Myddleton House and Garden, Bulls Cross, Enfield - geograph

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) is a statutory body that is responsible for managing and developing the long, Lee Valley Regional Park. The park was established by

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

in 1967. The headquarters of the authority are in Myddelton House, Bulls Cross in the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

, well known in the horticultural world for the gardens developed by E.A. Bowles (1865–1954) and still fully maintained and open to the public.

History

The idea for a regional park was first suggested by Sir Patrick Abercrombie in his

Greater London Plan The Greater London Plan of 1944 was developed by Patrick Abercrombie (1879–1957). The plan was directly related to the County of London Plan written by John Henry Forshaw (1895–1973) and Abercrombie in 1943. Following World War II, London ...

of 1944. However, the plan remained dormant till 1961, when Lou Sherman, Mayor of Hackney took up the challenge to regenerate the Lea Valley. He persuaded 17 other local authorities to support him. In 1963 the Civic Trust was invited to make an appraisal of the Valley's resources, their report was positive. A bill was put to Parliament to establish the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Following

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

to the Lee Valley Regional Park Bill in December 1966, the Authority was formally constituted on 1 January 1967.

Governance

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority has an appointed board of 28 members. 20 of those are from riparian authorities (those whose borders are crossed by the park's boundaries) and a further eight are appointed through Local Councils to represent the remaining 27 London Boroughs. Members are elected for a term of appointment of four years and continue in office for that period unless they resign or cease to be a councillor. The Authority is overseen by an executive committee who assist the decision-making processes of the board. The six-person executive committee represents the diverse political and geographic backgrounds of the board, with half the members from London's 33 boroughs and half from Essex and Hertfordshire.

Finance

The park authority is in part funded by a levy (not a precept) on

Council Tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn re ...

bills in Essex, Greater London and Hertfordshire.

London 2012 Olympics and London 2012 Paralympics

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority own three London 2012 Olympic venues –

Lee Valley White Water Centre Lee Valley White Water Centre (previously known as Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre) is a white-water slalom centre, that was constructed to host the canoe slalom events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. On 9 December 2010, Anne, Princess R ...

in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire and Lee Valley VeloPark and

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Gre ...

, both of which are located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.Eton Manor
Retrieved 18 November 2009 From April 2015 these venues will be operated by Lee Valley Leisure Trust, a body which has been created by the Authority to run its major sport and leisure sites.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Leevalleypark.org: Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
Lee Valley Park Parks and open spaces in London Parks and open spaces in Hertfordshire Environmental organisations based in London Levying bodies in England