A NATIONAL conservation group has added its voice to scores of residents opposed to a music festival returning to a listed park.

The Open Spaces Society has criticised plans for Shakedown to return to Stanmer Park in September after two years away.

The society, the oldest national conservation group in the country, said parks should be “places of peace and tranquillity” and not for “noisy commercial events”.

More than 150 residents have signed a petition set-up by Stanmer Preservation Society calling for Shakedown to be moved away from Stanmer Park.

Campaigners have warned the event will lead to damage to the park’s footpaths and grassland, severe disturbance to wildlife and residents, loss of green space and the risk of widespread littering.

Organisers have decided to move the event back to Stanmer Park because use of its previous home at Waterhall is restricted in September by its primary use as sports pitches.

The Open Spaces Society general secretary Kate Ashbrook included the example of Shakedown returning to Stanmer Park among examples of the “abuse” of parks and green spaces for commercial purposes.

The society also criticised Wandsworth Council for approving Formula E’s plan to occupy Battersea Park, Ealing Council for backing a boozy Oktoberfest on Acton Green common and Lambeth Council for allowing a festival on Clapham Common which turned the green space into a mudbath.

Ms Ashbrook said such events were in breach of the Greater London Parks and Open Spaces Order 1967 and that the problem was not confined to London.

She added: “The society is concerned to learn of the proposed continuing abuse of Stanmer Park in the South Downs National Park by a music festival.

“National parks should be places of peace and tranquillity and not for noisy commercial events.

“These events are all about attracting big business and commercial sponsorship at the expense of quiet enjoyment.

“Of course local authorities are strapped for cash and they must find savings and generate income but they should not do so in ways which conflict with the ethos of those far-sighted people who secured these open spaces in the first place.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “We consider the specific area of Stanmer Park in question regarding Shakedown to be a natural event space.

“Tourism is central to the city’s economy, and events of this sort have a vital part to play in our overall tourism offer.

“We do not consider that occasional events of this sort are an unacceptable imposition on the residents of the park.”