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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

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

Bulls Cross Bulls Cross is a road and Hamlet (place), hamlet in Enfield, London, Enfield, England, on the outskirts of North London, north London, forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. Although it now lies within the ceremonial county of Greater Lond ...

in the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London boroughs, London borough in Greater London, England. The main communities in the borough are Edmonton, London, Edmonton, Enfield, London, Enfield, Southgate, London, Southgate and Palmers Green. Enfi ...

, 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 The Lea Valley (also spelt Lee Valley), the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics wer ...

. 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 othe ...

to the Lee Valley Regional Park Act 1966 (c. xli) 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 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 in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire and

Lee Valley VeloPark Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the pe ...

and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, both of which are located on

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...

.Eton Manor
From April 2015 these venues have been operated by Lee Valley Leisure Trust, a body which has been created by the authority to run its major sport and leisure sites.

References

External links

Leevalleypark.org: Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226100305/http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/content/cms/about_us/about_us.aspx , date=26 February 2012 Lee Valley Park Parks and open spaces in London Parks and open spaces in Hertfordshire Environmental organisations based in London Levying bodies in England