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Calling all skateboarders and fans of Kennington Park!

Kennington Park’s legendary 1970s skatebowl, known as Kenny, is under threat!

Please sign our @changedotorg petition – link in bio ☝️

After years of planning and hard work, @lambeth_council is now considering pulling the funding that was allocated to restore it.

This isn’t just about skateboarding. The project would bring a much-loved community space back to life – restoring the historic bowl and adding safe spectator areas and ramped access to make the bowl part of the park again.

If the Council withdraws support now, the opportunity will likely be lost forever. Public money already invested will have been wasted.

Don’t let this happen!

The decision will be made in the next couple of months. There are Council meetings coming up this month – just days away – and in November, where it will be discussed.

If we act now, Kenny can be restored as one of the UK’s first and most iconic skatebowls – a safe, vibrant space for skaters, families and the wider community for generations to come.

Help us to SAVE KENNY!

Sign & share the petition now - link in bio ☝️

Find out more at our website: kenningtonpark.org

📷 Big thanks to Henry Kingsford @greyskatemag for the pic of @savannahstaceykeenan doing a Boneless right here in Kenny

#henrykingsford #greyskatemag #savannahstaceykeenan #skateboarding#kenningtonbowl #kenny #londonskateboarding #kenningtonwhereitstarted #SaveKenny #KenningtonSkateBowl #ProtectOurParks #KeepKennyAlive #SkateHistory #CommunityNotCuts #saveourskatebowl #kenningtonpark #fokp #friendsofkenningtonpark #lovekenningtonpark #loveyourpark #kennington #oval #lambethparks #lambeth #southwark #se11 #sw9 #sw8 #se5 #se17

Kenny’s on the telly!

Did you miss the 6pm ITV London News on Wednesday night?

Well no worries, cos we’ve got the story right here for you!

Massive thanks to all the skaters and supporters who came down to Kenny to play for a few hours …

To @darkstardavross and @helenalegslong for talking to camera.

And to @daryl.d0minguez, @davy_styles and Terry Donovan for risking a skate in our very imperfect bowl!

Also hugely grateful to photographer @vx.4000 aka Chris Dale for being available at the last minute to take some photos for us, and to @sinneadmedia for coming to share the story.

Last but not least, thank you to the ITV crew - reporter @callumfairhurst and @cameraman_conradsuckling1. You guys were great - thanks for coming down and getting Kenny on the telly.

We’re over 1800 signatures on our petition now - we need to persuade @lambeth_council not to dump their promise to BRING KENNY BACK TO LIFE!

So please keep signing and sharing! Link in our @friendsofkenningtonpark bio 👆

#KennyonTV #kennyonthetelly #kenningtonsession #Kenny #kennyskatesession #KenningtonSkateBowl #kenningtonbowl #kenningtonskatepark #kenningtonbanks #localskaters #southlondon #southlondonskaters #londonskateboarding #skateboarding #kennington #SaveKenny #DontKillKenny #skatelegacy #ProtectOurParks #KeepKennyAlive #RestoreKenny #SkateHistory #CommunityNotCuts #saveourskatebowl #kenningtonpark #friendsofkenningtonpark #lovekenningtonpark #loveyourpark #lambethparks #lambeth

We’ve had some great news!

@lambeth_council have voted to set aside funds to Save Kenny, the park’s iconic skatebowl.

Massive thanks to everybody who supported FoKP’s campaign. YOU are the reason it’s been a success – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Lots of work ahead over the next few months to make the project a success. Watch this space …

Here’s one last @readanddestroy photo - thank you a million times over, Dan 🙏🙏🙏

Shane ‘Gappy’ O’Brien @shanieobr (with fully accessorised @santacruzskateboards whip) and @chrisnoodlesthesecond, competing for space on a makeshift extension at Kennington Bowl, London ‘89

📸 Tim Leighton-Boyce @timlb
Shane O’Brien & Chris Lonergan
Kennington, 1989
Courtesy the Read And Destroy Archive

#SaveKenny #kenningtonbowl #skateboarding #friendsofkenningtonpark #readanddestroyarchive

Tomorrow is the second Sunday in the month …

That means it’s Volunteer Gardening time!

