Culture and Communities

Divisional Director – Adrian Smith

Culture and Communities includes Cultural strategy, Cemeteries and crematoria, Events, Parks, Registrars, Libraries and archives and Sports and recreation. 

Cultural Strategy

Cultural Strategy includes the Arts Developments and 2012 teams. Lambeth’s Arts Development Team aims to support and sustain creative and cultural activity in the borough. They make the case for the arts and creative sector in Lambeth, both within the council and with external bodies. The team also manages the Arts Grants package and also advises on cultural strategic developments, particularly around the areas of access and diversity.

As the council builds on its success in improving communities and reducing crime, Cultural Strategy development staff will play an important role in ensuring that Lambeth becomes an exemplary borough that Londoners can be proud of in time for the Olympics and create a meaningful legacy for the 2012 games.

Environmental Improvement

Environmental Improvement encompasses four services; parks, events, registrars and cemeteries and crematoria.

Cemeteries and Crematoria

Lambeth has three cemeteries and two crematoria – West Norwood Cemetery and Crematorium, which contains the largest collection of listed memorials in the UK, Lambeth Cemetery and Crematorium and Streatham Cemetery. Officers can also help carry out searches of records of burials and cremations in the borough.

Events

Lambeth's events team organise and run a number of major events that take place in Lambeth’s large parks, for example the annual Lambeth Country Show held in Brockwell Park and fireworks displays across the borough in November. They also authorise externally hosted events in Lambeth’s parks and open spaces as well as advising on issues such as health and safety.

Parks and Green Spaces

This team manages Lambeth's 64 parks and open spaces (three of which have Green Flag awards), along with 32 play areas and the trees growing on the borough's streets, housing estates and open spaces. In addition the team looks after three nature conservation areas, allotment sites and a number of historic parks, gardens and buildings. The service also employs park rangers who patrol Lambeth's parks and green spaces to provide a visible and welcome presence to help reassure and advise park users.

Registrars

The registration of births, deaths and marriages is a statutory service provided by our Register Office based in Brixton. The Register Office services include registering all births and deaths which occur within the Lambeth Registration district, arranging and performing civil marriage ceremonies and civil partnership ceremonies and arranging citizenship ceremonies.

Libraries and Archives

Lambeth Libraries are free to join and offer a wide range of services. Residents can use any of the nine libraries (plus the mobile library) to borrow books, videos, DVDs, CDs and talking books. They also provide space for study and internet access and offer a number of groups and services such as home visits for those unable to get to a library and a children’s library service, as well a hosting and organising events throughout the year such as the annual Readers and Writers Festival and Black History Month.

Archives

Lambeth Archives is the borough's record office and local history library and is open to the public free of charge. The archive is located in the Minet Library and staff can help with a number of enquiries, including tracing family and local history. Lambeth Archives also manages a website, Landmark, which is a showcase for the best 6,000 images from the Lambeth Archives collection of 35,000 old photographs, drawings, prints and watercolours.

Sports and Recreation

Sports and Recreation is responsible for sports development and encouraging healthier lifestyles for residents and staff. Lambeth has five council-funded sports centres as well as sports facilities available in many of Lambeth’s parks. Officers manage the leisure contract (awarded in 2007 to GLL - Greenwich Leisure Limited) that provide and maintain these facilities, as well as working to attract external funding into the borough to improve sporting and cultural opportunities for Lambeth's residents.