The organisers of the hugely popular annual Streatham Common Kite Day, an event which is dependent on the weather, have been forced to postpone the event, a victim of the abnormally wet winter and spring.

Kite Day on Streatham Common has grown into a hugely popular event

The event will now be held on Sunday, September 2.

The Friends of Streatham Common took the decision this week, in the hope of avoiding causing further damage to the common. They doubted whether the common’s grass areas will have been fit to stage their event on the second Sunday in May.

“This year’s prolonged bad weather combined to serious damage to the lower common in March by the arrival and departure of the previous entertainment event means that the large area required to lay out the event will just not be viable for a large footfall event such as Kite Day,” they said in a statement.

“Even with good weather the ground may dry, but the area will need time to rover its grass cover. There is also much churn along the perimeter of the playground, where works were also hampered by consistent wet and extreme weather conditions ensuring no lorries or work vehicles could work on fixing the surrounding area.

“However, the council have granted another date so all is not lost.”

The issue at Streatham Common is a familiar one in other south London parks. Ashburton Park, which staged a successful winter festival in December and January, still bears the scars of the lorries and trucks used to move in stages and equipment. While the organisers have paid a levy towards the maintenance and repair of the park, the bad weather – April had a whole month’s average rainfall within the first 10 days of the month – has delayed any scheduled remedial works.

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