So tomorrow, on Sunday May 10th, Marietta and Catherine will be in the Flower Garden.

They’ll be there from noon until 4pm, with tools and gardening gloves to share.

Come and join us! You can stay for just 15 minutes – or the whole 4 hours, if you’re feeling energetic!

All are welcome, no experience needed. 

It’s gentle work - you can have a chat, and a cuppa.

Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

#volunteer #gardening #volunteergardening #kenningtonpark #fokp

You’ll have noticed – it’s local council elections this Thursday.

We know @lambeth_council has a long list of important priorities.

And you know the Friends of Kennington Park are very focused on getting the renovation of the park’s iconic skatebowl done.

So when the Council agreed a £566k budget, we were very happy.

But just setting aside the money at the start of the financial year won’t deliver the result we’ve campaigned so hard for.

This project needs real commitment from councillors.

So we’re hoping ALL the local candidates support the funding of Kenny.

If you live in Lambeth, listen up …

We need YOU to support this important local initiative – by checking whether the candidates you are planning to vote for are fully behind this project.

Kenny matters – to the local community and to young people.

Whatever the result, the Friends of Kennington Park will continue to hold the Council to their promise.

Lambeth made a commitment – let’s hold them to it.

1 - 📸 Paul Sunman
Jack Harvey, Kennington, 1990�Courtesy @readanddestroy archive

4 - 📷 Tim Leighton-Boyce
Contest at Kennington, 1988 �Courtesy the Read And Destroy Archive��🎥 Thugs skate video by @welshdenny
Featuring @pritchardswyd, Mark Channer, @mikemanzoori, Mike Jenkins

#votekenny #makeyourvotecount #savekenny #kenningtonbowl #readanddestroyarchive

Will you be an early bird this Sunday?

Our Dawn Chorus Walk is back!

This Sunday, April 26th – starts at 6.00am!

Erica, our local birdsong expert, will lead the walk – it should take about 45 minutes to an hour.

Meet Erica and Marietta at the Midnight Path entrance to the park, next to Prince Consort Lodge / Trees for Cities.

If the weather’s good and the birds have come out to play, we’re hoping to hear a mix of resident birds – robins, blackbirds, wrens – and migratory visitors, like blackcaps and chiffchaffs.

Wrap up warm – it’s cold outside at 6am! And no dogs please.

All our events are free to attend – but they are not free to provide! So please – JOIN US! As a member of FoKP, your subscription will help provide us with valuable income to SUPPORT ALL OUR ACTIVITES.

Membership is just £6 per person for a year, or £10 for a household. Just click on the SUPPORT US link, in our bio👆

Thank you 💚

Photo courtesy of @rspb

#dawnchorus #birdsong #kenningtonpark #friendsofkenningtonpark #loveyourpark

There’s showers in the forecast, so wrap up and pack a raincoat for our VOLUNTEER GARDENING session tomorrow!

Marietta & Catherine will be in the Flower Garden TOMORROW, Sunday, April 12th, from 12 noon until 4pm.

As ever, they’ll have tools and gloves to share. And you’ll get a warming cuppa from the café, if you time your visit right.

You can stay for just 15 minutes, or for the whole session – it’s up to you! And no previous gardening experience is needed.

This is a gentle, friendly session. All are welcome – grownups, babies, toddlers and grandparents. Children must be accompanied by their adult.

Hope you love our pics from last month’s session with Ruth! Thanks to her, and all the other good people who came out to help.

#volunteer #volunteergardening #kenningtonpark #fokp #loveyourpark

MONSTER CHARTIST RALLY ANNIVERSARY WALK TODAY, Saturday April 11th, 2.30pm!

178 years ago yesterday, this happened … right here.

On April 10th 1848, thousands of workers from all over London assembled here, on Kennington Common, at a huge rally organised by the Chartists.

The Chartist movement was a popular campaign – they wanted voting rights to be extended to all working people. At the time, only people with land and property were allowed to vote.

Want to hear all about what happened on that momentous day?

