieve homelessness as set out in Lambeth’s Homelessness Review 2024. They include services for: street outreach; immediate routes away from rough sleeping; longer term accommodation; and support to build lives.

But Council bosses play lip service to legal and moral obligations as they trouser over £200k salary per year.

They point to the rich diverse community which is Brixton yet fail to grasp that “richness” is equally measured by how well we look after the poor and dispossessed.

I want my skate park to but cannot in good conscience enjoy it when I’m surrounded by indifference towards the wretched of this earth, with their eyes permanently fixed towards the ground.

A sad, lonely, exhausting existence made worse by our indifference.

[This piece by John Sloan]