The Royal Parks News


	3 October 2005 Horticulture Weeks life time acheivement award Congratulations to Mike Fitt who has won Horticulture Week's 'Most outstanding contribution to horticulture.' awarded to an individual, in the opinion of the judges. For more detail click here.


	1 October 2005 Royal Parks wins GreenFleet Award 2005 - Best Practice Award The Royal Parks took away the GreenFleet Best Practice Award at the 2005 GreenFleet Awards hosted by Southwark Council, and supported by the Energy Saving Trust, the awards recognise how the Royal Parks and other winning organisations are making the most of existing technologies and fuels in order to reduce carbon emissions from their fleet vehicles. For more detail click here.


	26 September 2005 Princes Trust youth training in Royal Parks Together, youth charity The Prince's Trust and The Royal Parks are providing a week-long 'Get Into Green Spaces' course for a group of 16-25 year olds. The pilot scheme is being funded by the Learning Skills Council and the European Social Fund and will allow young people to learn a variety of new skills at Bushy Park; London's second largest Royal Park. For more detail click here.


	19 July 2005 The Regent's Park and Greenwich Park joins list of best parks Greenwich Park and The Regent's Park are celebrating after being named in the list of best parks in England and Wales with the announcement of 322 Green Flag Award winners. The Green Flag Award scheme, managed by the Civic Trust, is the national standard for parks and green spaces. Winners vary from Victorian parks and town centre gardens to nature reserves, country parks and cemeteries. Sites must be judged to be welcoming, safe and well maintained with the strong involvement of the local community. For more detail click here.


	6 July 2005 Olympics 2012 success Congratulations to London for the successful 2012 bid. The Royal Parks will be playing a leading role in hosting the thirtieth Olympiad: Hyde Park will host the triathlon, with competitors swimming in the Serpentine and running and cycling through the Park; Greenwich Park will be the base for a number of equestrian events, and; Horseguards Parade will see the beach volley ball competition. The Royal Parks would like to add their voice to the chorus of congratulations to Lord Coe and his team.


	3 July 2005 Live8 Hyde Park played host to the internationally acclaimed Live 8 concert last night. Attended by more than 200,000 people, acts such as Paul McCartney, U2, Robbie Williams, Madonna and Pink Floyd performed, with messages from the Make Poverty History campaign. Tens of millions of people tuned in to see the show, with pictures beamed all around the world. Staff from The Royal Parks along with staff from other agencies and authorities, including but not limited to Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London and Clear Channel, worked extremely hard in the two month run up to the event and on the day itself. The event ran over time but successful management meant that those attending were able to get home safely. Without the stamina and commitment of all those involved, this one off event would not have been possible.


	6 May 2005 Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain Following major reinstatement work the Memorial was reopened on 6th May 2005. A new, tougher turf (more often found on Premier League football pitches) has replaced grass that had been eroded last summer by up to 5,000 visitors an hour. A path of bonded resin gravel has been laid around the Cornish granite, drainage at the site has also been improved and an underground chamber will trap leaves that fall into the water. Visitors are asked not to walk or run in the water of the Memorial, although people are more than welcome to sit on the side and paddle their feet and dabble their hands. We hope that the new measures will mean the Memorial runs smoothly through the summer and beyond.


	27 April 2005 The Prince of Wales opens London's largest sports area Today HRH The Prince of Wales officially opened London's largest outdoor sports area and a major 'next generation' multi-sport hub in The Regent's Park. Accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince visited the 90 acres of sports pitches and unveiled a plaque at the 3.3 million 'Regent's Park Hub', which will provide changing rooms, social space, meeting areas and facilities for 150,000 people every year. For more detail click here.


	14 April 2005 New Chief Executive at The Royal Parks "Mark Camley has been appointed Chief Executive of The Royal Parks, an Executive Agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He will take up the post at an early date to be agreed."


	24 January 2005 Richmond Park: Robin Hood Gate closure - final report published. The report examining the effects of the closure of Robin Hood Gate on traffic inside and outside Richmond Park is now available for download. This report was produced by traffic consultants Peter Brett Associates and has been sent to Lord McIntosh of Haringey, Minister for Heritage within the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. The report has also been sent to local councils, local MPs, Transport for London and groups involved in Richmond Park, including the Friends of Richmond Park and English Nature. The Minister will be meeting with them before making his final decision on whether the gate should remain closed or not. Click here to download the report from our publications page.