Our resident history buff & local historian, Marietta, will be in the park TODAY, Saturday April 11th.

She’ll take you for a walk around the park, and tell you all about the day: who was there, and what happened.

Meet on the park side of Prince Consort Lodge (Trees for Cities) at 2.30pm TODAY, Saturday April 11th.

This is a FREE walk, and all are welcome. Please SUPPORT the work we do in the park by making a donation – link in bio 👆🏽

#chartists #chartistwalk #monsterchartistrally #kenningtonpark #localhistory

BAT HUNT! 

Here in Kennington Park, we’re wild about bats!

And tonight, it’s our first Bat Hunt of 2026.

Yes – that’s TONIGHT, Friday, April 10th at 8pm.

Marietta will be at the History Hut to welcome you.

And Lambeth’s bat expert, Dr Iain Boulton, will be there, to lead us around the park, and to share his extensive knowledge about these amazing creatures.

The park’s pipistrelles will have woken up from their hibernation, and should be swooping about at dusk in search of flies.

Iain will bring sonic bat detectors to share, so we’ll be able to hear the bats, even if it’s difficult to see them.

This is a free event, but PLEASE – if you want to take part, SUPPORT the Friends of Kennington Park. It’s just £6 per person for a year, or £10 for a household.

Just click the SUPPORT US link in our bio to donate 👆

No dogs please. It may be chilly in the evening, so do wrap up. And bring a torch, as it will be dark when we leave the park. 

#bats #pipistrelle #tonight #kennington #kenningtonpark

🌟 COMMUNITY FESTIVAL CALL 🌟

We’re back for our 6th year with @friendsofkenningtonpark at Kennington Park 🎉

Join us on Sunday 5 July for our FREE EVENT as we continue building a vibrant celebration of community, culture, and creativity 💛

We’re looking for:
• Sponsors - support this much-loved local event 👍🏽
• Performers — dancers, musicians & rising talent 🎶
• Volunteers - help and be part of a wonderful day 🙌🏽

Let’s make this year bigger, brighter, and even more memorable for everyone ✨

📩 Get involved & find out more:
*melanin.hw@gmail.com
*friends@kenningtonpark.org

#community #festival #support #celebrate #local @melanin_hw

Helpers needed, this Sunday, March 29, for our Easter Egg Hunt!

Set-up is from 9am, and the Hunt runs from 10am until 12 noon.

Then it’s clear-up time.

Please email us if you can help - friends@kenningtonpark.org

Thank you!

#easteregghunt #helpneeded #volunteer #fokp #loveyourpark

A great big thank you to @lambeth_council for responding so positively to our Save Kenny campaign. 

We – and the whole skateboarding community – are thrilled that the Council have decided to honour their promise to restore Kennington Park’s iconic skatebowl.
 
There’s still a long way to go, but we’re very much looking forward to working with the Council to get the project back on track.

We hope things will get moving again once the new financial year starts in April. The procurement process will need to reboot, and contractor negotiations completed. And we’re hopeful that work on the site will start this year. 

Look how clean and shiny Kenny was on the day it opened!

These pics are from The Great Outdoors Company press release - they erected the skatebowl in just one week in 1978, on a disused netball court. The Radical Banking system, developed by Lorne Edwards, used pre-cast concrete modules.

The bowl was opened by the Mayor of Lambeth on September 2, 1978.

Read the story by Prof @iainborden, in @c20society magazine, of the previous planned restoration, back in 2022 - link in bio 👆

Big thanks to Iain and 20th Century Society for supporting our campaign.

Photos courtesy of @iainborden

#SaveKenny #kenningtonbowl #skateboarding #friendsofkenningtonpark #kennyisgo

A great big thank you to @lambeth_council for responding so positively to our Save Kenny campaign. 

We – and the whole skateboarding community – are thrilled that the Council have decided to honour their promise to restore Kennington Park’s iconic skatebowl.
 
There’s still a long way to go, but we’re very much looking forward to working with the Council to get the project back on track.

We hope things will get moving again once the new financial year starts in April. The procurement process will need to reboot, and contractor negotiations completed. And we’re hopeful that work on the site will start this year. 

