Lee Valley Regional Park scoops eight London in Bloom Awards

Tottenham Marshes in north London and Waltham Abbey Gardens won Gold Awards and were judged overall winners in their categories, while four of our other open spaces received Gold Awards, which are based on an assessment of 85% or above. Our award winners are:

Tottenham Marshes in North London

Waltham Abbey Gardens in Waltham Abbey, Essex

Large Conservation Area, Gold & Category winner for London

Large Park, Gold & Category winner for London

Gunpowder Park in Waltham Abbey, Essex

Country Park, Gold

Bow Creek Ecology Park in Canning Town, East London

Conservation Area, Gold

Walthamstow Marshes in East London

Large Conservation Area, Gold

WaterWorks Centre Nature Reserve in Leyton, East London

Large Conservation Area, Gold

Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority said, “These awards are a fitting tribute to the staff and volunteers at the Authority who work tirelessly to maintain these important sites. We’re thrilled to be recognised with two overall category winners this year for two very different open spaces – one a large expanse of grassland and wildflower meadows and the other a walled historical garden. They both demonstrate the wide variety of landscapes that make up Lee Valley Regional Park, London’s largest green space.”

These latest accolades come hot on the heels of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority being awarded nine Green Flag Awards and one Green Heritage Award in July.

London in Bloom recognises the efforts made by individuals and organisations across Greater London to improve their local environment. The Authority’s sites were judged against parks and open spaces from across London, demonstrating the high standards to which they are maintained.

Lee Valley Regional Park’s green spaces are free to visit throughout the year, with thousands of acres to explore on foot, by bike or by river.

-ENDS-

Hi-res images are available to download from here:

Waltham Abbey Gardens

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/RUMR3

Bow Creek Ecology Park

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/HNDB1

Walthamstow Marshes

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/RD1EH

Tottenham Marshes

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/HH45G

Waterworks Nature Reserve

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/RJAK2

Gunpowder Park

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/H8UVJ

Myddelton House Gardens

https://leevalleypark.canto.global/b/HSGCH

For more information, hi-res imagery or to request interviews, please contact:

Alison Moore, Senior Corporate Communications Officer

M:07909 000316 E: amoore@leevalleypark.org.uk

Jackie Tolland, Senior Communications Officer

M: 07785 303718 E: jtolland@leevalleypark.org.uk

Notes to Editors

About Lee Valley Regional Park:

London’s largest green space,Lee Valley Regional Park stretches 26 miles along the River Lee from Ware in Hertfordshire to East India Dock Basin on the Thames and offers a range of great activities, days out and attractions from cycling and white water sports to ice skating, horse riding, hockey, tennis and camping, alongside award winning nature reserves, green spaces, heritage sites and riverside trails, attracting around eight million visits a year.

· The park was created by a unique Act of Parliament as a “green lung” for London, Essex and Hertfordshire and features a 10,000 acre patchwork of heritage sites, nature reserves and open green spaces, alongside world class sports venues, attracting over 10 million visitors every year.

· Just over 50 years ago much of the area around the River Lee was derelict, neglected and unloved, home to redundant industry, sewage works, gravel pits, rubbish dumps and railway sidings. Over the last five decades Lee Valley Regional Park Authority has, with partners, led the almost wholesale transformation of the 10,000 acre, 26 mile long area.

· Our open spaces include eight Sites of Special Scientific Interest, a designation reserved for the most important areas for nature across the UK. Four of these form the Lee Valley Special Protection Area, the designation for sites in Europe with habitats that are important for migratory birds. They also form a Ramsar site, an area which has been globally recognised as an internationally important wetland.

· Nine of Lee Valley Regional Park’s open spaces, gardens and heritage sites retained the prestigious Green Flag Award in 2024. A tenth Green Flag was awarded to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is jointly managed by The London Legacy Development Corporation and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. This internationally recognised award signifies quality open spaces. Myddelton House Gardens in Enfield also retained the coveted Green Heritage Site Accreditation, in recognition of the Authority’s successful management of this historic venue.

· In further recognition of the Authority’s dedication to providing high quality open spaces, eight sites across Lee Valley Regional Park were awarded the highest Gold accolade from the prestigious London in Bloom Awards in 2023. This included a special Best Biodiversity and Environmental Innovation award for the newly constructed Lee Valley Ice Centre in East London, a cutting edge facility aspiring to become the most sustainable ice venue in the UK.

· Lee Valley Regional Park Authority owns three London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues: Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire and Lee Valley VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in east London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

· The Authority’s sporting offer also includes the world class Lee Valley Athletics Centre, British Horse Society-approved Lee Valley Riding Centre and the newly constructed Olympic standard twin rink Lee Valley Ice Centre, the only venue of its kind in the south east.

· Three of Lee Valley’s sports venues were awarded an ‘Excellent’ Quest rating in 2023, with Lee Valley White Water Centre receiving the coveted ‘Outstanding’ rating, having achieved excellence in all criteria – the venue is one of only two centres in the country to hold this accreditation. Quest, the Sport England recommended Continuous Improvement Tool for leisure facilities, recognises quality facilities and the highest standard of customer service. Lee Valley Athletics Centre secured a ‘Very Good’ rating in 2023, and the new Lee Valley Ice Centre will be eligible for its first assessment in 2024.

· Other recreational activities at Lee Valley Regional Park include cycling, angling, walking and bird watching. Historical sites such as Myddelton House Gardens, Waltham Abbey Gardens, Rye House Gatehouse and Three Mills Green can be found throughout the park.

· The Authority's Learning and Engagement service offers a range of outdoor learning programmes for Primary, Secondary, SEN schools and community groups, delivered by a team of experienced and trained staff and coaches. In 2023 the service retained the nationally recognised Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge, demonstrating the quality of learning and effectiveness of risk management.

· Lee Valley Regional Park Authority offers a range of volunteering opportunities from individual roles to corporate volunteering and collaboration with clubs, groups and organisations. The Authority has held an Investing in Volunteers award for the past 15 years, the national standard for organisations who maintain quality volunteer management and procedure regimes.

· Lee Valley Regional Park offers four camping and caravan sites at a variety of scenic locations: Dobbs Weir in Hertfordshire, Sewardstone in north east London and Edmonton in north London and the bushcraft inspired Lee Valley Almost Wild Campsite in Broxbourne.

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