Londoners to get more say on Royal Parks
Changes to be introduced to the way green spaces including Hyde Park and St James鈥檚 Park are run.
Plans to give Londoners and the Mayor a bigger say in the running of the capital鈥檚聽eight have been unveiled today.
In a to Parliament, Heritage Minister John Penrose said he intended to create a new Royal Parks Board.聽The Mayor will have the power to appoint the Chair and other members of the Board, including representatives of the London boroughs and the Royal household, and聽the board will聽develop new processes to give local communities and park users a role in decision making.
鈥淚t is right and fair that Londoners have a greater say in how the Royal Parks in their city are run,鈥� Mr Penrose said. 鈥淔or too long they have been managed by central government, with MPs from across the UK having the power to micro-manage what they do. It鈥檚 time to put this right. Fortunately we won鈥檛 need primary legislation to do so and we will shortly be announcing the arrangements we will use to bring it about.鈥�
Mayor Boris Johnson welcomed the announcement, adding: 鈥淲e will now work closely with all concerned to ensure a smooth and collaborative transition of responsibilities.鈥�
The Royal Parks, which cover around 5,000 acres in London, will remain in Crown ownership, under the overall responsibility of the Culture Secretary. This year, the parks celebrate their 160th anniversary of free public access.