Look how clean and shiny Kenny was on the day it opened!

These pics are from The Great Outdoors Company press release - they erected the skatebowl in just one week in 1978, on a disused netball court. The Radical Banking system, developed by Lorne Edwards, used pre-cast concrete modules.

The bowl was opened by the Mayor of Lambeth on September 2, 1978.

Read the story by Prof @iainborden, in @c20society magazine, of the previous planned restoration, back in 2022 - link in bio 👆

Big thanks to Iain and 20th Century Society for supporting our campaign.

Photos courtesy of @iainborden

#SaveKenny #kenningtonbowl #skateboarding #friendsofkenningtonpark #kennyisgo

A great big thank you to @lambeth_council for responding so positively to our Save Kenny campaign. 

We – and the whole skateboarding community – are thrilled that the Council have decided to honour their promise to restore Kennington Park’s iconic skatebowl.
 
There’s still a long way to go, but we’re very much looking forward to working with the Council to get the project back on track.

We hope things will get moving again once the new financial year starts in April. The procurement process will need to reboot, and contractor negotiations completed. And we’re hopeful that work on the site will start this year. 

Look how clean and shiny Kenny was on the day it opened!

These pics are from The Great Outdoors Company press release - they erected the skatebowl in just one week in 1978, on a disused netball court. The Radical Banking system, developed by Lorne Edwards, used pre-cast concrete modules.

The bowl was opened by the Mayor of Lambeth on September 2, 1978.

Read the story by Prof @iainborden, in @c20society magazine, of the previous planned restoration, back in 2022 - link in bio 👆

Big thanks to Iain and 20th Century Society for supporting our campaign.

Photos courtesy of @iainborden

#SaveKenny #kenningtonbowl #skateboarding #friendsofkenningtonpark #kennyisgo

A great big thank you to @lambeth_council for responding so positively to our Save Kenny campaign. 

We – and the whole skateboarding community – are thrilled that the Council have decided to honour their promise to restore Kennington Park’s iconic skatebowl.
 
There’s still a long way to go, but we’re very much looking forward to working with the Council to get the project back on track.

We hope things will get moving again once the new financial year starts in April. The procurement process will need to reboot, and contractor negotiations completed. And we’re hopeful that work on the site will start this year. 

Look how clean and shiny Kenny was on the day it opened!

These pics are from The Great Outdoors Company press release - they erected the skatebowl in just one week in 1978, on a disused netball court. The Radical Banking system, developed by Lorne Edwards, used pre-cast concrete modules.

The bowl was opened by the Mayor of Lambeth on September 2, 1978.

Read the story by Prof @iainborden, in @c20society magazine, of the previous planned restoration, back in 2022 - link in bio 👆

Big thanks to Iain and 20th Century Society for supporting our campaign.

Photos courtesy of @iainborden

#SaveKenny #kenningtonbowl #skateboarding #friendsofkenningtonpark #kennyisgo

A great big thank you to @lambeth_council for responding so positively to our Save Kenny campaign. 

We – and the whole skateboarding community – are thrilled that the Council have decided to honour their promise to restore Kennington Park’s iconic skatebowl.
 
There’s still a long way to go, but we’re very much looking forward to working with the Council to get the project back on track.

We hope things will get moving again once the new financial year starts in April. The procurement process will need to reboot, and contractor negotiations completed. And we’re hopeful that work on the site will start this year. 

Look how clean and shiny Kenny was on the day it opened!

These pics are from The Great Outdoors Company press release - they erected the skatebowl in just one week in 1978, on a disused netball court. The Radical Banking system, developed by Lorne Edwards, used pre-cast concrete modules.

The bowl was opened by the Mayor of Lambeth on September 2, 1978.

Read the story by Prof @iainborden, in @c20society magazine, of the previous planned restoration, back in 2022 - link in bio 👆

Big thanks to Iain and 20th Century Society for supporting our campaign.

Photos courtesy of @iainborden

#SaveKenny #kenningtonbowl #skateboarding #friendsofkenningtonpark #kennyisgo